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
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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."