Dave Aranda’s schemes and Wisconsin’s players have combined to give the Badgers some dynamic options for stuffing multiple kinds of Big 10 offenses in 2015. When defensive coordinator Dave Aranda first arrived in Wisconsin he found a big, veteran DL waiting for him that had obvious purposes in the new 3-4 defense, namely to keep linebacker Chris Borland clean as he wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. But after 6’2″ 330 pound nose tackle Beau Allen and star linebacker Borland departed, the Badger front no longer included a collection of obvious 3-4 defensive players but instead several tweener-sized players at multiple positions. That suited Aranda just fine, and he made use of the versatility in his players to create a defense heavy on disguise and movement that finished seventh in the nation on passing downs on 15th overall in S&P. Thanks to a year of strong defensive play (and Melvin Gordon), Wisconsin had the chance to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big 10 Championship game. It was here that the Badger defense hit a snag. The Buckeyes seemed to be able to destroy the Badger defense no matter what they did, throwing for 257 yards at 14.3 yards per pass while running for 301 yards at 7.9 yards per rush. The Badgers’ reward for this humiliation was to face another smashmouth spread team in the Auburn Tigers at the Outback Bowl. Aranda took the opportunity for redemption and adjusted their strategy to allow the Badgers a chance to win their bowl game, recover momentum as a program, and find some answers for a problem that isn’t going away any time soon. WIth their 34-31 victory over Malzahn, the Badgers found some answers, again relying on some hybrid athletes that will return to be the foundation for another top defense in 2015 Problems against Ohio State Aranda’s plan against the Buckeyes was to aggressively load the middle of the field with players that could fill the extra gaps created by the Buckeyes’ QB run game. The Badgers played 2-4-5 nickel personnel with cornerback Darius Hillary in the nickel position to allow them to play man coverage on the Buckeye receivers…
Continue Reading: Wisconsin’s versatile, hybrid defense – Football Study Hall
