Wisconsin @ Northwestern preview
Ryan Field
Last Meeting ( Oct 12, 2013 ) Northwestern 6, Wisconsin 35
Melvin Gordon hasn’t encountered a great deal of resistance thus far on his way to helping No. 16 Wisconsin establish the third-best rushing attack in the country. The decorated junior running back may face his stiffest test to date in that regard on Saturday when his Badgers look for their first win at Northwestern since 1999. Gordon ranks fifth nationally in rushing at 153 yards per game and is one of just five players to have run for at least 140 yards in a game three times this season.
The Big Ten’s leading scorer at 13.5 points per game, Gordon overcame a slow start by the Badgers and gashed South Florida for 181 yards on 32 carries last week in a 27-10 victory. Wisconsin’s prolific ground attack could get held in check, however, by a Northwestern defense that is yielding 2.9 yards per carry and hasn’t allowed an individual to top 83 yards rushing. The Wildcats are coming off their best showing of the season after humbling Penn State 29-6 in their conference opener last week to give coach Pat Fitzgerald the second-largest margin of victory his team has enjoyed in league play in his nine-year tenure.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Wisconsin -7.5.
ABOUT WISCONSIN (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten): Gordon is also the nation's active career leader at 8.03 yards per carry – the best mark by an FBS player since Houston’s Chuck Weatherspoon averaged 8.13 yards per carry from 1987-90. Gordon needs 60 more rushing yards to become the 11th 3,000-yard rusher in school history. The Badgers are outgaining their opponents by a FBS-high 257 yards per game on the ground and have rushed for 1,373 yards through four games – 361 more than they did last year when set a school record with 3,689 yards.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (2-2, 1-0): One of the standout performers from the Wildcats’ victory over Penn State was Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week linebacker Anthony Walker, who led the team with eight tackles and returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown in his first career start. Cornerback Matthew Harris (concussion) was carted off the field and taken to the hospital in the second half, but has rebounded quickly and is listed as questionable for Wisconsin. Quarterback Trevor Siemian became the first player since at least 2000 to rush for at least three touchdowns and finish with a negative rushing total (-8 yards) in the same game.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Badgers are the only team in the nation that has yet to surrender a red-zone touchdown in 2014 (four field goals, two interceptions in six trips).
2. At least 10 receivers have caught a pass in each of the Wildcats’ first four games.
3. Wisconsin is one of just four schools to rank among the nation's top 20 in all four major statistical categories for defense (scoring, total, rushing and passing).
PREDICTION: Wisconsin 31, Northwestern 17