BLOOMINGTON — Wisconsin comes to Indiana's Memorial Stadium on Saturday and subtlety goes out the window. Finesse is for, well, wimps. The spread attack? Forget about it.
The Badgers (6-2) like to ramp up the power, which means look for lots of tailback John Clay. Given that he's 6-1 and 248 pounds, there's a lot to see.
Seeing, however, does not guarantee tackling. Clay leads the Big Ten (and ranks 20th nationally) in rushing with 839 yards. He's rushed for a conference-leading 10 touchdowns. He does this with power more than speed, size more than shiftiness.
“It's almost like me running the ball around,” said Indiana defensive end Jammie Kirlew, who is listed at 6-3 and 264. “It's going to be a challenge. You have to use good form when you tackle him. You won't shoelace tackle this guy. You have to wrap him up.”
Purdue players said the same thing before facing him last Saturday. The result? Clay rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries.
“Wisconsin can attack you in a lot of ways,” coach Bill Lynch said, “and the first thing you think about is their power running game. They're more power running than any team we play. They have a good, big running back who is difficult to tackle.
“They always take great pride in being physical and running the ball.”
IU (4-5) will brace for the run, but understand that Wisconsin can throw. Yes, quarterback Scott Tolzien ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten in passing. He's thrown for nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. Still, the Badgers like to use play-action to set up big-play passes.
The Hoosiers know all about big-play passes. They got burned for nearly 180 yards on three fourth-quarter passes by Iowa last Saturday.
That included allowing touchdowns of 92 yards and 66 yards.
The reason in part was an injury-depleted secondary forced to use banged up Donnell Jones (elbow) and inexperienced Adrian Burks at cornerback. Starting cornerback Ray Fisher is out this week after knee surgery. Safety defensive back Nick Polk might play Saturday.
Does this mean even run-heavy Wisconsin will test that secondary? Probably, although you won't hear that from Badger coach Bret Bielema. He knows the fact Wisconsin has outscored IU 181-64 in the last four meetings will be used as motivation.
“We've had a little bit of success on them the last couple of years, and I know they're going to be very hungry to play us.”
The Badgers have one of the Big Ten's most formidable defensive players in end O'Brien Schofield, a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award that goes annually to the nation's top college defensive player.
He is tied for the NCAA lead with 16.5 tackles for loss totaling negative-82 yards. He's second in the conference with 6.5 sacks. He ranks fourth on the team with 41 tackles. He has five quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup.
“He's playing at a high, high level,” Bielema said. “He's not by any means perfect, but he understands the process to get to where he is.”
Added Lynch: “A big piece of their success is due to their defense. They have good pass rushes and cover guys who tackle well. They're a solid program.”
