Wisconsin hopes to win a chess match with OSU's offense
Jeff PotrykusMADISON – Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard faces an intriguing dilemma this week.
Leonhard is preparing to face an Ohio State offense that is No. 1 in the Big Ten in rushing at 287.1 yards per game. Tailback J.K. Dobbins is the leader at 7.1 yards per carry and 135.3 yards per game.
Yet the Buckeyes, with quarterback Justin Fields averaging 213.1 passing yards per game and 22 touchdowns, are just as dangerous throwing the ball.
So does Leonhard rely more on a 2-4-5 scheme or a 3-4-4?
“It starts with the run game and seeing what issues they present to us or we can present to them,” said Leonhard, who generally uses both schemes each game. “We know we can create some issues … how they have to prepare for one vs. the other. And if they know they have to prepare for both, that gets to be a high volume of looks they have to see.
“We may major in one more than the other throughout the course of the game. We always go into a game with a plan for both.”
UW and Ohio State last met in 2017 in the Big Ten title game and Leonhard used both schemes.
Interestingly, the Buckeyes had more big plays against the 3-4-4 than the 2-4-5.
UW was in a 3-4-4 when J.T. Barrett found Terry McLaurin for an 84-yard touchdown in the opening quarter. However, the touchdown was largely the result of a blown coverage that left safety Joe Ferguson alone against two receivers running vertical routes.
The Badgers were again in a 3-4-4 when Barrett and Paris Campbell combined for a 57-yard touchdown in the final minute of the opening quarter. UW had safety Natrell Jamerson and cornerback Nick Nelson in position to make a tackle on the perimeter for a short gain but Campbell split the defenders and scored easily.
The Badgers were in a 3-4-4 when Ohio State drove 82 yards in just three plays for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead in the second quarter. Dobbins had the big play, a 77-yard run to the UW 1 to set up Barrett’s 1-yard run. Defensive end Conor Sheehy had a chance to tackle Dobbins for no gain but missed.
They were again in a 3-4-4 when Dobbins sneaked through a hole in the middle of the line for a 53-yard run to the UW 12 to set up a field goal in the third quarter.
This Ohio State team has the talent at quarterback, tailback and wide receiver to attack either scheme, on the ground or through the air.
Expect Leonhard to mix schemes in an effort to keep the Buckeyes off-balance – if he can.
“You change to give them something to think about,” he said. “All of a sudden you go out there in your base defense and it is another set of issues.
“You can delay them from getting to those counters and change-ups you know they are going to make throughout the course of the game.
“Just a little bit of a chess match.”
Missed tackles an issue
Several UW defenders bemoaned substandard tackling in the loss to Illinois.
Safety Eric Burrell was in that group.
“The first six games we did a great job,” he said. “Week 7, we did a decent job, but not good enough to win the game.
“I don’t care who you are, you don’t tackle well and you get exposed.”
Burrell’s missed tackle contributed to Illinois’ first touchdown, a 48-yard pass from Brandon Peters to Donny Navarro.
Navarro beat cornerback Rachard Wildgoose on an in-breaking route and caught the ball at the UW 40. Burrell came up fast with a chance to make the tackle there but took a bad angle and missed.
“I’ve just got to take my shot,” Burrell said. “I was little nervous about getting a targeting call. But I’ve just got to keep running my feet.”
From the infirmary
Fullback Mason Stokke and inside linebacker Leo Chenal are listed as questionable for Saturday. Both players have been held out the last two games because of concussion-related symptoms.
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