Your right in that they can be an explosive offense, my point isn't to downgrade them
You mean the offense with the second most 50+ yard plays in the country behind Baylor? Oh and leads the nation in yards per carry?
Again of course it's entirely possible that MN comes out and plays a great game, even possibly upsets UW. They're at home after all. I just don't think it's very likely
My point about not being impressed is, it is simply no secret what Wisconsin try's to do on offense up front (heck we even mimic it and try to use some of the same techniques), and to me that somewhat plays in to the strength of the Gopher defense. We disrupt gaps well. stay disciplined on the cut back side and run to the football well. Our linebackers can actually close well and do not have feet set in stone.
Wisconsin likes to pull the center Lewallen and there right guard Costigan a lot and try and create gap mismatches especially to the 3 and 4 gaps on counters stretch plays to the left side(they like to pull the center outside of the left tackle and seal very well). They then try to overwhelm your linebackers with the Fullback Derrick Watt or Pederson the tight end off motion and even catch you with some play action passes to those guys. Defend the cutback, and disrupt the pulling action of the right guard or the center and shut them off before they can get that motion going. Then they run the jet sweep to Aberderis the right side because Havenstein gets a good seal down block, and again you have Watt and Pederson free to clean up and take on linebackers and Safety's. Gophers have some good front defensive tackles in Botticelli and Roland Johnson and Rashede Hagemen and Hank Epke, we do not have the wet toilet paper defensive front that Indiana had. I think our defensive tackles can be disruptive and muck up this motion offense. The key is to not let the 50 + yard play happen, we have been better this year than most at containing the explosive play. We do not have to bring up 8 to 9 guys to the line and get burnt deep. Our defensive front is a good front and I like our chances to be competitive.
To me what we are good at, we can execute on offense, we are good at the stick routes and the drag routes to the tight ends in the middle of the field a weakness of the Wisconsin offense is you can isolate your tight ends on there linebackers and make plays in the middle of the field with quickness the likes of which Max Williams has. We are good at the middles screen to the running backs and disquise it well.
The pick plays that everyone use to use against us we are now good at executing and can run the jet sweep as well as they can.
We have two mobile quarterbacks that can be mismatches when they get a good zone read and keep the ball and can be good on the opposite boot action off play action. Nelson has improved a ton in the last four games and we have an advantage at the QB position in the creative plays we can execute. Any time your better than the opposition at Quarterback I like our chances. Wisconsin fans doubt we can hang, I don't blame them after the last how many years but this game on Saturday is going to be a slugfest and again I like the Gophers chances. If I'm wrong I'm wrong but I don't think I am.
