Eight carries does not a season make.
That’s the total carries expected star running back Corey Clement has gotten for the Wisconsin Badgers in 2015. Such is life when you have a nagging groin injury that hasn’t fully healed. However, many expected Clement to be back quickly following a week in which he didn’t practice nor play in the 58-0 win over Miami (OH) last Saturday.
Two days in to the prep for the Troy Trojans and Clement has yet to see the field in any shape or form for the Badgers.
#Badgers TB Corey Clement (groin) did not practice Tuesday. Still not full-go.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) September 15, 2015
#Badgers Clement "watched" practice Tuesday. Don't look for him this week.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) September 15, 2015
Those around practices and this team sure believe Clement is out for the Troy game, and there can’t be anyone more frustrated than Clement himself. He’s an ultra-competitive guy and was clearly looking forward to his time to shine without sharing the spotlight with a 2,000-yard rusher in front of him.
Instead, it’s been just eight carries for 16 yards and a 2.0 yards per carry average. Clearly, that was part of the equation of knowing something was up, but Clement will be needed going forward.
Without him, Wisconsin has leaned on reserved Dare Ogunbowale and Taiwan Deal. So far the duo has failed to impress, but is it them or is it an offensive line still trying to figure out who plays where and what it is capable of?
That is a question that needs answering in the next few weeks before the Badgers open Big Ten play with back-to-back games against Iowa and Nebraska. Without answering that set of questions, Wisconsin could face some serious trouble to start play in the West division.
Do we have enough information to tell us the answer already? Considering the disparity in competition between Alabama and Miami (OH) the numbers are so skewed. On the one hand, Wisconsin took on one of the best defensive front seven’s in the country in Alabama and then followed it up with one of the worst in the Redhawks of Miami (OH).
The stats bare that out as well, with Wisconsin putting up just 40 yards on 21 carries in the opener and followed it up by pounding the rock 45 times for 188 yards against Miami (OH).
Let’s just say neither of those numbers are impressive. Averaging just 4.5 yards per game against the Redhawks is wholly un-Badger like. Normally those types of games are statsheet-stuffers, but outside of a 35-yard run from Dare Ogunbowale, the junior running back had just 77 yards on 15 carries to average 5.1 yards per carry.
Redshirt freshman Taiwan Deal has shown spurts of potential, but has never put it together for big time plays. His longest run is just nine yards, coming against Miami (OH).
There’s just something missing from the run game for the Badgers still, and figuring it out without Corey Clement is a problem. Chemistry for a run game isn’t just about the big boys up front, it also includes knowing what the guys behind them are like and what they can expect from them.
As long as Clement remains out, there’s simply no way to know if the Badgers have a running back problem or an offensive line problem.
However, one hint comes from the fact that UW hasn’t settled on a starting five or a group that is capable of playing well together just yet. Walker Williams continues to be versatile, playing both right guard (started both games there) and right tackle. In his stead at right guard has been redshirt freshman Micah Kapoi, who got about 38 snaps on Saturday against Miami (OH).
Look for the Badgers to search for more answers this weekend, going up against a Troy defense that has given up an average of 257 yards per game on the ground. That’s an average that ranks 119th nationally, and includes a 251-yard rushing game by North Carolina State and the damning 263 yards given up to Charleston Southern.
Wisconsin needs to lick its chops and show it has a run game back against a defense that is this bad on Saturday. However, the biggest question is when will the public get to see Clement?
Don’t expect it to be until he’s fully ready.
“When a guy is ready to go,” head coach Paul Chryst said on Monday, “we’re going to play him. It has nothing to do with saving him for another moment.
“We’ll kind of see how he is going. He got some good work done on Saturday. I talked to him before the game…
“When he is ready to practice all-out then we’ll know and gauge him for the game. No one can just not practice and go play. As soon as any player is ready to go, we’re going to play him.”
So, it appears we may not have any answers to the questions in this run game for a few more weeks. One thing appears to be true so far though, this current combination of running backs and offensive line have a lot of work to do to live up to the lofty standards of the past quarter of a century or so.
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