Wisconsin has spent much of this season trying to survive the injury grind, and now it may be getting a break of its own heading into Week 10.
The Badgers have dealt with a battered offensive line and missed time from key skill players like wideout Jaylon Domingeaux and tailback Abu Sama. Kevin Heywood being likely out for the Rutgers game - and possibly longer - is just the latest hit to an offense that has had to keep patching things together.
But the other side of this matchup has been taking its own damage, too, and Wisconsin has already benefited from that pattern more than once. Penn State was without its best offensive weapon, wideout Koby Howard, before losing to the Badgers.
Michigan State then went into its game with Wisconsin missing tailback Cam Edwards. UCLA lost starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava for the year right before facing Wisconsin, though that one didn’t end up helping the Badgers in the way they wanted.
USC played Wisconsin without star tight end Mark Bowman, and Iowa was missing starting running back Kamari Moulton before the Badgers met the Hawkeyes.
That same trend appears to be holding in Week 10. Rutgers star wideout KJ Duff is listed as doubtful and is unlikely to play in Madison.
That matters because Duff is one of the most fun players in the country to watch. The 6-6, 225-pound receiver from Long Island is a pure contested-catch threat, the kind of target who can go up and win jump balls over almost anybody. He’s unusually smooth for a player that size, which is a big reason he’s been such a problem for defenses.
Through seven games, Duff has 45 catches for 774 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 17.2 yards per reception. With those numbers, it’s easy to see why Rutgers leans on him so heavily. And with the Scarlet Knights already short-handed at quarterback, they may need him even more than usual.
Starter Dylan Lonergan is out this week and could miss more time, which leaves AJ Surace in line to run the offense. His recent results haven’t exactly been encouraging.
Against Michigan last week, Surace went 3-of-12 passing, though he did manage 123 yards and a touchdown. The week before, he was 7-of-18 against Northwestern.
On the season, including one start and some mop-up duty, he has completed 51.8% of his passes.
That’s the kind of situation where a quarterback wants a receiver who can simply be thrown the ball and trusted to make a play. If Duff can’t go, Rutgers may not have that option in Madison.
In Other News...
Wisconsins Rutgers Prep Just Took A Tough Turn Up Front
The first injury report for Wisconsins matchup with Rutgers already puts a spotlight on the trenches, where the Badgers are trying to get ready for a physical Big Ten game with some uncertainty up front. Kevin Heywood is listed as doubtful, and Austin Kawecki is also dealing with an injury, which complicates the picture for an offensive line that will need to hold up against a Rutgers front that has its own issues.
Rutgers will be missing starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan and top offensive lineman Kobe Asamoah, among others, so both sides are heading into the week with important pieces in question or unavailable. More injury updates are expected as the game gets closer, and for Wisconsin, the next few days will go a long way toward showing how much flexibility it has to absorb those losses before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Bowl Push May Hinge On These Emerging Badgers
With four games left and Wisconsin sitting at 5-3, the path to a bowl game is starting to narrow into a stretch where the Badgers need more than their established names. The next month figures to be shaped just as much by players who have recently started to matter, with Jaylon Domingeaux giving the offense a useful spark while the staff looks for steady production from a few younger pieces around him.
On the other side of the ball, Sebastian Cheeks and Cooper Catalano have become part of that same conversation because of the way they can affect a game without always showing up in the loudest way. If Wisconsin is going to keep its postseason hopes moving in the right direction, the Badgers may need those defensive contributions to keep growing as the schedule tightens and every possession starts to carry more weight. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Offensive Line Just Got Thrown Into Another Rutgers Test
Wisconsins offensive line has already spent much of this season in a state of flux, and now another Rutgers week is pushing the group back into problem-solving mode. Coach Eric Mateos has had to manage injuries and lineup changes around key pieces such as Kevin Heywood, Emerson Mandell and Austin Kawecki, leaving the Badgers to keep reshuffling up front while trying to maintain some continuity.
Heywood is listed as doubtful for the upcoming game, which only adds to the uncertainty as Wisconsin maps out its next configuration. The Badgers have options to consider, but the larger issue is the same one that has followed this unit for weeks: finding a combination that can hold up long enough to give the offense a chance to settle in. [Read more 🡒]