Michigan Football: Everything you need to know about Wisconsin

Dominating defense

Wisconsin lost their top pass rusher to the NFL draft in Andrew Van Ginkel and it appears they haven’t lost a step. Zack Baun filled in for Ginkel and has already accounted for two sacks and five total tackles for this highly regarded defense.

According to the SP+ rankings, this Badger defense is listed at 13th in the country. “What is SP+?” Billy Connelly, the creator of the metric, rhetorically asked. “In a single sentence, it’s a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. I created the system at Football Outsiders in 2008, and as my experience with both college football and its stats has grown, I have made quite a few tweaks to the system.” For comparison’s sake, the Wolverines are ranked number one with Michigan State falling to three in the wake of Saturday’s loss.

What have Wisconsin’s opponents done to date? I ask rhetorically. Nothing, they have done nothing. In South Florida, South Florida amassed a total of 157 yards and zero points. And Central Michigan? Goose egg. They haven’t even allowed a play over 20 yards.

Aside from Baun, one of the most impressive players to emerge is Mike Maskalunas.

“It felt good,” Mike said in an interview, responding to a question about his outstanding performance against USF. “I just kinda went out there with the mentality to do my job.”

In the first game, six total tackles were attributed to Maskalunas, and that was no fluke. Mike added another four tackles in the second game bringing his total to ten on the season, making him the team leader.