BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Sixth-ranked Wisconsin seeks its 15th conference title as the Badgers make their fourth appearance in the six-year history of the Big Ten Football Championship Game. UW faces No. 8-ranked Penn State Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Here are five things you should know about Wisconsin's matchup with Penn State:
GRAND ILLUSION
Wisconsin has faced five running backs that topped 1,000 yards rushing during the regular season. All were held under 50 by the Badgers, who have the third-ranked rush defense in the nation. Justin Jackson of Northwestern had 42 yards on 13 attempts on the way to 1,300. Derrius Guice of LSU had 3 yards on two carries on the way to 1,249. Rodney Smith of Minnesota had 45 yards on 13 attempts on the way to 1,084. Mike Weber of Ohio State had 46 yards on 11 carries on the way to 1,072. LeShun Daniels of Iowa had 35 yards on 10 attempts on the way to 1,013. The cumulative average per game: 34.2 yards. The cumulative average per carry: 3.49 yards. UW is preparing to face Saquon Barkley of Penn State, who finished the regular season with 1,084 yards, Saturday in Indianapolis.
DEFENSIVE POSTURE
The Badgers have allowed 15 offensive touchdowns this season, ranking second in the FBS to Alabama (12). They have limited opponents to a 26.6 percent success ratio on third down, ranking second to Michigan (20.9) and putting them on pace to break the program standard set in 2006 (28.6). They have held opponents to 0.89 points per possession, which ranks fourth in the FBS behind Michigan (0.78), Alabama (0.80) and Ohio State (0.86).
HARD YARDS
You could argue that the 1,000-yard rushing season turned in by Wisconsin senior tailback Corey Clement was the most difficult in program history. Playing behind a young offensive line, Clement has 1,140 yards on 271 carries, which translates to a 4.2 average per carry. Not only is that the lowest per-carry ratio among the 54 FBS backs in the 1,000-yard club this year, it's the lowest of the 30 1,000-yard campaigns turned in by UW backs since 1952.
SENIOR MOMENT
The current UW senior class is 40-12 (.769) over the last four seasons. One more victory would equal the Class of 2007, which is the winningest club in program history at 40-11 (.784). That '07 operation has multiple ties to the present-day outfit. Head coach Paul Chryst was the offensive coordinator and running backs coach John Settle had the same position under then-coach Bret Bielema. Director of player personnel Henry Mason was the associate head coach in charge of wide receivers and recruiting. Three players on that squad are now on Chryst's staff: kicker Taylor Melhalff is now the quality control assistant for special teams; defensive lineman Jamil Walker is now a strength and conditioning assistant; and tight end Mickey Turner is an assistant coach in charge of tight ends.
TOP 10 LIST
Paul Chryst is the first in UW football history to begin his head coaching career with back-to-back 10-win seasons. How big a deal is that? Well, Urban Meyer did it at Ohio State and Jim Harbaugh did it at Michigan. However, Nick Saban didn't do it at Alabama, nor did Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, Jimbo Fisher at Florida State or Gus Malzahn at Auburn.
