Notre Dame Football vs. Wisconsin: 3 bold predictions in Week 4

Notre Dame Football vs. Wisconsin: 3 bold predictions in Week 4

Jack Coan Outplays Graham Mertz

By now, you know the story. Jack Coan led Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl, then in a COVID-19 shortened year, Coan got hurt. Wisconsin turned to a highly touted recruit, Graham Mertz, and he exploded onto the scene in Week 1 against Illinois. Since then, his play fell of in 2020, but the pandemic was blamed for that.

The starting quarterback job was his, and Coan was left to transfer to Notre Dame to replace Ian Book.

Coan has played well, for the most part, behind an atrocious offensive line. Mertz has been a bit disappointing, but that’s partially due to playing Penn State in Week 1. So, the comparison is difficult. Saying which quarterback Wisconsin should have chosen is almost impossible, even with the benefit of hindsight.

To this point in the year, Coan has a 62.6% completion percentage, 828 yards, 8 TDs, and 2 INTs in three games. Mertz has a 66.7% completion percentage, 326 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs in two games.

What we can learn from this is that Coan is capable of throwing downfield, but it looks like Mertz is still developing in a lot of key ways. He doesn’t have great weapons, and a defensive player like Kyle Hamilton can make his life Hell.

Expect Jack Coan to be the better quarterback on Saturday, and then everyone in Madison can panic about their decision at quarterback.