jake ferguson

So you may have heard bad things about Wisconsin's offense. Through three games, Wisconsin is averaging a measly 19 points per game. The Badgers are also 1-2 on the season and reeling as we head into this weekend's marquee matchup with the Wolverines. What's going on, you may ask? The answer to that question is what your author set out to uncover with this post. Is it just the quarterback? Or is it an uncharacteristically bad offensive line? Or maybe the lack of another successor to the Ron Dayne/Montee Ball/Jonathan Taylor succession of superstar RB's that the coaches in Madison sculpt out of sausage and cheese? Well, gang, let's find out: 

The Film: Before we get started, I have a confession: I am somewhat selfish. And in choosing the film for this post, I put my own convenience high on the totem pole for reasons behind picking a particular game. There's an absence of discernible differences between the way that PSU and Notre Dame play (and in terms of team quality), so in order to pick one over the other, I tabbed Penn State so that I can re-use that same film for Michigan's battle against the Lions later in the season (Wisconsin is a good analogue for Michigan when it comes to breaking down PSU). So, that's what we're rolling with, the 16-10 Penn State victory in Madison back in Week 1. And it was quite the interesting game, as you will see. 

Personnel: The chart. 

Wisconsin is starting the embattled Graham Mertz at QB, who gets a huge portion of this post dedicated to him. Clemson transfer Chez Mellusi is the starting RB for Wisconsin, getting the majority of the carries in this game. Last year's starter Jalen Berger, who I was pegging as a breakout player pre-season, has gone MIA in games of consequence. He didn't touch the field in the game I watched, and got a lone carry against ND last weekend. In between he got 15 carries against EMU in week two. Isaac Guerrendo seems to be the backup RB in the games that matter. Wisconsin still uses a FB, because of course, and John Chenal is their starter at that position, being used mostly as a blocker, but also for the trusty FB dive in their short-yardage situations. 

At TE they lean heavily on Jake Ferguson, who is Mertz's safety valve option, not breaking many long catches but being targeted often. Jack Eschenbach is used heavily in two TE sets, but is not targeted much as a receiving threat. Clay Cundiff is another TE option who has a pair of chunk catches this season and sees the field a decent bit. 

The WR's are not lacking in options but are lacking in a standout threat. Danny Davis III, who has been a viable option for the Badgers since what feels like 1975, leads the team in catches. Kendric Pryor is in a similar boat, third on the team in catches and presumably with a long gray beard to indicate his age. Pryor is also used as a jet sweep threat in the running game. The catches drop off substantially after that, but Chimere Dike, whose name is not pronounced the way it looks like, sees the field often. He just hasn't caught many passes. Jack Dunn has played quite a bit but is yet to collect a catch. AJ Abbott has a lone catch so I guess I'll throw his name out there, but it's really Davis, Pryor, Dike, and Dunn to talk about. 

On the offensive line, they have a set five man unit of Tyler Beach at LT, Josh Seltzner at LG, Joe Tippmann at C, Jack Nelson at RG, and Logan Bruss at RT. They bring interior linemen Kaden Lyles (last year's starter at C), Cormac Sampson and Michael Furtney on in the beef packages, and former blue chip OT Logan Brown has played some on the outside as well. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: What's up with Wisconsin's offense?]

Now we get to part three of our series ranking opposing teams that Michigan will see on their 2021 schedule based on positional group. So far we've covered QB and RB, and today we arrive on the receivers. For receivers, we're talking about both WR and TE, but not RB's who catch passes. They were included in our last piece on RB's specifically. As always, this ranking is based on a mixture of both star players who headline the positional group, as well as the quality of depth, since injuries and football go together like peanut butter and jelly. At the top of the list, well, you know what's coming: 

1. Ohio State 

Yep. Because Ryan Day has been attending Tom Izzo's classes on how to hold the grandparents of key players hostage as a way to coerce them to return to school, the Buckeyes returned Chris Olave, despite him being considered a lock to go in the first round. Olave was a nondescript freshman who I didn't even have on my spotting board when I broadcasted the 2018 Michigan-Ohio State game on the radio, a game that then saw Olave torch Michigan for two TD catches + blocking a punt that was returned by Sevyn Banks for a TD. My reaction when the first TD pass happened was to furiously comb through the roster and look for the number 17 because my overriding thought was "who the hell was that guy?". Well, nearly three years later and Michigan fans— and B1G fans broadly— are very aware of who Olave is. After that coming out party, he caught 48 passes for 840 yards in 2019 and then 50 passes for 729 yards and seven scores last season in just seven games. Olave's blazing speed and NCAA production made him seem guaranteed to depart to the NFL... until he came back to Columbus. As a senior this fall, you can pretty much guarantee Olave to be 1st team All-B1G again so long as he's healthy. 

But what makes this group so good is the fact they also returned Garrett Wilson, who caught 43 passes for 723 yards and six touchdowns last season, en route to also being 1st team All-B1G. Wilson was a true sophomore in 2020, so Day didn't need to abduct Wilson's grandma to get him to return to OSU. Wilson had the honors of torching Michigan in 2019 and both he and Olave are hyper athletic, lightning fast receivers with the ability to stretch the field vertically and blow by 99% of NCAA CB's. That tandem is probably the best WR tandem in the country, but they also bring back TE Jeremy Ruckert, who isn't used all that heavily but has the combo of talent and size to be a mismatch for most defenses. Oh, and OSU's next three WR's on the depth chart are all five stars, sophomores Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, as well as true freshman Emeka Egbuka. And just for kicks, the Buckeyes have Marvin Harrison Jr., son of that Marvin Harrison, farther down on the depth chart. 

This positional group both has the wickedly good talent at the top, and the quality depth, and is a school with a track record of churning out NFL WR's (Michael Thomas,Terry McLaurin, etc.). They were #1 on our list by a wide, wide margin. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Progressively less speedy dudes]