When: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2:30 p.m. CT
Where: Madison, Wis.; Camp Randall Stadium (80,321)
TV: BTN
Radio: Badger Sports Network
Last Meeting: Northwestern win, 20-14 (Oct. 4, 2014)
All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads, 57-34-5
1 Burning Question: What Did Bye Week Change?
Bye weeks can be good and bad, and it for sure was a mixed bag for the Wisconsin Badgers. No doubt this group needed time to simply heal the hell up after a season full of injuries on top of injuries on top of injuries. But, this is also a team that has won five straight games despite all those injuries and momentum is a hell of a thing at this point in the season.
It appears UW will get tight end Austin Traylor back, but it may not be getting junior running back Corey Clement back. Others with typical bumps, bruises and aches got a chance to get those things taken care of and will be as close to 100 percent as possible heading in to the final two weeks of the season.
Some teams also take that bye week to reassess where the team and units are, make some tweaks and change up a few things. Will Wisconsin throw a new wrinkle or two out there on Saturday after taking some time to figure out what is and isn’t working? It will be very interesting.
2 Key Stats:
— 4: Saturday will be just the 4th time since 1999 that two Top 25 teams will meet in the month of November at Camp Randall. Wisconsin comes in No. 25 in the College Football Playoff committee rankings, while Northwestern is No. 21. Both teams are 8-2 on the season and it’s likely the winner finishes the season in the second place behind Iowa in the Big Ten West. Fans complain about not seeing big matchups in Camp Randall, well savor this one.
— 3-0: That is UW’s record in the other three Top 25 matchups since 1999. Wisconsin has faired well at home in the month of November while facing ranked opponents apparently. Interestingly enough, this senior class had some hand in all three of those wins (even if it was on the scout team), as UW beat Penn State (2011), Nebraska (2014) and Minnesota (2014).
3 Staff Predictions:
Andy: Wisconsin 35-10 (9-1 season record)
Nate: Wisconsin 21-17 (7-3 season record)
Sawyer: Wisconsin 35-17 (9-1 season record)
4 Players to Watch:
Taiwan Deal, Wisconsin RB: It’s been awhile since Deal has made a significant impact, but he made a nice return after an ankle injury last week. He had nine carries for 42 yards in the win over Maryland. Wisconsin’s offense is flat-out better when Deal gets going, thanks to his combination of power and speed. It will be interesting to see if Corey Clement is a go in the home finale, and if so Deal may not see much of the football. However, if Clement isn’t a go (which seems likely), Deal has to be the one to get this run game going.
Clayton Thorson, Northwestern QB: Northwestern’s stats may suggest this team goes as far as running back Justin Jackson takes them, but the reality is it is all about the redshirt freshman quarterback. If he’s on in the run game, Jackson becomes a much freer option and tends to open up bigger runs because of it. Thorson may not be a wildly accurate passer, but he is effective enough with his legs and arm to get the job done in combination with a stellar defense. Wisconsin struggled a bit with Perry Hills, the rushing quarterback, and they’ll need to contain Thorson’s ability in the run game to win this one.
Anthony Walker, Northwestern LB: Wisconsin’s hopes of getting the run game going and keeping Stave upright hinge on how they do against one of the most underrated defenders in the entire conference. Walker comes in to this weekend with 91 total tackles, which is good for fourth in the Big Ten. He also has 15.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and has recovered two fumbles already this season. Walker is that versatile player at linebacker who is equally adept at dropping in to coverage or playing at the line of scrimmage. The chess match between him and Paul Chryst’s play calling should be fun to watch.
Joel Stave, Wisconsin QB: It could be the most challenging start of this season for the senior. That’s because no defense has been as good as Northwestern’s has been all season long. They’ve been particularly good in the secondary, grabbing nine interceptions on the season and allowing just 17.6 points per game to opponents. With Stave, it’s been a wildly inconsistent season — dominating in the non-conference schedule and struggling to complete drives in the conference season. He’s thrown just three of his 10 touchdown passes in B1G play, while throwing six of his eight interceptions in conference play. He can’t be on the negative side of that ledger on Saturday and hope to win.
5 Bold Prognostications (That May Or May Not Come True):
Clayton Thorson Outduels Joel Stave in Passing Yards, But Not TD’s: This may seem crazy, as Thorson is 13th in the B1G in passing yards per game (125.9) and Stave is averaging nearly 85 yards more per contest. However, the Badgers defense may be keying on stopping the run and forcing Thorson to be a throwing QB. Northwestern has the tools in the passing game to be dangerous, but this could be the week where a few big plays go their way and Thorson looks incredible on the yardage. Unfortunately, he can’t put those big passes in the end zone and Stave does.
Corey Clement Will Start, Won’t Finish: As much as getting Clement back matters to the Badgers offense, it seems that he has pushed himself so hard to come back that he’s hindering the long-term recovery process. Something we saw as he busted loose for a 50-yard run that ended up costing him the rest of the game against Rutgers and resulted in him not being seen since. Clement is a gamer and clearly wants to be helping this team out. He’ll give it a go against today, but look for the coaching staff to have to shut him down in the second half thanks to some issues with that groin area.
Rafael Gaglianone Won’t Be Needed: Okay, sure, he’ll have to kick an extra point or five…but, Gaglianone won’t attempt a single field goal in this contest and it will be the first time that will happen all season long.
Justin Jackson will Get in the End Zone: The Badgers defense has been particularly stingy at home this season, giving up an average of just 5.0 points per game. However, Justin Jackson is just too good of a running back not to get in the end zone. While the Badgers have given up the fewest rushing yards in the conference, they have given up nine rushing touchdowns on the season. Look for Jackson to get in the end zone early in this one, but for the Badgers to shut him out of there for the final 45 minutes.
Iowa Will Lose, Keeping Badgers Alive: Hey, a boy can dream right? We’ll know the outcome of this idea before the kick of the UW-Northwestern game, but you can bet a loss by the Hawkeyes would add extra juice to this already juicy Top 25 matchup. Should it not happen, UW is out of the running for the Big Ten West division race.
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