Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1411895
36 SEPT. 25, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: WISCONSIN the first two weeks. What happens on the ground is going to be as important — if not more so — than what the quar- terbacks do between the white lines at Soldier Field. Clemson transfer Chez Mellusi will likely play a major role in that. The ju- nior running back has already totaled a career high in carries (51), and he has made the most of them in rushing for 265 yards and two touchdowns. He had 144 of Wisconsin's 352 rushing yards against Eastern Michigan Sept. 11. Mellusi is a home-run threat. He has already broken a 60-yard run this season. Even in limited reps at Clemson, Mellusi had a 57-yard scamper as a freshman and a 38-yard rush as a sophomore. That's bad news for a Notre Dame defense that allowed runs of 89 yards against Florida State and 67 yards against Toledo. In true Wisconsin form, the Badgers have two other tailbacks in junior Isaac Guerendo and redshirt freshman Jalen Berger who could hurt the Irish on any given carry. Guerendo is averaging 8.7 yards per carry. Berger had 15 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown against Eastern Michigan. "They give you something a little bit different, and yet I don't feel like you have to change what you're doing," Chryst said. "[It's not like], 'OK, who's in the game? Can't call this or should call that.'" STOUT DEFENSE UP FRONT How good was Wisconsin's defense against Eastern Michigan? Extremely. The Badgers held the Eagles to three first downs all day. The Eagles were 2 of 11 on third down and managed only 92 total yards, with just 16 of them came on the ground. Wisconsin controlled the game in every way — the Badgers had the ball for 40:04 — and it all started with the defense, from the defensive line to the linebackers to the secondary. All of it. "I thought guys were attacking, and obviously it takes the front seven, but the safeties are so involved with that," Chryst said. "I thought they were really 2021 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 5 at Florida State W, 41-38 (OT) Sept. 11 Toledo W, 32-29 Sept. 18 Purdue W, 27-13 Sept. 25 vs. Wisconsin* (FOX) 12 p.m. Oct. 2 Cincinnati (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at Virginia Tech TBA Oct. 23 USC (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 North Carolina (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 Navy (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at Virginia TBA Nov. 20 Georgia Tech (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 27 at Stanford TBA * at Soldier Field in Chicago 2021 WISCONSIN SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 4 Penn State L, 16-10 Sept. 11 Eastern Michigan W, 34-7 Sept. 25 vs. Notre Dame (FOX) 12 p.m. Oct. 2 Michigan TBA Oct. 9 at Illinois 2:30/3 p.m. Oct. 16 Army TBA Oct. 23 at Purdue 12 p.m. Oct. 30 Iowa TBA Nov. 6 at Rutgers TBA Nov. 13 Northwestern TBA Nov. 20 Nebraska TBA Nov. 27 at Minnesota TBA * at Soldier Field in Chicago Senior defensive end Matt Henningsen, a former walk-on, is part of a stout Wisconsin front seven that allowed just 33.0 rushing yards per game (third best in the FBS) in their first two outings of 2021. PHOTO COURTESY WISCONSIN ATHLETICS