Wisconsin at BYU: Game preview, prediction

Teams: Wisconsin Badgers (2-0) vs. Brigham Young Cougars (1-2).

Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah.

Time: 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

TV: ABC with Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Tommy Tuberville (analysis) and Paul Carcaterra (sideline).

Radio: WOKY-AM (920) in Milwaukee and a state network with Matt Lepay (play-by-play) and Mike Lucas (analysis).

Tickets: Available.

Line: UW by 16 1/2.

Series: Series even, 1-1.

Coaches: Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst (23-6, third season; 42-25, sixth season overall) vs. BYU’s Kalani Sitake (10-6, second season overall).

WISCONSIN: Schedule | Roster | Stats

BYU: Schedule | Roster | Stats

NCAA: Live scoreboard, team pages, schedules, stats and polls

FOUR THINGS TO WATCH

Line dance: UW offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph has grown accustomed to juggling the offensive line. He’ll have to do so again this week with left guard Jon Dietzen (right ankle) out and right guard Beau Benzschawel (right leg) questionable. Dietzen, who has battled ankle problems throughout his time at UW, was wearing a protective boot on his right foot during the week. The third and fourth guards are Micah Kapoi, who worked on the right side during the week, and walk-on Jason Erdmann, who got work with the No. 1 unit at left guard. That has to be a concern for UW considering the strength of this BYU team is the front seven on defense. 

“They’re big guys,” Rudolph said. “They play their techniques well. They’re physical. No one has really been able to run the ball on them. I think it is a big challenge.”

Top secret: BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum suffered a left-ankle injury late in the Cougars’ 19-13 loss to rival Utah and his status for Saturday is in question. BYU coaches have been coy about Mangum’s availability but if he can’t go against UW, look for redshirt sophomore Beau Hoge to get his first start. 

Hoge played in three games in 2015 and redshirted last season so the UW coaches won’t have much video to study. Hoge completed 10 of 17 passes for 137 yards, with one touchdown and an interception, and rushed 16 times for 49 yards and two touchdowns in 2015. He is more mobile than Mangum so UW defenders will have to be prepared for designed runs, sprint-outs and perhaps bootlegs.  

“I think you can drive yourself nuts trying to figure out what’s going to happen,” Chryst said. “I still believe the most important part of preparation is the things you can control.”

First-quarter blues: UW dominated opponents in the first quarter of games in 2016. The Badgers outscored opponents in all four quarters last season but the 66-point edge in the opening quarter (88-22) was their biggest margin. Through two games this season, UW has been outscored by a combined 17-14. A turnover led to a 16-yard touchdown drive by Utah State in the opener and a coverage bust last week against Florida Atlantic resulted in a 63-yard touchdown pass. UW’s offense has scored on three of nine drives that started before the end of the first quarter. 

Return policy: UW’s coaches expected to see the return units provide more big plays this season after the Badgers finished ninth in the Big Ten in 2016 on kickoff (19.8-yard average) and punt returns (6.8). The units through two games have yet to deliver a big hit. Nick Nelson is averaging 5.0 yards on five punt returns, with a long return of 14 yards. A.J. Taylor is at 22.8 yards on three kickoff returns, with a long return of 28 yards. 

HISTORY LESSON

UW and BYU last met in 2013, Gary Andersen’s first season in Madison.

Bronco Mendenhall’s BYU team came to Madison with a 6-2 record and averaging 32 points and 511 yards per game. 

Led by linebacker Chris Borland and safety Michael Caputo, UW contained quarterback Taysom Hill in a 27-17 victory.

Borland, returning from a hamstring injury, recorded two sacks and 13 total tackles. Caputo added 12 tackles.

Hill completed just 19 of 41 passes (46.3%) for 207 yards. He had two touchdown passes, the second with 3 minutes 12 seconds left in the game, but was sacked four times. 

Tailback James White was the star on offense for UW. The senior rushed 23 times for 147 yards (6.4-yard average) and two touchdowns and caught six passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.

DID YOU KNOW?

UW tailback Jonathan Taylor is averaging 155.0 rushing yards per game. That is the No. 1 mark in the country among freshmen. The No. 2 mark is 126.5 yards per game, by Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins.

JEFF POTRYKUS’ PREDICTION

BYU’s offense has scored four touchdowns in three games, two rushing and two passing. If the Cougars are forced to go with a new starting quarterback this week, it is difficult to see them marching up and down the field on UW’s defense. The Badgers’ offense has been up and down but it should be good enough to win a low-scoring affair. Wisconsin 21, BYU 10