Wisconsin Badgers Football: 4 Keys for bounce back season

The Wisconsin Badgers are coming off of a disappointing 2018 season but these are their four keys to bouncing back in 2019.

This was a Wisconsin Badgers team that had incredibly high expectations entering the 2018 season. The Badgers began the season ranked fourth overall in the country and had aspirations of reaching the College Football Playoffs.

However, as we all know that was far from the case as Wisconsin would finish the season with an overall record of 8-5 and a conference record of just 5-4.  They did at least come away with a victory in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Now with the 2019 season only a few days away, this Wisconsin Badgers football team is out to prove that last season was just a bump in the road and that they can be a top team in the country year in and year out.

With that said, in order to do so, some things have to improve from what we saw in 2018. If Wisconsin hopes to have a bounce-back season, these four things that need to take place.

Create more pressure on defense

While the offense – specifically the quarterback play – took a lot of flack last season for the team’s poor performance, and at times deservedly so, the Badger defense had plenty of issues of their own.

In 2017 the Wisconsin Badgers ranked third in all of the NCAA in total defense, just behind the power-house programs of Alabama and Clemson. A big reason for their success that season was the pressure that they were able to put on quarterbacks. Wisconsin finished tied for the eighth-most sacks in college football that season with 42.0.

However, in 2018 Wisconsin would record just 19.0 sacks the entire season which ranked 110th in the country. This also had a trickle-down effect and exposed the Badgers’ young secondary and led to some big plays for opposing offenses.

Hopefully, with a more experienced secondary this season, Chris Orr and Zack Baun leading the defense, along with Garrett Rand and Isaiahh Loudermilk on the defensive front, a quick turnaround and some more consistent pressure will take place.

Better quarterback play

I alluded to it above, but the quarterback play that we saw from Alex Hornibrook last season was quite disappointing. With 11 interceptions in only nine games and a completion percentage of 59.5 percent, despite the efforts of Jonathan Taylor, this Badgers offense could only do so much.

Although new starting quarterback Jack Coan is a bit limited in his experience, he did have some success last season which included leading the team to a victory in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Since then, Coan has added 10-15 pounds of muscle and even with the hype surrounding freshman Graham Mertz, he was able to dominate the quarterback battle most of the summer. Coan was also praised for his consistency and his ability to command the offense on the field.

With Jonathan Taylor at running back, and a receiver room with names such as Danny Davis, A.J. Taylor, Kendrick Pryor, and Quintez Cephus, Coan won’t have to carry this team by any means. He just has to be careful with the ball and be more efficient as a passer.

Jonathan Taylor just has to be Jonathan Taylor

Even with a new quarterback and a stout group of receivers, don’t be mistaken, this offense runs through Jonathan Taylor.

Through his first two seasons at Wisconsin, Taylor finds himself in elite company with over 1,950 yards rushing in both his freshman and sophomore seasons – including over 2,000 in 2018 – while also winning the Doak Walker Award and being named to the All-American team.

Taylor’s been working hard at becoming a threat in the passing game and if he can prove to be a reliable option out of the backfield, it will add a whole new dimension to this offense. Yet, if he can just continue down the path he is on, this Wisconsin Badgers’ offense is going to be tough to stop and Taylor is going to win them a number of games.

The red zone

Of course, some of these issues stem from the problems at quarterback last season, but the Badgers inability to get to the red zone and then struggling to score when they did get there was a bit concerning in 2018.

As a team, they would rank 78th in the country in red zone attempts per game and 50th in scoring on the occasions that they did get there.

Given the Badgers one-dimensional offensive style and that fact that there is just less space in the red zone, it makes running the ball effectively more difficult for Taylor. That coupled with more missed field goals in 2018 and you have a recipe for ineffectiveness inside the 20-yard line.

Wisconsin has a fairly tough schedule this season and when they have scoring opportunities they will absolutely have to take advantage of them.