The Lobos took care of business last week, steamrolling Incarnate Word in the season opener by a 62-30 margin. They hit the road this week to play Wisconsin, which is something akin to racing an IronMan Triathlon after running an elementary-school jog-a-thon.
Quick Incarnate Word Recap
As is tradition, the Lobos spotted their FCS opponent an early lead, giving up a touchdown on Incarnate Word’s first possession. However, things got a little out of hand after that. The first quarter closed with the Lobos up 28-7, having scored on each of their first four possessions. A little bit of a sloppy second quarter, including both a fumble and an interception by each team, closed the gap a little, leaving the Lobos up 35-16. The Lobos then stepped on the gas again, extending their lead to 55-16 early in the fourth quarter. At that point, the only remaining question was whether or not the Lobos would cover. Thanks to a garbage-time touchdown by IWU, the answer was no.
It’s hard to take too much out of this game, as the Lobos were clearly playing an inferior opponent and starters were pulled midway through the second half. Tevaka Tuioti looked unstoppable at times, throwing for 4 touchdowns and running for another, but it’s hard to say how that will translate to the rest of the season. However, based on what we’ve seen, it’s fair to say that the passing game will be a big key to how well this Lobo offense does.
The defense was a little worrisome, though. They gave up 566 yards of offense, which would have been expected if they were playing Texas Tech’s air raid offense, but it was definitely a surprise coming out of IWU. There are very few FBS teams that the Lobos would beat while giving up that amount of yards.
That said, I had three goals for the game: to win; to not suffer any injuries; and to get as many people reps as possible. With Q’ Drennan dislocating his hip, it’s hard to say that it was a complete success, but overall, I think that we got what we needed to out of this game. On to the next one.
A Little About Wisconsin
The Season So Far: Like the vast majority of teams, the Badgers have only played one game. In their case, they hosted Western Kentucky and, quite frankly, were terrible hosts. They demolished WKU, only giving up a field goal en route to a 34-3 victory. And, for their effort, they dropped a spot in the AP Top 25, going from 4th to 5th. That might go to show how high expectations are for the Badgers this season. They aren’t just supposed to be a good team, they’re supposed to be National Championship contenders.
The Coach: Paul Chryst is in his fourth season in charge of the Badgers, having replaced Gary Andersen after Andersen surprisingly jetted off to Oregon State after two seasons. He was a familiar face to the Wisconsin faithful, having spent seven seasons as the offensive coordinator before taking the head coaching job at Pittsburgh. It’s fair to say his hiring has been a positive one, as he has won two straight coach of the year awards in the Big Ten and led the team to a 13-1 record last season. That one loss happened to be in the Big Ten championship game, which knocked them out of the playoffs and into the Orange Bowl, which they ended up winning. Because of their success and that the team might actually be better this year, anything short of a trip to the playoffs might be seen as a disappointment. If only Ohio State wasn’t in their conference…
Key Players:
Junior QB Alex Hornibrook is in his third year as the starter for the Badgers and has put up some pretty solid numbers. Last season, he threw for 2644 yards and 25 touchdowns. He did have the occasional issue with interceptions, but is generally a very accurate passer. His favorite target from last season, TE Troy Fumagalli is gone, and beyond that, a couple of receivers are currently serving suspensions. However, WR A.J. Taylor is still out there and is fully capable of having a big game.
Sophomore RB Jonathan Taylor is back after a huge freshman campaign and, based on last week, is fully ready to pick up where he left off. He’s a potential Heisman winner and will likely be fed the ball a lot against the Lobos. Get used to hearing his name.
The Badgers had a great defense last year, but lost seven of their starters. Of those remaining, LB T.J. Edwards is a focal point, having been selected to multiple preseason all-American teams and award watch lists. Not to be outdone, safety D’Cota Dixon also comes in with high expectations for this season, also having received several preseason honors. And even though they lost a lot of talent, it’s not like they replaced those players with walk-ons. They’ll still be a very good defense.
Prediction
Wisconsin is an excellent college football team with huge goals for the season. In fact, they are likely the best football team the Lobos have faced in quite some time. Is it possible for the Lobos to win? Sure. We now live in a world where a 16 seed beat a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so anything feels possible. But like it did for UMBC, it will take a huge number of things to go their way if the Lobos are going to pull the upset. I pick the Badgers to win 38-10.
Game Info
Who: New Mexico Lobos (1-0) at Wisconsin Badgers(1-0)
Where: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI
When: Saturday, September 8, 10:00 AM MT
Watch: BTN
Listen: 770 KKOB