Benzschawel suffers injury; return TBD
MADISON - Wisconsin suffered another injury to a starter, although this time the offense absorbed the blow. Right guard Beau
Benzschawel was lost with a right leg injury midway through the second quarter Saturday and did not return in UW’s 3114 over visiting Florida Atlantic.
Benzschawel, a redshirt junior from Grafton High School, started his 18th consecutive game at right guard Saturday. Redshirt junior Micah
Kapoi took over for Benzschawel and finished the game. Kapoi, who started the opener at left guard, entered the day with 13 starts. Nine of those came at left guard and four at right guard.
UW coach Paul Chryst said after the game he wasn’t certain of the severity of Benzschawel’s injury.
“Any time when you lose any of your starters, there's going to be an impact,” he said. “But I don't know what the status is.”
UW hits the road this week to face BYU at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Provo, Utah.
According to Kapoi, Benzschawel lobbied to stay in the game but the staff told him to call it a day.
“I didn’t see it happen,” Kapoi said. “He came off the field fine but I guess he was hurting (afterward). He wanted to go back in. But we don’t want to lose him for a long time.”
Kapoi played exclusively on the left side in high school but worked at both guard spots beginning with his freshman season at UW.
“It’s not as big of a transition now,” he said. “When I first had to do it,
it was hard. Right now flipping sides isn’t too difficult.” Florida on their
minds: With Hurricane Irma making landfall in Florida, several UW players had to worry about the safety of family and friends back home.
FAU coach Lane Kiffin acknowledged he initially thought the Owls would not make the trip to Madison.
“Our players didn't want to come because there's a lot of players not wanting to leave their families,” he said. “You’ve got kids coming into the office saying, ‘Coach I know it's a football game but I’m really the only one to take care of my grandma. We don't know what's coming.'
“But there was a decision made to come play so with all of those distractions I thought the guys stayed together in a difficult situation.”
Florida Atlantic is expected to stay through Sunday and perhaps Monday before returning to Boca Raton, Fla. UW defensive backs
Derrick Tindal (Fort Lauderdale) and Natrell Jamerson (Ocala) said their family members decided against evacuating but they were able to shelter from the storm.
“I just texted my mom,” Jamerson said. “They’re not as worried as I am. We’ve been through a few hurricanes before. We know how to handle it but of course this one is supposed to be way bigger.”
Tindal said: “There’s a possibility that the hurricane might not hit my part of Florida because it is turning. Hopefully, it just turns away from the United States and gets out of here.
“I’ve been nervous but I know my family is a strong family. My dad is a
strong person. He is going to take care of them.” Filling in for Obasih:
UW was without defensive end Chikwe Obasih, who suffered a left knee injury during practice on Wednesday.
The redshirt senior from Brookfield Central High School has started 31 games and played in 42. Defensive coordinator
Jim Leonhard used a 24-5 look and a 3-4-4 look and the Badgers used four ends: Conor Sheehy, Alec James, Isaiahh Loudermilk and Billy Hirschfeld.
James played at Brookfield East High School and was a rival of Obasih's.
“He is doing well,” James said. “I just him in the locker room. It does hurt to see him out, because he is a guy who has contributed so much to this team.
“Luckily he is only out for a short period of time. That is the positive part of it.” Hintze gets his kicks:
Redshirt sophomore Zach
Hintze, from Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs High School, handled kickoffs Saturday. He replaced P.J. Rosowski, who suffered a strained quadriceps in practice on Thursday.
Hintze, who kicked a 61-yard field goal in a high school playoff game and kicked a 49-yard field goal as a senior to help Springs win the WIAA Division 6 state title, recorded four touchbacks on six
kicks. He averaged 63.7 yards per kick.
“It was my first college game so you’re going to be nervous a little bit,” Hintze said. “But after the first one it kind of turned into habit.” James rebounds: Redshirt junior tailback Chris
James, who lost a fumble and managed just 15 yards on five carries in the opener, looked more comfortable Saturday.
He carried 16 times for 101 yards, an average of 6.3 yards per carry. James doesn’t get through the line of scrimmage as quickly as Jonathan Taylor, but when he does reach the linebacker level he is able to use his quickness and elusiveness effectively.
“Last week I kind of had the jitters a little bit,” James said. “I’ve settled in now but I still have a lot to improve on.”
Alex Hornibrook ’s second-quarter interception was the Badgers’ first since the fourth quarter of UW’s 23-17 victory over Nebraska on Oct. 29, 2016. The pick snapped a streak of seven consecutive games and 29 consecutive quarters without throwing an interception. That was the longest such streak by a Big Ten team in the last 20 years.…
UW was penalized once for 10 yards Saturday. That was a dramatic improvement from the opener, when Badgers were penalized nine times for 73 yards.