Baggot: Five things to know vs. Illinois
October 28, 2017 | Football, Andy Baggot
Insight and quick hits on the Badgers and Illini
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — A subtle, but significant statistic from the Paul Chryst coaching era relates to how well the Wisconsin football team has performed away from Camp Randall Stadium.
Fifth-ranked UW is 10-1 (.909) in true road games entering a run of back-to-back Big Ten Conference trips to Illinois on Saturday and Indiana on Nov. 4.
The Badgers (7-0 overall, 4-0 in the Big Ten) are 2-0 on the road this season — a non-league encounter at BYU and a Big Ten assignment at Nebraska — and have won a school-record 10 consecutive regular-season conference games dating back to 2016.
For perspective on those true road wins, Hall of Fame coach and UW director of athletics Barry Alvarez was 41-25-1 (.619) from 1993, his first of three Big Ten titles, to his retirement in 2005; Bret Bielema was 18-15 (.545) from 2006 to '12; and Gary Andersen was 6-3 (.667) in 2013 and '14.
Here are five things to know as Wisconsin looks to extend its winning streak against the Illini to eight straight:
UNUSUAL DIET
The Badgers are averaging 256.9 yards rushing and 205.9 yards passing through seven games, which is eye-catching for a couple of reasons. One is that only one club in the modern era of the program (since 1946) has finished a season averaging 250-plus yards on the ground and 200-plus yards through the air. That was the breakthrough squad of 1993, which won a Big Ten championship and the first Rose Bowl in school history thanks to a split of 250.8 run and 204.4 pass. Also noteworthy is the fact Wisconsin is one of just four Football Bowl Subdivision teams currently in that 250-200 club. The others are Alabama (298.8/201), Florida Atlantic (285.6/200) and Ohio State (250.6/326.7).
Getting pumped for Saturday? VarsityMag has plenty more on the Badgers, including a column from Barry Alvarez ???? http://go.wisc.edu/varsity-8-9
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 26, 2017
ONE AND THE SAME
Yes, that's the same Florida Atlantic outfit that came to Camp Randall Stadium in Week 2 and stayed in Madison for several days while Hurricane Irma did a number on its home in Boca Raton, Florida. Not only did UW carve out a 31-14 victory, its defense limited the Owls to 106 yards rushing, 142 passing and a season-low 248 yards of total offense. In the five games since that meeting, Florida Atlantic is 4-1 and averaging 565.8 yards of total offense.
It's great to have Chikwe Obasih back on the field Coach Chryst talks about his availability for Saturday
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 26, 2017
KEEPING ALEX CLEAN
By moving towards a more balanced offense, Chryst and Joe Rudolph, the offensive coordinator and line coach, are seeing a favorable trend develop for sophomore quarterback Alex Hornibrook. UW is allowing 1.14 sacks per game, which is tied for 14th nationally. That ratio was 1.85 in 2015 (53rd) and 1.71 last season (tied for 41st). It helps that average pass attempts per game for the Badgers have gone from 32 in 2015 to 23 in '16 to 21 after seven games.
Two Badgers One Haunted House @Nickcityy and @TindalIsland getting spooked is must-watch. ??????
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 22, 2017
COUNTING TO 10
This marks the 16th consecutive week the Badgers have leased a spot in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The streak dates back to Oct. 30, 2016 and represents the longest run of its kind in program history. The previous standard was 15 weeks that ran from Oct. 8, 1962 to Oct. 28, 1963.
TAKE WHAT'S GIVEN
Between 2000 and 2014, Wisconsin was 45-40 (.529) in games in which it had multiple turnovers. In two-plus seasons under Chryst, the Badgers are 11-3 (.786). That includes a 9-1 mark the last two years and a 5-0 record this season.
