(Photo: WAKA)
Saturday Spotlight
(4) Alabama Crimson Tide at Wisconsin Badgers
Alabama: Yes, they’ve played Western Kentucky and the University of South Florida. You beat who’s on your schedule and they’re 2-0. I didn’t know what to expect from them and it’s still early with a lot of football left to be played. It’s truly a new chapter for a program that’s been dominant in the last decade. On January 10th, the football world was hit with unexpected news when Nick Saban announced he was retiring from coaching. He felt it was time to leave and honestly, he had nothing left to prove. Who they’d hire was the bigger question and they decided to bring in Kalen DeBour from the University of Washington. As expected, many spoke against the hire, but I was on board with it. Everywhere he’s gone, the winning has followed and last year with the Huskies, he led them to a Pac-12 conference title, a playoff win, and an appearance in the National Title game. I love what he’s done with Jalen Milroe because he’s allowing the Quarterback to spread his wings and do what he wants, but Kalen will still sprinkle in a suggestion or two here and there. I have a feeling we’ll see more of who the Crimson Tide are when they enter conference play. There’s more competition now within the SEC. Georgia is still Georgia, Texas is making a nice name for itself, there’s Ole Miss, Tennessee, and this Alabama group will still be there if you ask me. This afternoon, they will do battle in Madison.
Wisconsin: Whenever I think of them, a few things come to mind. They will always have one of the best offensive lines, not just in the Big Ten, but in the country. At one time, Joe Thomas played for this program, and look what he went on to become. One of the best Offensive Linemen in NFL history and he was a first-ballot Hall of Famer last year. The next is their running game and they let you know up front and on the field that they are going to run the football down your throat and will continue to do so until you man up and stop it, and the last thing is the defense. They have always been one of the best units in the nation. That hasn’t been the case this year. They had to give it their all against a Western Michigan team that got destroyed by the Ohio State Buckeyes and even against South Dakota, they had to put up a fight. Luke Fickell was able to land former Miami Quarterback, Tyler Van Dyke, but he’s been struggling to push the ball down the field in the passing game. This year, the Badgers have also struggled to run the football which is weird to see. They will always lean on the running game when the passing attack isn’t working. So far, I haven’t seen them come out of the gates firing on any cylinders, but there’s time. This is only week three of the season. Today, the Badgers will welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide for a rare SEC/Big Ten showdown.
Alabama X-Factor: Ryan Williams– I’ve seen some highlights on him and can’t wait to see him play today. Alabama has had its share of Wide Receivers play for this program. Julio Jones, Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith, Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley and Jaylen Waddle. Ryan Williams has what it takes to be another great Alabama Wide Receiver. What he can do at 17 years old is phenomenal. He’s so explosive in and out of his breaks, catches everything thrown in his direction, and even moves well in space to be a possession receiver. Jalen has all the confidence in this young man and 4 plus 2 equals six. (Jalen wears the number four and Ryan wears the number 2).
Wisconsin X-Factor: Elijah Hills– This is a man amongst boys in the middle of the Wisconsin Defensive Line. At 6’3 and 282 pounds, Elijah has the first step of an EDGE rusher. This kid never gives up on a play and will pursue the football until the play is over. He’s so active on that defensive front from tipping passes down to stuffing the running lanes and getting after the passer. For the Wisconsin defense to be even greater today, Elijah must be on his a-game and at his best. Stay in control, get to the lanes, and pursue.
Final Thoughts: We have two legendary programs ready to battle one another today. This Alabama team didn’t have to break much of a sweat against Western Kentucky and put USF away last weekend. Wisconsin has been shaky to begin the year and it won’t get any easier for them today. For the Badgers to do the impossible and upset this group, Tyler Van Dyke will need to play the best game of his life. I’m talking about completing every pass possible, moving the ball, and when the opportunity presents itself to score, capitalizing upon that. Wisconsin must do all it can to slow this game down because they don’t have the firepower on offense to keep up with the Tide. On the Alabama side, they have too much across the board. Jalen will generate drives and that will put the Tide in control early on. The Tide will be too much today and they will dominate this game at Camp Randall.
Prediction: Alabama 35, Wisconsin 13
