I know stats aren't everything (cough cough Iowa cough cough), but I'm a numbers guy and decided to look at the offensive and defensive stats of the teams Wisconsin has played. Especially because their defensive stats are at the top in most categories.
| Team | Pass OFF | Rush OFF | Scoring OFF | Total OFF | Pass DEF | Rush DEF | Scoring DEF | Total DEF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah State | 71 | 57 | 45 | 71 | 18 | 117 | 69 | 77 |
| FAU | 89 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 80 | 76 | 50 | 79 |
| BYU | 91 | 105 | 124 | 119 | 71 | 43 | 49 | 48 |
| Northwestern | 51 | 71 | 55 | 59 | 99 | 9 | 20 | 38 |
| Nebraska | 28 | 121 | 84 | 85 | 65 | 115 | 117 | 103 |
| Purdue | 55 | 83 | 97 | 76 | 87 | 31 | 18 | 47 |
| Maryland | 116 | 68 | 98 | 121 | 75 | 93 | 120 | 88 |
| Illinois | 105 | 124 | 127 | 127 | 35 | 116 | 92 | 87 |
| Indiana | 37 | 106 | 77 | 69 | 17 | 59 | 54 | 26 |
| Iowa | 87 | 93 | 69 | 107 | 52 | 36 | 22 | 34 |
| Michigan | 112 | 43 | 84 | 101 | 1 | 21 | 14 | 3 |
| Minnesota | 122 | 51 | 109 | 123 | 11 | 73 | 37 | 29 |
| Ohio State | 27 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 13 | 20 | 8 |
| Wisconsin | 98 | 18 | 26 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Quick Notes:
- The best offense Wisconsin has faced all season is Florida Atlantic ranked at #16, the next closest is Northwestern ranked at #59. Ohio State comes in at #4.
- Six of the offenses Wisconsin has faced (or half of their schedule) are ranked #101 or worse.
- Similarly they have faced four passing offenses and four rushing offenses all ranked #105 or worse, and five scoring offenses ranked #97 or worse.
While I think Wisconsin has a solid defense, they haven't exactly been through the gauntlet this season and is partly why I suspect the CFP Committee hasn't been showing them a ton of love. The Buckeyes will be the best and most balanced offense they have faced yet so lets hope we see the offense that showed up for MSU/4th quarter PSU and not the Iowa/1st half UM offense.
Interestingly, the Wisconsin offense has been a bit more tested than their defense. Statistically, their offense is a little better than average and clearly is more reliant upon the run.
Again, stats are certainly not the sole predictor of how a game will turnout especially in big games, but they at least provide some insight to what could happen. Hopefully some of you find this interesting like I do.
Beat Wisconsin!
