Wisconsin Badgers @ UNLV Rebels Football Preview

When the 2009 season came to a close, the Wisconsin Badgers were seen humiliating the Miami Hurricanes in the Champs Sports Bowl. The game was close on the scoreboard (20-14), but the Badgers had pounded the Canes into submission. UW outrushed Miami, 170 yards to 61, and limited the Canes to just 2-of-11 on third-down conversions. Wisconsin took a 20-7 lead into the final two minutes of regulation, but many observers - whether on site in Orlando or watching on national television - felt the margin of the Badgers' lead should have been 27 or 30 points, not just 13. Miami scored with 1:22 left to make the proceedings interesting, but the Badgers held on to win.

It is with that conquest in mind that Wisconsin returns to the gridiron in 2010. This is a team with a loaded veteran offense that should give Coach Bret Bielema a legitimate shot at winning the Big Ten. Ohio State will be the rightful favorite in the conference, but the folks from Madison will get their chances to take down the Buckeyes and - in the process - take over the Big Ten.

Wisconsin returns most of its top players from a 2009 team that won ten games, and is absolutely stacked on offense, where 10 starters return.  The entire line is back, along with running back John Clay, the 2009 Big Ten offensive MVP.  Quarterback Scott Tolzien also returns.  Last season, the Badgers were one of six teams in the nation to average 200 yards passing and rushing every game.

Wisconsin’s defense should be strong despite the loss of pass rusher O’Brien Schofield and linebacker Jaevery McFadden.  Linebacker Chris Borland, last season’s Big Ten freshman of the year, will be a star this year.  The secondary is deep and talented.  Senior Blake Sorensen likely will start at outside linebacker, as Mike Taylor continues to rehab after undergoing a second procedure on his knee in camp. Culmer St. Jean - alongside Borland - is listed as the other starting linebacker.The line is a question mark, and might be the weakness of the team.

The Wisconsin special teams will be strength, as it annually is. The Badgers welcome back strong-legged kicker Phillip Welch, punter Brad Nortman, and electrifying kick returner David Gilreath. All three of these men have delivered the goods for the Badgers in seasons past, and there's no reason to think they won't stop stealing three extra points, flipping fields, or providing some big-play thunder after an opponent's punt.

The Badgers intend to make UNLV punt as much as possible. The Rebels, though, are of a mind to keep the ball, now that they have a new coach and an accordingly new offensive system.

UNLV will make its debut this Saturday night under new coach Bobby Hauck, the same man who lit into a University of Montana student newspaper reporter last year.  The Rebels will run a pro-style offense, moving away from the spread they ran under Mike Sanford.

Junior lefty Mike Clausen is the quarterback for the Rebels.  It will be his fourth career start.  He beat last season’s starter, Omar Clayton, for the starting job.  UNLV will rotate several running backs, and Clausen’s favorite target will be junior receiver Phillip Payne.  The UNLV offensive line will be one of the more impressive features of a team who wants to move upward in the Mountain West Conference pecking order. UNLV seems to come on strong at the beginning of seasons, but then quickly wilt if things don't go its way in crucial early-season clashes like this one. Wisconsin wants to squelch the Rebels' momentum before it can ever have a chance to truly breathe.

The Rebels defense was weak in 2009.  The pass rush is poor, but depth and size at the defensive tackle spots might help UNLV avoid getting run over. UNLV faced Wisconsin at home in 2007, and nearly pulled off an upset against the fifth-ranked Badgers, falling 20-13.

Wisconsin simply wishes that when this night in Vegas is over, the boys from the Midwest will not have lost their shirts in what one could call a college football version of high-stakes poker.

What happens in Vegas will hopefully not stay in Vegas. A bunch of Badgers want to bring a victory home with them to Madison.