Fresno State

Tom Brandstater leads the Bulldogs into their second big challenge of the young 2008 football season. Brandstater struggled in the first half against Rutgers as he could not put together any type of rhythm finishing the half 5 for 15. Brandstater looked uncomfortable in the pocket and seemed to throw before being set quite often. At the same time Brandstater looked as if he was caught watching the defensive line at times and did not effectively find his receivers on the football field. Fortunately for the Fresno State Bulldogs and Tom Brandstater the second half was a completely different story. Brandstater completed 6 of 9 passes while contributing to 4 scoring drives Fresno State put together en route to their 24-7 victory. While Ryan Mathew’s legs may have been the most important part of the offense against Rutgers, Brandstater’s two key throws to Ajirotutu should not be ignored.

Brandstater possesses the strength to throw the deep ball well and fire the ball in small windows underneath. While Brandstater has not began the season the way most wanted him to the fact remains that he is the starting QB on a team that is 1-0. Brandstater may not have carried the team the way Fresno State would have liked him to two Saturdays ago but he did not make mistakes that were costly to the Bulldogs. Brandstater kept his composure giving Fresno State a chance to win the game in the second half. Saturday look for Brandstater to continue to improve his passing performance. Tom looked very comfortable in the second half against Rutgers and there is now reason to believe that with one game under his belt this season that the cobwebs have been dusted off. Fresno State once again will try to establish the run. However, with Seyi Ajirotutu stepping up in a big way against Rutgers Wisconsin will now have to turn their attention to both Marlon Moore and Seyi Ajirotutu to eliminate the passing game. Brandstater will not throw for huge chunks of yards Saturday. Instead Tom will play a smart, efficient football game giving his team a chance to win the game heading into the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin counters with Kansas State transfer Allan Evridge.

QB Allen Evridge with P.J. Hill Image Copyright Badger Nation 2008

Evridge transferred from Kansas State after the 2005 season. Evridge is a first year starter for the Badgers but has done a good job of managing both games he has started to this point. In his first game Evridge was only asked to throw the ball ten times in a decisive victory over Akron. This past Saturday Wisconsin opened shaky against Marshall. The running game did not produce like it has in the past during the first half of the game leading the Badgers to call on Evridge in the second half. Evridge finished 17 of 26 for 308 yards and one touchdown. Marshall constantly challenged Wisconsin to throw the ball in the second half and that is exactly what the Badgers did. Fresno State will come into this game attempting to limit the amount of yards the Badgers gain on the ground. In fact most teams that play Wisconsin this season will attempt to slow their running game down meaning that Evridge will have to step up week after week if the Badgers want to challenge for a spot in the Rose Bowl. Evridge may have little game experience but he is aided by a strong offensive line that has not allowed a sack up to this point in the season.

While Evridge’s game experience does not rival that of Brandstater it won’t matter much in the game Saturday night. Evridge is surrounded by a great supporting cast which will allow him to feel much more comfortable playing on the road than most first year starting QB’s would. The fact that Evridge is protected well will only help him achieve much better passing stats as the season moves along as well. Fans should expect Evridge to play a smart football game as well. Since the brunt of the offense does not run through Evridge he will have to make plays when he is given the chance to. Wisconsin will try to establish the run just as much as Fresno State will. The winner of this game may come down to what QB steps up when the running game falters. After two weeks of college football neither QB has an edge over the other. Expect both QB’s to play a smart football game in which they both give their respective teams a chance to win the football game. After all as fans can you really ask for anything more from your QB?