Wisconsin Badgers @ Northwestern Wildcats Preview

The Wisconsin Badgers, after finishing their home season, take their last two games to the road starting off playing at Northwestern and then playing at Hawaii. First off are the Wildcats who are fifth in the Big Ten this year with a 7-4 record and 4-3 record inside the Big Ten. Northwestern has had a very good season to what their fans are accustomed to this year as they are 3 games above 500, bowl eligible and had a huge upset win over the Iowa Hawkeyes two weeks ago 17-10. This game against Wisconsin will be the last game on Northwestern’s 2009 schedule and they will wait for the call to be in their bowl game.

The Wildcats are lead by quarterback Mike Kafka who has passed for 2,572 yards and 10 touchdowns on the year. He is also second on the team in rushing with 248 total yards on the ground to go along with 7 rushing touchdowns. Kafka’s main target thus far on the year is wide receiver Zeke Markshausen who has 76 receptions on the year for 737 yards receiving and 3 receiving touchdowns. Markshausen is thirty receptions ahead of the second place receiver for most receptions on the team so the Badgers should have their hands full trying to contain him. The main threat in the backfield is tailback Arby Fields, who has a mediocre 266 yards on the ground and 5 rushing touchdowns.

Northwestern is a very pass heavy team as their average yards per game are almost a 2 to 1 ratio passing yards to rushing yards. Therefore the Badgers secondary will be a key factor in this game, to try and keep Kafka out of rhythm and keep the ball in the hands of the offense. Northwestern is also a team that has no problem finding the end zone as they have never scored under two touchdowns in a game so far this year and they will surely be looking for a great finish to their good season in front of their home crowd.

The Badgers look to carry momentum from their current winning streak into Northwestern so they can possibly come out of this season with 10 wins and very good record. The Badgers are ranked 16 th in the nation as of now and will only move up if they are able to win out the rest of their games. This will also give the Badgers a very respectable bowl game in the winter. The keys for the Badgers in this game, like any other game are establishing a very powerful run game and controlling the time of possession clock. But a new thing to add to the Badgers keys are a newly rejuvenated passing attack lead by quarterback Scott Tolzien and anchored by emerging wide out Nick Toon and the double tight end combination of Garrett Graham and Lance Kendricks. The main focal point of the Badgers attack, however, is to get the Big Ten leading rusher John Clay and outstanding, change of pace tailback Montee Ball going to create very manageable second and third down situations.

The Badgers will be playing at 3:30 Eastern Time and will surely be in front of a sellout crowd to close out the Wildcats 2009 campaign.

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