This Saturday, the two biggest challenges for the Alabama Crimson Tide have nothing to do with the Wisconsin Badgers. One challenge is that in the second half of the 11:00 AM CST kickoff game, the temperature on Saban Field will be around 100 degrees. Saturday's high is predicted to be 93 degrees. It will be much hotter on the field. The heat will be hard on both teams, but the Badgers will feel it the most.
Saturday's other major challenge will be not to play down to the level of the opponent. On Saturday night, Luke Fickell was asked if Wisconsin was ready to step up in competition. Fickell's answer was "Right at this moment? No."
The reality for Saturday is that after an offseason of preparation and two game weeks, seven more days will not dramatically improve the Badgers. Alabama can play down to the Badgers and put itself in danger. Instead, the Crimson Tide needs to perform at a level of effort and execution that enables it to beat the Georgia Bulldogs a week later.
Wisconsin can get a boost from the return of starting Badgers quarterback, Billy Edwards Jr. Edwards was injured in Wisconsin's season opener against Miami-Ohio. An MRI showed no serious damage to his knee. He is said to be week-to-week; while recovering from a knee sprain.
What else Luke Fickell said about the Alabama Crimson Tide
Reported by the Wisconsin SI.com site, Fickell talked about the challenges his team will face playing Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
- We're going on the road to, obviously, an incredibly hostile environment, to a team that beat us pretty bad last year at home. We understand what the journey in front of us and the mountain looks like, and we've got to continue to climb."
- We can’t play the way we did in the first half (against Middle Tennessee State). There’s no doubt about that. We've got our work cut out for us, but that's where you've got to find out what you are."
On Saturday, MTSU outgained Wisconsin 117 yards to 42 in the first quarter. The Blue Raiders bungled two first half scoring opportunities, allowing the Badgers to take a first half lead of 14-10. In the second half Wisconsin scored 28 points while shutting out the Blue Raiders.
Note: Game stats provided by ESPN.