Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti has made history in countless ways during his tenure in Bloomington, and he has a chance to do so again when the Hoosiers (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) host Wisconsin (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten) on Saturday. With a win, No. 2 Indiana will cement its first 11-0 start in program history.
With injuries to wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, left guard Drew Evans, linebacker Kaiden Turner and kickoff specialist Brendan Franke, the Hoosiers are eagerly awaiting their second bye week. They have played games in each of the past six weeks, including back-to-back on the road.
Sarratt went through warmups before Indiana’s dramatic win over Penn State but did not play, with sophomore wideout Charlie Becker having a career-best game with “Waffle House” on the sidelines. Per Cignetti, Sarratt is questionable for Saturday. He added that Evans will be “a few weeks yet,” meaning he might not see the field again until postseason play.
Few teams have been more snakebitten by injuries than Wisconsin. Head coach Luke Fickell has been without his starting quarterback for at least three games in each of his first three seasons at Wisconsin. Maryland transfer Billy Edwards Jr. started the season opener and suffered a knee sprain that has kept him sidelined ever since, save for a brief stint versus Maryland on Sept. 20 when he reactivated the injury.
Backup quarterback Danny O’Neil, an Indianapolis native, was carted off the field early in the Badgers’ 13-10 win over No. 23 Washington on Nov. 8. Running back Dilin Jones, who is the only Wisconsin player with multiple rushing touchdowns, was out versus Washington, and Fickell’s team had 18 players listed on the report.
True freshman quarterback Carter Smith, who began the season running the scout team, is in line to start for Wisconsin on Saturday. He completed three passes for eight yards against Washington, adding 15 rushes for 47 yards and the game-tying on the ground. The Badgers’ leading passer was punter Sean West, who completed a 24-yard pass on a fake punt.
Wisconsin has struggled to find the end zone all season long, averaging a Big Ten-worst 12.6 points per game. It averages 255.6 yards per game, which is second-to-last among FBS teams, while converting on a Big Ten-worst 31.9% of third downs.
Facing an Indiana defense that ranks second nationally at 12.1 points allowed per game, the Badgers have yet another monumental challenge in front of them. They have already played on the road at Alabama, Michigan and Oregon in addition to hosting Iowa and Ohio State, being outscored 154-31 (24.6 PPG) in those games, including two shutout losses.
“They’re a tough, gritty football team,” Cignetti said on Monday. “They’ve had a murderer’s row schedule.”
Wisconsin has the second-best strength of schedule in the FBS per ESPN, with Florida holding the top spot. Cignetti knows that, despite teetering on the precipice of missing a bowl game for the second straight season, the Badgers present a challenge for Indiana.
“We’re not sneaking up on anyone anymore,” he said. “We’ll get Wisconsin’s best shot.”
The Badgers will have to lean on their defense to hang with Indiana. True freshman linebackers Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano led Wisconsin in its upset win over Washington, with Posa becoming the first FBS player this season to record 10 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the same game. Catalano tallied 19 tackles on Nov. 8, the most by any Wisconsin player since 2011.
“They play hard,” Cignetti said of Wisconsin’s defense. “They get hats to the ball. Bend, don’t break in the secondary. Keep the ball in front of you, do a good job in the run game. They created turnovers against Washington. They did a great job.”
Even though Saturday is senior day and it will likely be Indiana’s last home game of the season given that the current College Football Playoff projections have Indiana in line for a first-round bye, the Hoosiers are not focused on any sort of finality.
“I doubt that any of (the players) are thinking about the end right now,” Cignetti said. “Everybody understands where we’re at and what’s possible.”
From quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy campaign — he leads the FBS with 31 total touchdowns — to a spot in the Big Ten title game and a CFP berth, it’s all in front of the Hoosiers. Indiana’s senior day game against Wisconsin kicks off at noon on Saturday. It will be broadcast on Big Ten Network, the IU Sports Radio Network and WIUX Sports, the latter of which will feature Nick Rodecap and Luke Brennaman on the call.
