Rutgers Head Coach Greg Schiano Outlines his 2 Big Concerns With Wisconsin

The Badgers are coming off a demoralizing 30-0 drubbing at the hands of Iowa, a loss that knocked them out of the AP Top 25 and re-ignited the flames of head coach Luke Fickell's hot seat as his maddening inability to beat the Hawkeyes persists.

On national television on Big Noon Kickoff, Wisconsin just showed the college football world that despite the ranked upsets, the improved financial backing and the fact that we thought this was a different team in Fickell's fourth lap around the track, many of the same problems from the dark days of the Fickell era remain.

The Badgers' next opponent Rutgers, however, is in no position to take Wisconsin lightly. The Scarlet Knights are a lowly 2-6 (1-4 in Big Ten play). They've notched wins over FCS Howard and a Maryland team that's winless in conference play and fired its head coach after Rutgers beat them.

Rutgers has also never beaten Wisconsin; the Badgers are 6-0 all time against the Scarlet Knights. Head coach Greg Schiano spoke with reverence for Wisconsin and Fickell, whom he called an "Excellent football coach, even a better man."

Here's what else Schiano had to say about the Badgers, particularly what concerns him about the impending trip to Madison:

Colton Joseph

As a not insignificant portion of the Badger faithful clamors for Wisconsin to bench starting quarterback Colton Joseph in favor of true freshman Ryan Hopkins, Fickell tried to put that notion to bed at his presser this week. Schiano seems to believe his team will face Joseph and not Hopkins come Saturday.

"Colton Joseph is a dangerous player. He can run, he can throw, he does it all," he said.

“He’s elusive, he’s tough, he’s their leading rusher and it’s not just by scrambles. They have designed quarterback runs. They have an extensive quarterback run game. When you deal with that, it changes the math, because usually that guy, even if he’s reading somebody, he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. When he actually runs the ball, now they have 10 available blockers plus him as a ball-carrier…He’s built more like a linebacker, so he can take the pounding that a running back takes.”

Wisconsin's quarterback running game certainly gives opposing coaches much more to account for while gameplanning. The flip side of that is its passing game, which has been almost non-existent the past three weeks, takes a little off the defensive coordinator's plate elsewhere.

Wisconsin's "unusual" size

Wisconsin Badgers defensive lineman Hammond Russell IV. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There's certainly more to it than this, but a large part of Wisconsin's formula for a stout run defense is simply its size on the interior of the defensive line. The Badgers' top three defensive linemen by snap count are all 320-plus pounds.

“Their D-line is unusually large. Their interior guys are 330, 325 pounds. Gonna be a real challenge with (Charles) Perkins and (Hammond) Russell, they’re really good players," Schiano said.

When Wisconsin's defense has struggled this fall, it's almost exclusively been the secondary. The Badgers are extremely stout against the run; their 101.9 rushing yards allowed per game checks in at No. 23 in the country. Russell and Perkins have been elite in run defense, but so has the rest of the defensive line.

Schiano also noted the Badgers' size on the offensive line, calling that unit "gigantic."

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