What is Dispatches from Blogfrica? Pretty simple: I ask questions of a blogger for an opposing team; he (or she) answers. A truly revolutionary idea, no? Today: Drew from Bucky's 5th Quarter, SB Nation's fine blog for all things Wisconsin.
1) So... beating Purdue. That looks like fun. I'm definitely not jealous or anything. What worked so well for the Badgers in that game and how has Wisconsin turned their season around over the last few weeks?
DREW: Not to brag, but that WAS the fifteenth straight time Wisconsin has beaten Purdue in football. No big deal or anything, just thought you'd want to know. What worked well for Wisconsin against the Boilermakers was what always has to work well if a Wisconsin team is going to win: they ran the ball and they played superior defense. The Badgers offensive line has, for the past two seasons, been coasting on the reputation of the groups that came before. This year's unit started off the season unable to run block OR pass block. It really put the offense in quite a pickle.
However, over the past three games the run blocking has improved and, lo and behold, the offense has looked a lot better and some points have even been scored! The pass blocking is still a work in progress, as is the rest of the passing offense, but right now there are some vintage Wisconsin traits being displayed by this year's team. Also, the UW defense is just...really good. They're really good and a joy to watch.
2) The team that runs for more yards has won the last nine Iowa-Wisconsin games in the series. Is it really that simple -- whoever wins the running game on Saturday will win the game? Tell us about the Badger running backs who will be breaking our hearts on Saturday.
DREW: The Badgers have two running backs that you'll be hearing a lot about (because all of the rest of the running backs have been dismissed from the team or entered the transfer portal already) and they are Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen. Mellusi is a former 4-star recruit who transferred from Clemson this past offseason. He has been the starter since Week 1 and has proven himself to be quite adept at running the ball. He can catch the ball out of the backfield too, but that isn't really a big part of Wisconsin's offense.
The other tailback, Allen, is a 17-year old freshman from Fond du Lac who is built like a brick shithouse and has the nimble feet of a ballerina. Allen reclassified from 2022 to enroll with the 2021 class, and came to Madison as a safety or a linebacker. It's really hard to say, because he just kept getting bigger after he committed to UW. He eventually wound up on the offensive side of the ball and that appears to very much be the correct choice. He has gotten better every week and I'm excited to see what the rest of his career holds.
Otherwise, the Badgers have John Chenal at fullback who will always get the ball on third or fourth and short. Do NOT tell the Iowa coaches this. It is a secret that no one knows. Brady Schipper is the alleged third down back, but he makes me mad when he's on the field and he missed an assignment while blocking against Purdue that led to a sack and a fumble returned for a touchdown.
3) Army and Wisconsin combined for 21 passes in their game a few weeks ago. Can Iowa and Wisconsin go under that total?
DREW: I don't think so. I feel like whichever team is losing in the fourth quarter is going to have to sling it more than they'd like so we'll probably get closer to 26 or 27 passes in this game that will no doubt make all of us want to claw our eyes out.
4) Related: Iowa and Wisconsin are averaging about 11 punts per game, combined, this season. Will there be more total punts or total completed passes in this game?
DREW: Now this is an interesting question because while the teams might throw the ball more often than they'd like, I doubt too many of those throws will end up in completions, unless interceptions count. Because I'm a coward, I'm going to say there will be more completed passes than punts, but I hate myself for it.
5) Wisconsin's defense seems uncomfortably good. Tell us about the 2-3 guys on that side of the ball that are making that unit so unstoppable this year.
DREW: Inside linebacker Leo Chenal missed the first two games of the season due to COVID but has come back and is leading the team in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and forced fumbles. He is a sideline to sideline menace and will assuredly be in the Iowa backfield with regularity on Saturday. My favorite player, and probably the guy with the most NFL upside on the defense, is nose tackle Keeanu Benton. His battle with Tyler Linderbaum is going to be excellent and I can't wait to see who wins. Benton is large, but isn't just a space eater. He can get in the backfield and disrupt plays himself. Like Linderbaum, he was an excellent wrestler in high school so this should be a real championship bout between the two of them. The secondary as a unit has played well this year. They are still liable to give up a deep pass or two, but overall they've been stingy and caused problems for opposing quarterbacks. Cornerback Faion Hicks is probably the most talented of the group and leads the team with six pass breakups.
6) If you could only have ONE Dot's product for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
DREW: The Dot's Cheese Curls are the best snack in the game right now and I just bought some on Thursday and I've almost housed the whole bag.
7) OK, prediction time -- who ya got?
DREW: I've been a rider on the "Iowa Is A Fraudulent Team Train" this year and I think there is some merit to that. The Iowa offense is stinky and if the defense isn't forcing multiple turnovers they might lose to a team like, oh say, Purdue. However, the Wisconsin offense is ALSO stinky and their return and coverage units are a disaster. Like, the Badgers might be better served not having a punt returner back there and just taking the ball where it ends up because otherwise they might fumble it.
The Wisconsin defense is the best unit in this game and I think that will be enough to get the Badgers across the finish line in another game that will leave absolutely no one happy. If I had to guess a score it would probably be 17-13 or 20-17, Wisconsin wins.
Thanks for being a good sport, Drew, but I still hope your team gets mollywhopped on Saturday. You can check out Drew and the rest of the B5Q crew at Bucky's 5th Quarter. You can also follow B5Q on Twitter at @B5Q. The Iowa-Wisconsin game is in Madison, WI on Saturday, October 30, and is scheduled to start at approximately 11:00 am CT, with TV coverage from ESPN.
