Ohio State Football Schedule Prep: Wisconsin Badgers

The Ohio State football team takes on the Wisconsin Badgers on October 28th in Camp Randall. Here is what you need to know about the Badgers.

The latest installment of our schedule prep series takes us to a late October showdown with former Ohio State football coach, Luke Fickell and his Wisconsin Badgers. Taking over for Paul Cryst, Fickell has brought his famed passion and energy to Madison, and we should see a brand-new version of Wisconsin football in 2023.

Gone are the days of ground and pound as Fickell brought in former North Carolina coach, Phil Longo, to run the offense. Longo has called plays for the Tar Heels the past four seasons as his offenses have consistently ranked inside the top 10 in points per game and passing yards.

And that should continue for Longo in 2023 as they brought in former SMU quarterback, Tanner Mordecai, to engineer the offense. Mordecai had a great season in 2022 throwing for 3,524 yards and 33 touchdowns. He was absolutely in to throw the ball vertically down the field, something that we haven’t seen a Badger quarterback do in a very long time.

The Badger offense will also bring back one of the best tailbacks in the country in Braelon Allen. In two seasons in Madison, Allen has rushed for over 2,500 yards and has 21 rushing touchdowns to his credit as well. He should benefit the most from having Longo come in to change the offense as he shouldn’t see as many stacked boxes he’s had to deal with in the past. A more spread-out offense should result in more rushing lanes for Allen to exploit.

On the outside, the Badgers have a few un-proven but talented players. Top amongst them will be Skyler Bell, who as a second-year player recorded 30 receptions for 444 yards and five touchdowns. Those in Madison expect Bell to make a big leap in 2023 and turn into a true No. 1 option for Mordecai.

Defensively, the Badgers should be better than they were a season ago in which they gave up 52 points and 539 yards of total offense to Ohio State in Columbus. Fickell will install his new defense under first-year coordinator Mike Tressel, who served in the same role at the University of Cincinnati last season with Fickell.

But they did lose their top two defenders from a season ago to the NFL in linebacker Nick Herbig and defensive tackle Keeanu Benton. They were the Badgers’ top-two leaders in sacks last year so they will somehow have to replace that production.

Linebacker Maema Njongmeta might be best positioned to do so as he finished last year with 3.5 sacks but also recorded 95 total tackles. The Junior from Buffalo Grove, Illinois will be looked upon to be the leader of the Badger defense next season.

The leader of the Badger secondary will no doubt be John Torchio, who led the team with five interceptions in 2022. The Senior safety also had 54 tackles and a sack. He is the most experienced player on the Wisconsin defense, and he had a pick in the Ohio State game a year ago.

Overall, this will be a tough test for the Ohio State football team. They have to play at Camp Randall, a place that has been tough for the Buckeyes in the past. And I would also assume this might be a night game unless Fox makes it a Big Noon Kickoff. And after Ryan Day beat the breaks off of Fickell’s UC team in 2019, I’m sure revenge will be on his mind come October 28th. I believe that this will be one of Ohio State’s toughest games of 2023.