If we've learned anything about the world in the Big Ten it is that Badgers can take down Spartans. In the second game of the year Bucky will be looking to knock of the first version of the men of Sparta of the season.
No not those Spartans...the San Jose State Spartans. For the second straight year the Spartans will open up the season with two monsterous teams in front of them, but Wisconsin will look like a cake walk after the first game. In the first game of the season for San Jose State it will be none other than the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide. So a major question for the Spartans will be a matter of how much is left in the tank after game one.
Last season the Spartans showed that they can bounce back from a strong week one oppenent after losing by only ten to Utah the week after being blown out by USC. Although last year they were able to lick their woulds back home as opposed to hitting the road for the second consecutive week this year.
The Spartans struggled last year only racking up two wins thru the whole season. Although, playing in a conference that features Nevada, Fresno State, and Boise State will definitely knock down a lot of opportunities for wins.
Offensively the Spartans should be a challenge for the Wisconsin secondary for the second consecutive week. They return their starting quarterback Jordan La Secla who threw for almost 2,000 yards last year, but they lost their top reciever Kevin Jurovich to graduation. In terms of the running game, the Spartans will feature the same rushing attack as UNLV...a lack of it.
Last year as a team they only ran for 990 yards, and their top rusher Lamon Muldrow accounted for almost 600 yards of the total. In terms of scoring expect a lot of that to come thru the air. The Spartans last season scored the majority of their 21 touchdowns with 13 thru the air. It will be the secondary's game too lose for the Badgers against the Spartans.
In terms of the defense the Spartans appear on paper to be a team on the rise on the defensive side of the football. They return many of their top defensive players including their leaders in tackles and interceptions from last season. But the Spartans have a lot to improve on from last season in terms of rush defense.
Similarly to the UNLV game expect this to be a big day for John Clay. Last season the Spartans gave up over 3,000 yards, and average of almost 260 yards per game. Expect Wisconsin to pound the ball all game, and John Clay to rack up serious yardage against the Spartants.
So the recipe for victory will be similar to what we should see in game one of the season against UNLV. Good old fashion Wisconsin football. Run the ball. Run it again. Run it one more time. Keeping the defense fresh and off the field, and sucking the air out of the football.
Boynton's Badgers Prediction: Wisconsin 28 San Jose State 6
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