Wisconsin Football: 3 bold predictions vs Maryland

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3. Troy Fumagalli doesn’t record a catch for the second consecutive game

So far this season senior Troy Fumagalli has been one of Alex Hornibrook’s favorite targets. But in Wisconsin’s power running offense, that really isn’t saying much. Over the first six games of the season, the Badgers’ senior tight end ranks second on the team in total receiving yards with 267 yards and has reached the end zone three times. And he’s accomplished this feat on only 18 catches,

With Wisconsin typically running the ball almost twice as often as they throw the ball, it has become incredibly common to see Hornibrook end a game with single-digit passing attempts, regardless of the score.

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But it’s extremely unlikely that this trend will rollover into Week 8, when the Badgers will be facing off against Maryland’s 107th ranked passing defense.

Wisconsin’s sophomore quarterback may have one of the best games of his college career in Madison, Wisconsin in the forthcoming week, but Fumagalli may not be the primary recipient of this offensive explosion.

Maryland has allowed an atrocious 1,588 yards through the air so far this season on 136 completions. Only 268 of those yards, and 22 of those catches, have been hauled in by tight ends, good for less than 15 percent of their opposing offenses total aerial assault.

This may be because Maryland has a veteran linebacking core, led by redshirt senior Jermaine Carter Jr. or more realistically, because Maryland’s defensive secondary has been awful.

With a limited number of passing attempts to go around, and Maryland’s woefully under-powered secondary on the opposite side of the field, Wisconsin’s Week 8 game against Maryland could be a huge afternoon for sophomores Quintez Cephus and Alex Hornibrook, much to the detriment of Troy Fumagalli’s production.

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