By Jordan Hansen
Writing about the Wisconsin rushing offense is fairly hard to do without using all the clichés surrounding it.
At this point, running the ball is embedded into the history of the program to the same extent dairy farming is to the state’s cultural identity. It always bears mentioning, because running the ball is just what the Badgers do.
The basic philosophy on offense has transcended head coaches and offensive coordinators, running backs of all shapes and sizes and as well as many different offensive linemen.
And, somehow, the Iowa football team has to figure out how to slow down the freight train.
“They like to put a lot of guys in the backfield, fullbacks, tight ends, and try to block you with those guys,” Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell said. “We have got to know our gaps and play disciplined football.”
Sounds simple, right? Stay home, let the defensive linemen eat up blockers and the linebackers go in and make plays. Simple, basic, football.
The reality, however, is anything but. It’s one thing to simply use a whole bunch of blockers in the backfield, but something quite different once they start moving around.
Wisconsin employs a number of shifts, not unlike what the Hawkeyes saw with Rutgers earlier this season. But even then, that comparison is only on the amount of movement, not the type of plays they run.
The entire purpose of these shifts is to cause opposing defenses to have to react mere moments before the ball is snapped. There are a lot of things going on, and the defense has to be ready for all of them.
“They do a lot of stuff to get your eyes wrong, get your keys wrong, create confusion,” defensive end Parker Hesse said. “It’s going to be a challenge for all of us to communicate and on the same page.”
This should be at least a little troubling to Iowa, which has struggled with communication on defense at various points this season. Not to the point where it looks like a bunch of players without any clue of what they’re doing but enough to cause someone to be half a step late.
Against Wisconsin, teams usually can’t afford to be even a moment late. Playing defense, at its base, is a completely reactionary activity. Hampering pre-snap communication with strange movements and packages only makes it more difficult to get in the right position.
Add in the Badgers usually owning one of the better offensive lines in football, and there’s even more for the Hawkeyes defensive front to worry about. Defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson noted that he had spent time watching Pittsburgh’s offensive line.
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst coached the Panthers from 2012-14, which gives a bit of an idea how far the Hawkeyes are going back to look for anything they might be able to use to their advantage.
But when it comes to this particular rivalry, most things go out the window. The winner of this game is usually the team that’s able to impose its will first, a challenge in and of itself.
“If you’re not on your ‘A game,’ it’s going to be a long day for you,” Johnson said. “If you’re not mentally prepared to play this game, then you really shouldn’t be in the game.”
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