Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema knows his team can't look past Marshall -- neither the team nor its star player of the same name.
Sophomore Darius Marshall rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown to lead Marshall University to a 35-10 victory over Illinois State last Saturday. The Thundering Herd come to Camp Randall Stadium this Saturday.
At his weekly news conference, Bielema said Marshall's talent jumped out at him as he watched the film.
Wisconsin also won its season opener, 38-17 over the University of Akron. The Badgers were No. 13 last week, and are No.11 in the new AP rankings.
The nation's second-longest home winning streak will be on the line against Marshall.
With the Badgers victory over Akron, Wisconsin stretched its home winning streak to 15 games, which is the second longest active streak in the nation (Oklahoma has won 18 straight).
The Badgers have also won 31 of their last 33 home games against non-conference foes, dating back to 1995, and that is certainly bad news for Marshall.
Marshall returns 15 starters from a year ago and is in search for its first winning campaign since 2003.
The Herd and Badgers, who are 5-0 all-time against current Conference USA members, are meeting for the first-ever time on the gridiron this weekend.
Marshall did most of its damage on the ground in its opener, rushing for 229 of its 390 total yards in the win over Illinois State.
Herd quarterback Mark Cann, making his first career start, threw for 161 yards and two scores in the win. He completed just 11-of-22 pass attempts though and was intercepted once, displaying a redshirt freshman's inexperience.
His main target was Darius Passmore, who logged four catches for 111 yards and two scores. It was the third 100-yard receiving game of his career, with a majority of those yards being gained on an 88-yard scoring strike late in the second quarter.
The Herd were also effective on defense last weekend, as they limited Illinois State to just 327 total yards. The defense was stout against the run, yielding just 98 yards, but proved to be a bit vulnerable against the pass, allowing 229 yards. The unit also spent 39 minutes of the game on the field and that is simply too much, especially against a FCS program.
The Badgers simply rolled over Akron this past weekend, racking up a whopping 404 rushing yards behind a 6.3 ypc average.
It was Wisconsin's first 400-yard rushing game since 2002. P.J. Hill led the way with 210 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, as his size and quickness proved to be too much to handle for Akron. It was the second career 200-yard game for Hill, who is easily on pace to crack the 1,000-yard plateau for the third straight season. Zach Brown added 87 yards and a score on 15 carries, while John Clay posted 71 yards and a touchdown on 12 totes. Bielema plans on using all three backs consistently this season, even though Hill is clearly the go-to- guy.
With the ground attack dominating, quarterback Allan Evridge wasn't really needed and he threw for just 75 yards with a touchdown and interception on 7- of-10 pass attempts. The fifth-year senior, who started six games for Kansas State in 2005, did a good job managing the team, but he will need to make more plays against tougher competition.
"The part that we knew Allan was going to be able to do was being able to manage the game,"
said Bielema. "He put on a lot of calls at the line of scrimmage which are good, and he was positive off of that."
Defensively, Wisconsin did a respectable job against Akron, which managed only 297 yards of total offense. The Badgers clamped down against the run, surrendering just 70 yards, but were beaten through the air for 227 yards. The unit forced only one turnover and recorded just two sacks, so creating big plays is something this defense will look to improve upon this weekend. Jaevery McFadden, making his first career start as a Badger, led the way with 11 stops, while Levy Deandre had six tackles and one TFL.
