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Wisconsin Football: Key matchups to watch vs. Central Michigan

By Christian Borman

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 10: Jack Coan #17 of the Wisconsin Badgers hands the ball off to Jonathan Taylor #23 against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first half at Beaver Stadium on November 10, 2018 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 10: Jack Coan #17 of the Wisconsin Badgers hands the ball off to Jonathan Taylor #23 against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first half at Beaver Stadium on November 10, 2018 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin Football
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – DECEMBER 30: A.J. Taylor #4 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates a touchdown during the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Wisconsin receivers vs. the Central Michigan secondary

Wisconsin football showed a balanced offense last week in Tampa. Coan threw for 199 yards (although I think it was changed to 201 yards) and a pair of touchdowns against a USF team that had a veteran cornerback duo in Mike Hampton and K.J. Sails. They relied heavily on the run in the second half after having a sizeable lead, which tells me the passing production in this offense is good.

The receiving corps had a big part in this. The “Fatal Four” of A.J. Taylor, Kendric Pryor, Danny Davis, and Quintez Cephus, combined for 10 of Coan’s 19 completions and 107 yards. Coan spread the ball out to the group pretty well. All of these receivers had multiple receptions except for Taylor, who had one catch for nine yards.

Injury report for Wisconsin Football vs. Central Michigan. light. Also

Usually, not all of these receivers will be on the field at once, but it will still be tough for opposing teams to match up with the skill and depth of Wisconsin football’s receiving unit. It can get even harder for a team that just lost it’s top two cornerbacks to the NFL Draft last season. That’s the situation that Central Michigan finds itself in.

Both Sean Bunting (2nd round to Tampa Bay ) and Xavier Crawford (6th round to Houston) were selected in the 2019 NFL Draft. This could potentially leave some holes in the secondary and certainly shows some inexperience at the position. Brandon Brown and Darius Bracy are just sophomores who played in reserve last season.

This is a matchup the Badgers will look to take advantage of. If they can get what they want, they won’t be able to load the box against Jonathan Taylor, giving him a bigger chance to have a huge game.