BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin football team has long had a reputation for stopping the run, but its current path is shaping up to be unique as well as elite.
The Badgers have opened the season by limiting their first three opponents to a total of 69 rushing yards on 68 attempts. Penn State managed 50 yards, Eastern Michigan 16 and Notre Dame 3. That works out to a measly 1.01 per carry and 23 yards per game. Not surprisingly, UW leads the nation in all those categories and ranks second in total defense behind Georgia.
We've seen this act before. Going back to 2009, the Wisconsin defense has finished in the top five against the run seven times. This would be No. 8.
But the next challenge for the Badgers (1-2 overall) figures to be their stiffest of the season given that Notre Dame ranks 122nd, Penn State 111th and Eastern Michigan 63rd in rushing offense among the 130 Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
No. 14 Michigan (4-0) comes to Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday with the fifth-best rushing attack in the nation at 290.8 yards per outing and 6.3 yards per attempt.
You have to go back to 1998 to find a streak of run-game dominance as one-sided as this one for UW. In Big Ten Conference meetings with Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota, the Badgers surrendered 86 yards on 79 attempts, which works out to 1.09 per rush and 29 yards a game.
Holding an opponent under 100 yards rushing is a reliable benchmark for success for UW. Since 2000, the Badgers are 98-18 when holding an opponent's run game to double-digits or less, including a 37-6 mark during the Paul Chryst coaching era, which began in 2015.
Wisconsin Badgers defensive lineman Matt Henningsen (92) during a game against the Michigan Wolverines on Sept. 21, 2019, in Madison, Wis. The Badgers won 35-14.
Here are five more things to know:
Count to Three
Chryst is trying to become the second coach in program history to win three straight games vs. Michigan. That's impressive given the Badgers have won but 17 of the 69 series meetings going back to 1892, once lost 14 straight from 1965 to '80 and had an 11-game winless streak from 1902 to '27 (0-10-1). The only UW coach to do it thus far? Milt Bruhn in 1959, '60 and '62.
Getting His Kicks
At his current rate, senior Andy Vujnovich will obliterate the Wisconsin single-season record for punting average. He's sitting at 49.3 yards per attempt, which puts him sixth nationally. Ken DeBauche averaged 44.8 in 2005.
At a Loss for Yards
After recording 12 tackles for loss vs. Notre Dame, the Badgers are averaging 8.3 TFLs per outing this season. That's the second-best rate in program history behind that 1998 Big Ten title-winning team that averaged 8.4. At this rate, the current unit will join the '98 defense as the only ones with 100-plus TFLs in a season.
On This Date
If you believe in omens, here are two: Going back to its inaugural season in 1889, Wisconsin is 8-0 in home games played on Oct. 2 (1897, '15, '20, '26, '37, '48, '65, 2004). Meanwhile, on Barry Alvarez Day, it's worth noting that the Badgers were 2-0 on Oct. 2 during his 16 seasons as coach. UW won 42-17 at Ohio State in 1999 and topped Illinois 24-7 at home in 2004.
On the Record
Speaking of Alvarez, his grandson, senior tight end Jake Ferguson, needs one catch against the Wolverines to tie wide receiver Lee Evans for the longest reception streak in program history. Ferguson has caught at least one pass in all 37 games he's played for UW. Evans, who starred for Wisconsin from 1999 to 2003, had a streak of 38 straight outings with at least one catch.
