Hawkeyes Football: Big Ten West Power Rankings Week Two

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Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1 – Wisconsin Badgers 2-0 (0-0)

As ridiculous as moving the Wisconsin Badgers to #10 in the AP Poll after week one was, there’s no denying that they’ve been the best team in the Big Ten West through two weeks. They’re the only team to beat a top-25 team, and they did it in impressive fashion.

The Badgers stuck to their game plan, controlling the speed of the game and forcing LSU to adapt to their style of play. The Tigers weren’t able to do so, eventually resulting in the #5 team in the nation losing 16-14 to Wisconsin.

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Just like in past years, the Badgers rely on their defense. They held the Tigers to 14 points, shutting them out in three of four quarters, and Akron only scored 10 points. Many people thought Akron could give Wisconsin a run for their money following a big win, however the Badgers didn’t fall into the trap and played just as tough as they did in week one, winning 54-10.

The most impressive feat of their upset over LSU was stopping Leonard Fournette. He’s the best running back in the nation and an absolute beast, but Wisconsin controlled him. Sure, Fournette finished the game with 23 carries for 138 yards, six yards per carry. But the Badgers kept him out of the end zone and shut him down in the first half, and that’s all you can ask for against him.

He got better as the game went on, rushing for 10.3 yards per carry in the fourth quarter, but Fournette was held to just 35 yards on 11 carries in the first half. If the Badgers are able to play that tough on defense every week, teams will have a very hard time finding ways to beat them.

Offensively, they just need to score enough points, and that’s what they did against LSU. Bart Houston has two interceptions and two touchdowns on the year, and Corey Clement is averaging 4.7 yards per carry, scoring three times. The Badgers will rely on their defense and run game, all Houston needs to do is not turn the ball over and complete passes on big third downs — 64.2 completion percentage this year.

Next: Hawkeyes Football: Three Stars From Week Two

Wisconsin will soon have Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa. Going 2-2 in that stretch will be seen as a job well done, however it’s arguably the toughest four game stretch in the nation and is why Iowa is still favored to win the West. I don’t think Wisconsin is the ninth best team in the nation, but they are really good.

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