USF football kicks off the 2019 season in big-time Big Ten fashion, hosting the Wisconsin Badgers at Raymond James Stadium. The Badgers are ranked 17th in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll.
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The August 30th season opening game concludes the second of two game home-and-home series between the two schools, the first of which the Bulls lost in Madison, 27-10 in 2014.
Wisconsin, who is ranked 19th in the preseason AP Poll, finished 2018 with an 8-5 (5-4) record, in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Ten West division, one year after finishing 13-1. They capped off the 2018 season with a 35-3 win over 7-6 Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl, a rematch of the previous year when Wisconsin bested the Hurricanes, 34-24 in the Orange Bowl.
Offense
The Badgers will have a competition for the job at quarterback between last year’s starter, junior Jack Coan, and incoming five-star freshman, Graham Mertz. Mertz was the #2 ranked pro-style quarterback rated by Rivals. Coan completed 60% of his passes in his five starts last season, with three touchdowns and three interceptions, averaging just over 100 yards per game.
While bringing in one of the top quarterback recruits in the nation is a good sign for the team, it has long been the running game that has been at the heart of the Wisconsin offense. The Badgers had the 6th best running attack in the nation in 2018, led by junior running back, Jonathan Taylor. Taylor averaged nearly 169 yards per game on his way to 2,194 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is ranked first in the nation in total yards, average yards per game, and total attempts (307). For the second straight year, Taylor has been named to the preseason Big Ten All-Conference Team.
Opening up those running lanes has been job of three All-American offensive linemen, who are now on NFL rosters and now have to be replaced.
Defense
The Badgers ranked 34th in scoring defense and 29th in total defense in 2018. Four of their top five tacklers have graduated, leaving senior linebacker, Zack Baun, as the likely leader of the defense. Baun was third in tackles, last season, with 63, which was way behind departed team leader in tackles, T.J. Edwards, who had 113. Also gone are the three leaders in tackles for loss. Also led by Edwards with 11.5, Baun was fourth with 7.5.
There is some good news in the secondary, though, as the Badgers return team leaders for passes broken up, sophomore safety, Scott Nelson, and sophomore cornerback, Rachad Wildgoose. Wildgoose and Nelson led the team with 7 and 6 pass breakups, respectively, which more than doubles any other player on the team.
Expectations
The Sporting News ranks Wisconsin 22nd in their preseason rankings and lists Taylor as a Heisman candidate. CBS Sports ranks them 44th in their CBS Sports 129. The Badgers come in at 38th on the ESPN Football Power Index. Sports Illustrated likes them at #17. Wisconsin just makes it into the USA Today top 25 at #25. Athlon Sports writes that Nebraska will win the conference, but the Badgers are the #19 team in the land.
Summary
Wisconsin will be ready for the Bulls. They’ll have spent a significant part of their offseason practices focused on starting the season with a win and they will have an easier follow-up opponent, hosting Central Michigan in week two. As of now, the Badgers are 11 point favorites on the road in Tampa. The game is scheduled for ESPN at 7:00 PM, Eastern time.
