Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 25, 2021 37 GAME PREVIEW: WISCONSIN good and impacted in the passing game, too. Keeanu [Benton] had the knockdown, Matt [Henningsen] had a knockdown, [Henningsen] got the sack. I just like the way that group is playing right now." It's no coincidence Chryst mentioned Henningsen twice. T h e se n i o r d e fe n s ive e n d f ro m Menomonee Falls, Wis., is a former walk-on. He provides a menacing frame on the edge of the Badgers' defensive line at 6-3, 291 pounds, but he also pro- vides a story that his teammates respect and the type of grit that has made Wis- consin one of the best programs in the trenches in recent seasons. Henningsen was the first freshman walk-on to start a season opener for Wisconsin since at least 1990 when he did so in 2018. Notre Dame has struggled mightily along the offensive line early in the year, too. Henningsen and Benton, a 6-4, 317-pound junior nose tackle, are not welcoming sights for an Irish line that was not able to stand upright against Florida State and Toledo. Wisconsin's best defensive player doesn't even play on the line, either. Senior linebacker Jack Sanborn already has a team-leading 3.0 tackles for loss. The Butkus Award watch list member has been a staple in opposing backfields the last three seasons. He broke onto the scene with 9.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and 80 total tackles as a sophomore in 2019. He also had three interceptions and three passes defended that season. Sanborn was one of three players Chryst took with him to Big Ten Me- dia Days in July. The others were cor- nerback Faion Hicks and tight end Jake Ferguson. Two defensive standouts and a tight end. How Wisconsin is that? Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has certainly come to expect a challenge going against Wisconsin's defense. Notre Dame has not played the Badgers since they've risen to prominence with a sound style of play under Chryst. But Kelly and company have certainly been aware of what the Badgers have been able to do during their string of success. Heck, Coan can tell them all about it firsthand. Because as much as there is to everything else about this matchup, at the end of the day it's still the Jack Coan game. So, game on. ✦ Three Things To Know About Wisconsin 1. Ground-Centric Offense Wisconsin football and a consistent running game are almost always synonymous. This season's rushing attack looks like it might fall short of dominant, but through two games it appears to be the core of the Badgers' offensive identity once again. And like some of their vintage offenses, it has multiple dependable running backs. The No. 1 option, though, came as some- what of a surprise. Jalen Berger, a former top-100 recruit, took over lead back duties as a freshman last sea- son and rushed for 301 yards (5.0 yards per carry) in four 2020 games. But in Wisconsin's Week 1 loss to Penn State, he stood on the sidelines the entire time — in uniform but not part of the plans. Instead, Clemson transfer Chez Mellusi earned the bulk of the work. Redshirt junior Isaac Guerendo was his No. 2. In two games, Mellusi has totaled 265 yards on 51 attempts (5.3 yards per rush) and two touchdowns. He spent two seasons at Clem- son as All-American Travis Etienne's backup, rushing for 427 yards on 6.0 yards per rush. Berger played in Wisconsin's Week 2 win over Eastern Michigan, rushing 15 times for 62 yards and a touchdown. Between Berger, Mel- lusi and Guerendo (17 carries for 148 yards), Wisconsin has a reliable three-back rotation. 2. Stout Defense Wisconsin finished in the top 20 in scoring defense every season but one from 2011-20, allowing fewer than 20 points per game eight times in that span. Two games into 2021, the Badgers have allowed just 23 points (11.5 per game) and 4.37 yards per play. Expectations are high for a unit that re- turned 82 percent of its production and held opponents to 5.01 yards per play in seven games last year (18th nationally). Oddly enough, Wisconsin has kept oppo- nents off the scoreboard without creating much havoc. It's a small sample, but the Badgers are 59th in tackles for loss, 68th in sacks and 103rd in passes defended. They have not forced a fumble. Wisconsin has, though, allowed just five opponent third-down conversions on 24 attempts (20.8 percent). Only six Football Bowl Subdivision teams have a lower opponent-conversion rate so far. Senior linebacker Jack Sanborn, the team's top tackler each of the last two seasons, is the defense's leader and one of four 2020 starting linebackers who returned this season. The lone 2020 All-Big Ten defender is cornerback Caesar Williams, a third-team selection in his sixth season of college football. 3. Graham Mertz's Bumpy Road Jack Coan's foot injury last preseason gave Wisconsin a chance to start Graham Mertz, the highest-ranked quarterback signee in program history. His starting debut delivered on that status, with Mertz completing 20 of 21 passes for 248 yards with five touchdowns in a 45-7 defeat of Illinois. It felt like a star's arrival. But his performance since then has been pedestrian, at best. In the eight games since that splashy outing, he has connected on 134 of 226 throws for 1,316 yards (5.82 yards per attempt) with seven interceptions and four touchdowns. This season, he has completed 36 of 54 passes for 326 yards with zero touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Wisconsin went 4-3 last season, mainly because of an unreliable, non-explosive offense. It mustered just 10 points in this year's opener against Penn State because its passing game couldn't get off the ground. Mertz threw two interceptions and averaged 5.0 yards per pass in that game. He has, so far, been a downgrade from Coan. — Patrick Engel Junior running back Chez Mellusi has rushed for 265 yards in Wisconsin's first two games. PHOTO BY DAVID ST. LUKA/COURTESY WISCONSIN ATHLETICS