Luke Fickell walked away from the Rutgers game feeling a ton better about the offense with Ryan Hopkins at the helm. While he would not commit to Hopkins fully going forward in the post-game press conference, it definitely feels like that's the case. His lament now is with the rushing attack. It's still not where it should be, and he was very clear that he sees it and shares the frustration with Wisconsin fans.
"We've got to find a way to create some more space," Fickell said after the Rutgers win. "I don't know that we did a great job of that because we didn't run the ball with the tailbacks as good as I would have liked to."
He's not wrong. Wisconsin had another game in which the highest rusher was a non-runningback. That's happened a bunch this season. It was Eugene Hilton Jr. who rushed three times for 39 yards. Abu Sama III rushed nine times for 35 yards.
Fickell doesn't like that either; fans have been noticing, and so has Fickell. The running game has to be better, and there has to be more space created for the backs, and there even needs to be a better commitment to the run. Fickell said, "I think we still have to make sure we can find a way to get our backs more involved. I mean, we've all seen the history of this place, and you can be really successful when your backs are on the ball."
Luke Fickell says that Wisconsin has to find a way to create more space for the RBs
Related: Wisconsin had 2 clear winners but also 2 losers from their important win over Rutgers
The Rutgers game featured three different running backs getting the ball, with Sama getting the most carries at nine, Bryan Jackson II having five, and Darrion Dupree having four. All in all, the trio rushed for 79 yards on 18 carries.
So here's the thing: it's also a lack of commitment to the run, not just the backs or offensive linemen struggling to open space. 18 carries for the backs is not a great number. Some of that may have been the fact that Hopkins was having a day, and the Rutgers pass defense is terrible, but some of it is a pattern that has happened throughout the year.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes simply doesn't always get the backs going. Jackson was having a great game again against Rutgers; his five carries went for 32 yards, which is 6.4 yards per carry. Only one of those was a burst of 13 yards; most of those chunks were simply chunk runs.
Wisconsin also could use a lethal rushing attack with Ryan Hopkins under center. Take some of the pressure off the young guy but also open up the field for his deep ball. He can sling the rock in a way Wisconsin hasn't seen since Russell Wilson, that sort of ZIP off his hands. You get the backs going and watch the offense open up even more.
So, it's good to hear that Fickell, even in a big win, wants to find a way to get the running backs going as the final three games of the season have arrived.
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