Game To Watch: #12 Indiana at #16 Wisconsin: December 5, 2020
Indiana will visit Wisconsin in a Big Ten matchup this Saturday at 3:30. Indiana is 5 – 1 after a bounce back win against Maryland, but will be without their quarterback the rest of the season. The Badgers are 2 – 1, in a season that been severely shortened due to Covid and will look to bounce back from a loss against Northwestern. With all of the cancellations the Big Ten postseason is up in the air right now, but both teams are near the top of their respective division.
Recent History
Wisconsin has won the last ten games between the two teams. All five since 2010 have been by at least 28 points and as many as 63 points. Indiana’s last win against Wisconsin came in 2002, when the Hoosiers pulled out a three point win. The recent history heavily favors Wisconsin, but the Hoosiers have been bucking trends this year and will look to continue that this weekend.
Top 25 Players
What To Watch For…
How will Jack Tuttle play for Indiana?
The Hoosiers have had an excellent season so far, but lost Michael Penix to a knee injury during last week’s game. Penix was not only the starting quarterback, but a true leader for his team. Jack Tuttle replaced Penix last week and completed all five of his pass attempts for 31 yards. Tuttle was a talented prospect coming out of high school, the four star recruit originally committed to Utah before transferring to Indiana. Tuttle is not short on talent, but he does not have a lot of experience. He has attempted just 16 passes in his college career and will play an excellent Wisconsin defense in his first start. Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing just 11.7 points per game and also has the best pass defense in the conference at 166 yards per game. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard creates pressure and confusion with an array of different looks and blitzes. Tuttle will have a tough test in his first start and how well he plays will be the key for the Indiana offense on Saturday.
Will Indiana be able to stop the Wisconsin running game?
Indiana’s defense has played well this season. They have done an excellent job of slowing down opponents and forcing turnovers. In the loss to Ohio State the biggest issue Indiana had was stopping the running game, the Buckeyes piled up 307 yards at over 6 yards per carry. Wisconsin runs the football as well as anyone in the conference, though they are transitioning to a new stable of running backs this year. The Badgers rank third in the conference in rushing offense at almost 220 yards per game. It looks like the next star running back at Wisconsin is emerging as Jalen Berger has run for 180 yards in two games while averaging six yards per carry. Wisconsin will commit to the run game and attempt to set up their passing attack off play action, if the running game gets rolling the Wisconsin offense will be tough to stop.
Does Graham Mertz bounce back?
Graham Mertz had an excellent start to his season, completing 20 of 21 passes in the season opener. He tested positive for Covid after the game and missed a couple weeks due to the Big Ten’s return to play protocols. He was solid against Michigan but not nearly as sharp as he was in the season opener and then had a rough outing against Northwestern in the Badgers loss. Wisconsin had an unexpected off week last weekend due to Minnesota cancelling their game, so Mertz has had a couple of weeks to correct the issues that plagued him against Northwestern. Indiana’s defense is particularly tough on quarterbacks. The Hoosiers create pressure and force interceptions as well as anyone in the country. Indiana has intercepted at least two passes in every game this season and leads the country with 16 interceptions (2.67 per game). Mertz cannot make the mistakes he did against Northwestern, but Indiana is a tough team to play a clean game against.
Prediction
Neither time will have a lot of success moving the ball on offense. Wisconsin’s running game will make some plays and put the Badgers in position to score, as long as Mertz doesn’t turn it over too much. Indiana will miss Penix and Wisconsin is a tough opponent to make your first start against. Tuttle still has Ty Fryfogle and company to throw to and they will make a few big plays for him, but in the end it won’t be enough to beat the Badgers. Wisconsin 24 Indiana 20.
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