Varsity - The Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics

Varsity - November 7, 2013

Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.

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INSIDE FOOTBALL BY BRIAN MASON Badgers seek to slow down BYU's fast-paced offense Cougars are one of the nation's quickest teams he Badgers are no stranger to fast-paced offensive teams, having faced a number of them this season, but the speed at which BYU operates may present the Wisconsin defense with a whole new challenge on Saturday. "They are fast," UW coach Gary Andersen said. "They get up and down the field." But how fast is fast? Through eight games this season, the Cougars have run a play every 19.2 seconds and average 83 plays per game. By comparison, the average of the Badgers' eight opponents is 24.3 T 46 // VARSITY November 7, 2013 seconds per play. Based on the average time of possession by UW's opponents this year, that 5.1-second difference means Wisconsin's defense would be on the field for an additional 16 plays. However, it is not only BYU's speed, but its ability to change pace, that makes the Cougars' offense a unqiue challenge. "It's not always pedal-tothe-metal every snap," Andersen said. "The key is to not get worn out." Wisconsin's fastest-operating opponent so far was Northwestern, which snapped the ball every 20.4 seconds. @BADGERFOOTBALL SCHEDULE (6-2, 4-1) LAST WEEK Nov. 2 at Iowa W, 28-9 COMING UP Saturday BYU 2:30 p.m. Nov. 16 Indiana 11 a.m. Nov. 23 at Minnesota TBA Nov. 30 Penn StateTBA For comparison's sake, Wisconsin's offense has run a play every 29.4 seconds on its way to ranking ninth nationally in time of possession at 33:24 per game. If the Badgers can control possession, it will certainly help limit the impact of BYU's tempo on the UW defense. "We can dictate tempo and dictate pace (by doing) what we do on offense, and doing it well," Andersen said. Andersen added that the Camp Randall crowd can have an effect. "It's powerful," he said. "I know they will do a lot to hamper BYU's opportunities to play as fast as they want because it gets loud."

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