Wisconsin Football: 2017 game-by-game predictions
By Shane Lunnen
The 2017 Wisconsin football team is looking for a second consecutive trip to the Big Ten Championship Game
Wisconsin had a very solid 11-3 season in 2016. Their losses were to Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in last year’s Big Ten championship game. As a consolation, they ended up in the Cotton Bowl where they beat Western Michigan.
As it stands now in the pre-season, Wisconsin is the favorite to repeat as Big Ten West champions. The offense brings back Alex Hornibrook under center, where he won’t have to split time with Bart Houston. The Badgers are hoping that leads to a more steady performance for the sophomore in 2017. Hornibrook has a few different weapons around him, including wide receiver Jazz Peavy who was the team’s leading receiver a year ago. The offense line brings back a lot of experience.
The defense looks to be as stout as last year, even with the loss of senior linebacker Jack Cichy. All the starters along the defensive line are back along with their backups, which bodes well for the rush defense. The secondary is returning three seniors, which will help the Badgers build off their 22 interceptions from a year ago.
The schedule this year looks easier on paper than the 2016 schedule. Wisconsin avoids both Ohio State and Penn State and the toughest road trip looks to be at Nebraska in early October. It’s really the Badgers division to lose. Let’s take a closer look at their schedule.
Wisconsin opens up at home against Utah State. The Aggies are coming off a rocky season that saw them go 3-9. Before 2016, they had made five straight bowl appearances.
The biggest change for the Aggies on offense this year will be their offensive line. They lost four starters and will be relying on junior college transfers to fill in the gaps. Senior quarterback Kent Myers is decent and he has a host of veteran wide receivers coming back to help. The rushing game will need to replace three players, however last year’s leading rusher Tonny Lindsey is back for his senior year. The offense should not be as bad as it was a year ago.
Over on the defensive side of the ball, eight starters return. The weak link will be the defensive line, but the linebackers are all big guys who can hit, including senior Alex Huerta. The secondary could be excellent, led by senior Jalen Davis who is one of the better corners in the Mountain West conference.
With that said, it’s going to be extremely difficult for the Aggies to go into Madison the first week of the season and pull an upset. The Badgers will keep the ball on the ground a lot with heavy doses of Bradrick Shaw and Chris James. With those guys leading the rushing attack, it will allow Alex Hornibrook to just control the game and not over think, leading to success. This one should be over early and will give the Badgers a chance to get playing time for their depth guys.