Next Man In

Paul Hubbard sprained his MCL and will be out 6-8 weeks, with a return pegged either for the Indiana or Michigan game. This provides an opportunity for either Jefferson or Randel El to step up in Hub's absence. The passing game looked relatively lackluster on Saturday against UNLV, and drops by Swan and Hubbard didn't help matters. Beckum will need to carry an even larger load in the offense, especially with more attention directed at Swan. The return of Andy Crooks, along with the emergence of Graham, shows that TE is a position of strength. Hopefully we can say the same about WR when the book on the 2007 season is written.

A few ruminations on Saturday's night's Houdini act are warranted. Langford simply must play better in coverage, as his island was all too visible on Saturday, the pitfalls of playing opposite a shutdown corner in Ike. On a larger level, the Badgers continue to struggle with the spread. It's not the big plays anymore, but steady gains on each and every down that result in consistent chain movement. The team will likely see some of these wrinkles throughout the BT schedule, and discipline and gap responsibility is the answer to solving the spread. It eats alive aggressive defenses, and the Badgers to date are guilty as charged.

Admittedly, it's hard to be overly critical of a defense that surrendered a mere 13 points on the road. The offense simply didn't get the job done for much of the game. PJ Hill ran the ball consistently, and Zach Brown looks like a solid, even flashy backup (at least when we're wearing white), but the big play was mostly lacking, and it didn't come from our pass offense. While TD's numbers were a mere shadow to those of week one, he did fall victim to the aforementioned drops in critical downs and distances. Moreover, he didn't make a mistake to cost us the game and did a more graceful impression of Darrell Bevell's sideline scramble in the 1994 Rose Bowl to negate the Runnin' Rebels' upset bid.

In the end, the Badgers are 2-0 and ranked #7 in both polls in a perch atop the BT. Penn St. and OSU look solid as expected, and Purdue may surprise as their pass offense has been phenomenal against a couple of cream puffs. I'm going to take the week off as Bucky gets fat against the Citadel, but I'll be back for the hated Hawkeyes in the BT opener in what should be an electric atmosphere at Camp Randall.