UW’s offensive linemen don’t regret soaking in the hype

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – They embraced every opportunity for a little national pub.

Photo shoots.

A detailed story on their legendary meals at Red Robin.

Their faces on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

A video shoot with ESPN, which included a little fishing on Madison’s lakes.

Wisconsin’s offensive linemen were preseason celebrities.

They were labeled the No. 1 offensive line in the country. With that label, however, came responsibility and a target on their backs.

“I think there is something to that, though, maybe guys are preparing differently knowing what is at stake and what they have to do to stop us,” senior right guard Beau Benzschawel said.

“They know it is going to come down to us winning the game or not winning the game.”

With UW (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) out of the running for the West Division title and the offense producing fewer points than last season entering its game Saturday at Purdue (5-5, 4-3),

much of the criticism has been placed at the feet of the line.

Do the linemen regret embracing those opportunities during the summer?

“Absolutely not,” senior left guard Michael Deiter said. “It was never anything like: ‘We should be on that (cover) because we’re really good.’

“We were just: ‘Sure we’ll do it. That will be fun.’

“It’s not like we bought into anything. I don’t regret it. In my opinion, it didn’t affect the way we work.

“It was all pretty cool stuff.” Benzschawel concurred.

“I don’t think we regret it all,” he said. “It is something that comes with the territory when we agreed to do it.”

UW enters the weekend No. 6 nationally in rushing at 266.6 rushing yards

Tyler Biadasz (left) and Michael Deiter are part of offensive line that was ranked No. 1 in the country before the season.

per game.

Jonathan Taylor leads the nation in rushing at 154.8 yards per game. With 1,548 rushing yards this season, he is the fourth UW player to reach the 1,500yard mark in consecutive seasons. He has topped the 100-yard mark in nine of 10 games this season.

Taiwan Deal (7.1-yard average), Taylor (6.8) and Garrett Groshek (6.5) are all averaging at least 6.5 yards per carry.

Yet the points produced by the offense are down to 28.9 per game this season, a slight drop from last season’s mark of 30.1.

“I think as an offensive lineman you try to take as much (responsibility) as possible,” Deiter said. “It’s kind of the job.

“The offensive line should always be on. … I think we’ve done a good job running the ball consistently. We should have. That was expected.

“I think we could definitely protect more consistently. When you talk about throwing the ball you’ve got to be able to protect.”

UW allowed five sacks in a 22-10 loss to Penn State last week and breakdowns in pass protection have come at crucial times in several losses.

“You can’t have people getting in the quarterback’s face,” Deiter said. “I think we’ve been good but we haven’t been as consistent as we could have been. And we should be.”

UW averaged 6.3 yards per carry against Michigan’s stout defense but the pass protection wasn’t up to the unit’s standards.

Northwestern’s front seven won the battle up front and Taylor finished with a season-low 46 yards on 11 carries.

UW rushed for 209 yards at Penn State but the sacks contributed to an ineffective passing game.

The members of the line expect Purdue’s defense, which is averaging 2.2 sacks per game, to attack on Saturday.

When you get a chance to take down the unit labeled as the best in the nation, you go for it.

“I think for all of us, we want the most competition and I think we’re getting it and that is great,” center Tyler Biadasz said. “The ultimate goal is to play the best and be the best. I think we’ve done a good job this year but we have stuff we need to work on, too.”