Notre Dame football: Wisconsin matchup in 2021 could be a dogfight

Notre Dame football: Wisconsin matchup in 2021 could be a dogfight

Wisconsin in 2020

The Badgers played one of those fun 2020 COVID-19 based schedules. They started late like everyone else in the B1G 10 after their season was originally canceled in its entirety, and an outbreak of the virus got games against Nebraska, Purdue, and Minnesota declared “no contests.”

You might remember Nebraska complaining about that, but they did complain more than enough for the rest of the B1G 10.

They also lost starting quarterback Jack Coan before the season started, as he needed surgery. That put the highly-touted Graham Mertz in the spotlight. As the new quarterback, he lit up a frankly bad Illinois team in their first game, making everyone think that he was already a Heisman candidate.

That’s when the pandemic hit, and it hit Mertz directly. He lost time and came back down to Earth after the entire program was shut down for a couple of weeks.

Mertz would end up with 1,238 yards passing, nine passing touchdowns, and five interceptions. Just a freshman, Mertz showed flashes of what it takes, and he also led them to a bowl win and a 4-3 record on the season. Wisconsin would beat every unranked team they played while losing to every ranked team they played.

In those three games against ranked opponents, Wisconsin scored a total of 20 points.

No one on the offense stood out, including a disappointing running back by committee where no one had more than 301 yards on the season. The receivers weren’t much better. Tight end Jake Ferguson lead the way with 30 catches for 305 yards and four TDs.

Defensively, Wisconsin was just as strong as it had been in recent years. The Badgers only allowed 17.4 points per game last season, with linebacker Jack Sanborn leading the way in terms of tackles, with 52. Leo Chenal, meanwhile, had 3 sacks to lead the team, and Scott Nelson’s 2 interceptions were the best mark there.