UW notes: Badgers hope to replicate Minnesota's success against Purdue's offense
MADISON – Minnesota’s 41-10 victory over visiting Purdue was easily one of the more surprising Big Ten results this season.
Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck opened the week by firing his defensive coordinator and tabbing defensive line coach Joe Rossi as interim coordinator.
Purdue entered the day averaging 35.8 points and 485.2 yards per game in Big Ten play. Minnesota limited the Boilermakers to 233 total yards and didn’t allow a third-down conversion in 12 chances.
The task of slowing Purdue’s offense Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium falls to UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
After studying video of the game, Leonhard agreed Purdue wasn’t sharp but credited Minnesota’s defense for making plays.
“If a guy needed to beat a block and make a tackle for less than 2 yards he did it,” he said. “That was a lot of the third downs. Guys (gave) tremendous effort, tackled really well.
"So as much as Purdue was off, I thought Minnesota played really well.
“It’s on you to go execute and do that. Obviously, if you can get a team off-balance a little bit and get them searching at times, that helps you out.”
Purdue enters Saturday No. 2 in the Big Ten in passing (311.8 ypg) and No. 5 in scoring (31.1 ppg). Can UW slow Purdue's attack as Minnesota did?
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"They’ve got some guys that can really go vertical," cornerback Faion Hicks said. "They trust them to win one-on-one matchups. That is what it is going to come down to, people winning their one-on-one matchups."
From the infirmary
UW could be without quarterback Alex Hornibrook (concussion) and right tackle David Edwards (left arm) on Saturday.
Hornibrook, who sat out the second half against Rutgers and did not travel last week to Penn State, has not practiced this week.
The team practiced Thursday in the McClain Center and afterward Hornibrook was in shorts and a T-shirt working on drops and throws. Such physical activity is part of the concussion protocol to see how he reacts afterward.
Coan completed just 9 of 20 passes for 60 yards in the loss to Penn State.
Breakdowns in blocking contributed significantly to Penn State’s five sacks. Although the success of the offense generally depends on the execution of all 11 players, Chryst noted Coan needs to do more.
"For us to be at a point where you are winning every guy has got to do it,” he said. “But the truth of it is, the ball is in his hands more than others.
“A good quarterback is like a good point guard. You can’t do it on your own, but at the same time you are a big facilitator.”
Edwards aggravated a previous injury in the loss to Penn State. He suffered the injury, a stinger that affected the strength in his left shoulder and arm, in camp.
Coan is set to make his second consecutive start and third overall this week.
Redshirt freshman Logan Bruss could get his first start at tackle if Edwards can’t play.