Wisconsin Football: 2017 game-by-game predictions
By Shane Lunnen
Wisconsin returns home to the friendly combines of Camp Randall Stadium after their close win at Nebraska. They get a reprieve with Purdue coming to town.
The good news for Purdue is that the era of Darrell Hazell is over. Replacing Hazell is Jeff Brohm, who was very successful in three seasons at Western Kentucky with a 30-10 record and two Conference USA championships.
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Returning at quarterback is junior David Blough. He threw for over 3,350 yards last year and 25 touchdowns. He better have been working on his accuracy in the offseason though, since he also threw 21 interceptions last year. Brohm and his staff should be developing receivers to help out Blough. No one should expect Brohm’s offense to be like the high powered Hilltoppers right away, but it should be competent.
Six starters return on defense for the Boilermakers. The star on that side of the ball is linebacker Markus Bailey, who led the team in tackles last year with 97 stops as a true freshman. With veteran talents and the new look of the defense under the new staff, the Boilermaker defense could surprise some teams.
The Badgers won’t be one of those teams though. Purdue is still a year or more away from competing but Brohm should improve them in time. Wisconsin has too much talent to give the Boilermakers much of a chance in this game. The Badgers roll and at mid-season are still undefeated.