Wisconsin Football: Tale of the tape vs. South Florida

MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 14: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers congratulates Jonathan Taylor (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 14: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers congratulates Jonathan Taylor (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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Wisconsin Football - Jonathan Taylor
MADISON, WISCONSIN – NOVEMBER 03: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the ball while being chased by Isaiah Wharton #11 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the first quarter at Camp Randall Stadium on November 03, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Offense

Wisconsin

This is one of the better offenses Wisconsin football has had since the 2011 season with Russell Wilson. There really aren’t any glaring weaknesses to this starting lineup. You can’t talk about this offense without mentioning Heisman candidate Jonathan Taylor, but they quietly have a very solid and deep receiving group as well. A.J. Taylor, Kendric Pryor, and Danny Davis were all good options for Coan but now add in Quintez Cephus after he was added back onto the team, and you have a pretty scary group there as well. Then you can add in tight end Jake Ferguson too, who will likely be a nice security blanket Coan.

The offensive line is somewhat inexperienced, but the way Wisconsin football develops and coaches the offensive lineman at Wisconsin, there really isn’t a whole lot to worry about. Anchored by center Tyler Biadasz and Cole Van Lanen at one of the tackle positions, this line will be just fine.

South Florida

In this new offense that Kerwin Bell is bringing to South Florida, they will be trying to slow the game down and control the ball for longer periods of time, similar to Wisconsin. Barnett will be the key to their offense, but he has some weapons as well.

Running back Jordan Cronkrite will be returning after having a nice season last year. He rushed for 1,121 yards and had nine touchdowns. Sophomore running back Johnny Ford will also contribute. He added 787 yards and eight touchdowns last season as a freshman.

South Florida also has one of the top tight end prospects for the upcoming NFL Draft in Mitchell Wilcox. He had 540 yards and two touchdowns last season and figures to be a bigger part of the offense this year.

Advantage: Wisconsin