BYU football: Scouting the Wisconsin Badgers
By Adam Gibby
Wisconsin Special Teams
Returning Starters: 3
Key Returning Players: P Anthony Lotti, K P.J Rosowski, PK Rafael Gaglanone
Key Losses: None
What to expect in 2017: Consistency. The special teams unit for the Badgers is good. They are not amazing, however they are dependable. The punter Anthony Lotti only had one touchback all season, however also only had an average of 37.7 yards per punt. Rosowski was pretty consistent at kicking touchbacks and field goal kicker Rafael Gaglanone is very dependable inside 40 yard kicks. These numbers should improve a little bit for all the players, however none of them will be game changers this season.
What BYU can do to be successful: Keep Wisconsin out of field goal range. Again if BYU wants to win this game it has to be low scoring. Giving Wisconsin six to nine points off of field goals very easily could be the difference. Even one field goal could make a huge difference. BYU football needs to do everything that they can to keep Gaglanone off of the field. Another thing that the Cougars can do is try to block a punt. With the punt average only being 37 yards, long returns will likely not happen. With such short punts, the coverage team will have more than enough time to defend the kick returner.
Prediction: Wisconsin will make one field goal and miss one field goal against the Cougars. BYU will either have Wisconsin figured out on a drive and force a punt or it will likely go for a touchdown. The Cougars will not have any good punt returns, however will have a few opportunities on kick off returns to make some big plays. I also am making a bold prediction that there will be a blocked kick at some point during this game.