This season, the Wisconsin Badgers will be opening the 2022 season at home against the Illinois State Redbirds of division one FCS. This is the first time since 2012 that the Badgers are facing an FCS opponent. It’ll also be the Redbirds very first-time visiting Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers had originally been slated to face former head coach Bret Bielema and the Illinois Illini. While most fans look at this game as football practice, however, when we consider all the changes, I believe they are the perfect opponent for the Badgers to face.
In the offseason, the Badgers lost eight preferred starters on defense and six on offense. The Badgers will have a lot of new names on both offense and defense. While the Badgers have some promising in-house talent and dipped into the transfer portal, adjustments will need to be made. It takes time for the talent to gel and develop and why not work through that against a weaker opponent. It’ll be a great opportunity for the starters and rotational players to get their feet wet.
A New Offensive Scheme to Further Master
Bobby Engram is now the offensive coordinator for the Badgers. This offseason, the Badgers talked about “modernizing” their offense. With a new coordinator comes a new scheme, concepts and ideas. While the Badgers will have the spring and summer to install and practice their new look offense; there simply isn’t enough study and practice time to get the entire playbook down completely. Illinois State is coming off a 4-7 season against FCS opponents. In this game, the Badgers will be able to experiment with different plays. It’ll also allows them to get the mistakes out of the way that they won’t be able to make in Big Ten play. Having the opportunity to run the new plays in game speed against a weaker opponent will help the Badgers going forward.
Graham Mertz has Everything to Gain From Week One
Nobody could use this game more then quarterback Graham Mertz. This game will be a great opportunity for him to build some early season confidence. Graham Mertz must take advantage of the reps he’ll be given in this game to get the playbook down. There will most likely be new concepts involved that the Badgers are counting on Mertz to execute. While he’ll probably be taken out of the game by halftime or just after, Mertz will be able to see if his offseason work will pay dividends early.
Potentially a New Blocking Scheme
Fans got their wish as Bob Bostad has been moved from inside linebackers to offensive line. With that move comes transition as offensive line coach Joe Rudolph departed for the same position at Virginia Tech. Rudolph had been coaching the Badgers hog mollies since 2015. With Bostad returning to his roots, a new blocking scheme might be installed. It’ll be important for the offensive line to get their assignments and blocks down right away. It takes time for an offensive line to gel as a unit especially when new starters will be on the offensive front. While the offense had a solid season after starting off slow, Bostad will be tasked with getting this group to take the next step toward greatness. Having a game like this will allow the Badgers offensive line to get Bostad’s blocking scheme down in game speed.
New Pass Catching Corps to Develop Chemistry With
Starting wide receivers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis are all moving on. This means that Chimere Dike and Markus Allen will now be the starters. This also means either Skyler Bell or UCLA transfer Keontez Lewis will be in the slot. Dike was a slot receiver last year and he’ll be taking on a much larger role as the number one pass catcher. With a brand-new wide receiver corps, developing chemistry with Graham Mertz will be paramount for success in 2022. This game against Illinois State will allow for in-game chemistry to develop. While Mertz has thrown to Dike before, he has never thrown to Lewis. He has also thrown a limited number of passes to Allen and Bell. This game will help tune up the quarterback to wide receiver chemistry for FCS and Big Ten games.
New Starters at the Linebacker and Cornerback Positions
On Defense, the Badgers will be replacing all of their starting linebackers and cornerbacks from last season. One cornerback, Dean Engram is switching to wide receiver. While the Badgers picked up three cornerbacks in the transfer portal, fans can’t expect them to have a firm grasp on Jim Leonhard’s defense overnight. It’ll also allow the Badgers to experiment with their linebacker rotations in game speed. Lots of Badger hopefuls will able to make a final case on why they should start next season.
Both the linebacker and cornerback positions have some huge questions to answer. The only linebacker who has his position locked up for 2022 is Nick Herbig. With the amount of production that left the program, it might take into the regular season to know who will be regulars in the rotations. Having this game on the schedule makes it easier to get an understanding rather then against an FBS opponent.
There is Plenty to Gain Against Illinois State
While week one can be seen as just a “money game” for Illinois State; the Badgers should still treat this game like they have something to gain. New faces will be seen on both sides of the football and a new offensive scheme will be in action this season. This game does the Badgers a favor as it allows them to further prepare for the bigger games on their schedule. The new starters and rotation players will have the opportunity to get more comfortable in a game. This will better help the Badgers be set up for success in 2022.
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