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Wisconsin Football: Can the passing attack get the Badgers to the CFP?

By Dylan Piccolo

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Alex Hornibrook #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers passes during the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Alex Hornibrook #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers passes during the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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It’s key that the Wisconsin Football scheme for success throwing the ball in 2018, because defenses will be scheming to stop the run.

Wisconsin Football was ranked NO. 4 by the Associated Press in the first college football rankings of the season released early on Monday. The Badgers were ranked behind only Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia. This is the second consecutive season the team was ranked inside the top 10 by the AP to start of the season (ninth in 2017)

Wisconsin is coming off of a remarkable season as they went undefeated until they lost 27-21 to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship last December. Although the Badgers lost to the Buckeyes by such a close margin, the game was lost on two Alex Hornibrook interceptions and a subpar performance by Heisman candidate Jonathan Taylor.

It is key that the Badgers scheme for success throwing the ball in 2018, because defenses will be scheming to stop the run now that Jonathan Taylor is no longer an unknown commodity. Let’s note that Wisconsin returns the top offensive line in all of college football and will be able to dominate 95 percent of the oppositions up-front, but when they have to face that other five percent, they will need to be able to move the ball through the air.

Hornibrook finished 54th in the country in passing yards and 60th in attempts, but finished 27th in QBR. There will be a bunch of games in the regular season for Hornibrook to dial in his rhythm, but he needs to be precise in a much tougher schedule this season. Look early in the season for an increase in arm strength for Hornibrook on deeper passes and velocity in the intermediate game, both things that must get better to be successful.

It won’t be the “cupcake” season that plagued Wisconsin’s College Football Playoff ranking last season, as they have tough road tests at Michigan, Penn State, Iowa and an improved Purdue team. With that being said, these teams will be focused on shutting down Taylor and will load the box up and force Hornibrook to beat them. In order to do that it’s up to the Badgers offensive coaches to get creative in creating quick throws and play action rollouts for Hornibrook to strike on opposing defenses, by taking advantage of the numbers.

The good thing for the Badgers is that they return 13 total starters, nine of those being on the offensive side of the ball. That continuity will go lengths for head coach Paul Chryst to help gain some consistency in the passing game with the three of the top five receivers returning to campus, and a couple of freshman recruits that will be added into the mix (Aron Cruickshank and Taj Mustapha). AJ Taylor (JR), Danny Davis (SO), and Kendrick Pryor (SO) will return 40 percent of Hornibrook’s passing yards from last season.

The one to watch for out of the receiver group is Cruickshank, a four-star recruit by ESPN who is listed at a 5-foot-8 and 154 lbs, according to the team website. He will be one of the more exciting recruits that Wisconsin has brought in the past few seasons with speed from skill-position standpoint the Badgers haven’t had in sometime. Cruickshank is a swiss-army knife as he dominated the high school ranks at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, NY. His playing time might have gotten a bigger boost in the last 24-hours after the Badgers leading returning receiver Quintez Cephus was suspended due to off-the-field issues.

One concern may be replacing Hornibrook’s lifeline tight end, Troy Fumagalli, who entered the NFL Draft last season. T

he position will be taken up for grabs between three relatively unproven players: Kyle Penniston, Zander Neuville and Jake Ferguson. Both Penniston and Neuville played under Fumagalli last season, but neither made a big impact. Ferguson, who starred at Madison Memorial High School in Madison, WI,  was a four-star prospect and has the physical skills too at 6-foot-5 and 239 pounds to succeed at the position.

In Wisconsin’s offense, it’s very important for the tight ends to be able to run-block, and be the immediate check down option for Hornibrook. The Badgers will use the first few games of the season to determine who their main pass catching tight end will be early in the season.

There are a lot of things that will be implemented during this year, and it will be even more important for the Badgers to show these strides against their tough road schedule. You know what to expect from the team in the running attack and up-front, but what they do with their passing attack will be the determining factor if this team can make it to the College Football Playoffs.  

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