University of Akron football coach Terry Bowden is not naive about what his Zips will face on Saturday when they meet host Wisconsin.
Camp Randall Stadium will likely be rockin’ as Wisconsin opens up its 2016 home schedule against UA with a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. The Badgers come in confident with a 1-0 record following a 16-14 victory over nationally ranked Louisiana State University last week at Lambeau Field.
“We realize the monumental task we have of playing a Wisconsin team that won 10 games last year and is probably a little bit better football team this year,” Bowden said Tuesday.
Wisconsin’s win over then-ranked No. 5 LSU catapulted the Badgers to No. 10 in this week’s Associated Press poll. UA is unranked and 1-0 after its 47-24 win over visiting Virginia Military Institute, a Division I Football Championship Subdivision opponent.
The Zips will play back up to their Division I Football Championship Subdivision level this week against the Badgers, who feature junior linebacker T.J. Watt, younger brother of NFL players J.J. Watt (Houston Texans) and Derek Watt (San Diego Chargers).
“We are very happy to be 1-0,” Bowden said. “Now we become the team that has to go into somebody else’s stadium and win our big game against a favorite opponent, a Big Ten opponent. Wisconsin is just an outstanding football team.
“We are excited about playing in this game because it’s our big game. We get to play in front of 80,000 people. We will play in a great venue in Madison against a great football team. Not many of our players were recruited by teams in the Big Ten, so they are thrilled to be playing against someone in the Big Ten.”
Wisconsin’s offense relies on quarterback Bart Houston, running back Corey Clement and wide receivers Troy Fumagalli and Robert Wheelwright. Houston completed 19-of-31 passes against LSU for 205 yards, but tossed two interceptions. Clement rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Kicker Rafael Gaglianone was an impact player last week with three field goals from 30, 48 and 47 yards out.
“They are a fine football team,” Bowden said. “They showed how good they are knocking off a top 10 ranked football team in LSU. … This will be a whole new test for our football team on both sides of the ball. When you play a Wisconsin, you are going to be challenged first of all in the trenches. You are going to be challenged physically.”
UA will need big defensive efforts from seniors James Turner, Jamal Marcus, Se’Von Pittman and DeAndre Scott and junior Darius Copeland and sophomore Ulysees Gilbert.
The Zips hope to score the upset victory with several returning players from last year’s team that went 8-5 and beat Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise.
Zips junior quarterback Thomas Woodson shined in his 2016 season debut last week, completing 23-of-32 passes for 407 yards and six touchdowns. The 407 yards is a career-high and the six passing touchdowns is a school single-game record.
The Badgers’ defense is expected to be stingy this week, but Bowden is hopeful that the Zips can move the ball with Woodson, juniors Jerome Lane and Austin Wolf and seniors Warren Ball and JoJo Natson on the field.
Lane, a Firestone High School graduate, caught 10 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns last week, and Watson totaled four receptions, 90 yards and three touchdowns. Ball made an impact with 18 rushes, 110 yards and a touchdown behind new starting offensive linemen — juniors Jovann Letuli, Logan Tuley-Tillman and Stephen Ericksen, sophomore Kyle Ritz and freshman Josh Ward.
“We throw the ball pretty quick,” Bowden said. “We get rid of the ball, and I think the offensive line had a good first day. They have room for improvement. They are going to get tested in a whole new way this week.”
Woodson and his Zips teammates will need to be aware of several Badgers defenders such as Watt, D’Cota Dixon, Jack Cichy, Ryan Connelly, Leo Musso and Vince Biegel.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ. Read the Zips blog at www.ohio.com/zips.