Wisconsin vs FAU: Preview, predictions, live stream and more
Lane Kiffin will continue his inaugural year with the Florida Atlantic Owls and visit Madison to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in Week 2.
During his short time with Florida Atlantic, newly acquired head coach Lane Kiffin has made quite the noise, bringing in sound recruits and putting the Owls in the national spotlight for the time being.
Kiffin and his Owls spent their time in the spotlight in week one due to their beatdown they received at the hands of Navy, ending what seemed to be a never-ending game on the wrong side of a 42-19 shellacking.
While there are expected to be growing pains for Kiffin and his young team, the task does not get any easier as the Owls will head to Madison in week two to take on the highly-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers overcame a sluggish start in their home opener and used 59 unanswered points to take down the Utah State Aggies 59-10.
This will be the first ever meeting between FAU and Wisconsin. Here’s how to watch Saturday’s Wisconsin vs FAU game online:
Related Story: College Football: What we learned from Week 1
Date: Saturday, Sept. 9
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Madison, WI.
Venue: Camp Randall Stadium
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: BTN2Go
Keys to Victory
As expected, the Badgers’ defense was the main catalyst for the team during their week one demolition of Utah State and was the reason they did not get out to a larger deficit to begin the game. The spread look from Utah State gave the Badgers problems with just one possession, resulting in a field goal, while the Aggies’ only other score came because of a Wisconsin fumble in their own territory that led to a touchdown.
Wisconsin should have no problem scoring against the FAU defense, but coming out sharp is critical for the Badgers. Early mistakes and dropped passes could allow the Owls to hang around again. The Badgers need to come out firing on all cylinders from the get-go.
For Florida Atlantic, controlling the time of possession is priority number one. In their loss to Navy, the Owls were doubled up on in the time of possession category, putting their defense out on the field for nearly 40 minutes. If Florida Atlantic cannot get their defense off the field early and often, it will be a long day for Kiffin and his team.
Next: Grades for each top 10 team after Week 1
Prediction
The Badgers will end up shaking off the early-season jitters they experienced in game number one and will come out of the gate with either a first-possesion touchdown or forced turnover. Freshman Jonathan Taylor had a great opening game at running back and could see himself getting a good chunk of the carries with Bradrick Shaw banged up and Chris James struggling last week.
Taylor has a big day, rushing for over 100 yards and two scores and Hornibrook continues his efficient play under center, throwing for two touchdowns himself and more importantly keeping the turnovers to a minimum.
Final score: Wisconsin 56, Florida Atlantic 13