Badger of Honor
Fansided

Badger of Honor writers predict Wisconsin Football’s 2019 schedule

By Sam Land

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 27: The Wisconsin Badgers huddle during a timeout in the third quarter of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Yankee Stadium on December 27, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 27: The Wisconsin Badgers huddle during a timeout in the third quarter of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Yankee Stadium on December 27, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
11 of 12
Next
Wisconsin Football
(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

Week 11 vs Purdue

Sam Land

Wisconsin has had Purdue’s number for quite a while now (13 straight wins over the Boilermakers), but the gap between these two programs has rapidly tightened, as evidenced by last season’s triple-overtime thriller in West Lafayette.  Gone are the days when Wisconsin fans could see Purdue on the schedule and expect a blowout victory.

On offense, Jeff Brohm’s passing attack should be in pretty good shape this season with the return of quarterback Elijah Sindelar, tight end Brycen Hopkins, and of course, superstar receiver Rondale Moore. However, I’m not sure Purdue will be able to balance things out with production on the ground and prevent Wisconsin from going all-in on taking away the pass.

There is very little experience returning on the offensive line, and the running backs returning combined for just 88 rushing yards last year. This, combined with the talent I feel the Badgers have in the secondary, and I’m not sure the Boilermakers will be able to get enough going offensively to take down Wisconsin at Camp Randall.

In order to get this upset Purdue would need to rely on a great defense, and while that unit should be much stronger than the one that gave up 321 rushing yards to Jonathan Taylor last season, I’m not sure it will be improved enough to outperform Wisconsin’s in this one.

Wisconsin 28 – Purdue 21

Christian Borman

Last season, the Badgers had a classic game at Purdue, winning 47-44 in overtime on a Jonathan Taylor walk-off touchdown run. Taylor finished that game with 321 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns.

Similar to Nebraska, the Boilermakers’ offense is better than their defense. They lost quarterback David Blough but will replace him with Elijah Sindelar, a senior quarterback who has some experience from last season. The biggest weapon on this Purdue team is Rondale Moore, who had an insane freshman season with over 1,200 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns and added 213 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He’s an all-around weapon.

I think the Badgers will bounce back after a tough loss in Lincoln, to beat the Boilermakers at home.

Wisconsin 31 –  Purdue 21