Rose Bowl 2012: Oregon Ducks Will Have No Problem Exposing the Wisconsin Badgers

When Oregon takes on Wisconsin in the 2012 Rose Bowl game, LaMichael James and the rest of the Ducks will not have a problem exploiting the weaknesses of the Badgers.

Many Ducks' fans have become worried while watching Wisconsin play Michigan State in the Big 10 Conference Game. Monte Ball is a load. He will be very tough to bring down.

He'll also be running behind a mammoth offensive line full of 300-pounders. In fact, the smallest starting offensive lineman for the Badgers weighs 315 pounds.

I don't even know if the Ducks have a player who weighs that much on either side of the ball.

That's a joke by the way, they actually have three players who weigh at least 315.

But when you look at the tale of the tape, the Ducks actually matchup quite well against the Badgers. Here's six reasons why the Ducks will have no problem exposing the Badgers in the 2012 Rose Bowl game.

Speed, Speed and More Speed

In case you haven't heard, the Ducks are fast. The tempo in which the offense operates is also fast. Not many defenses can keep up with the taxing speed of the Oregon offense.

The Ducks have the fifth-ranked rushing attack, 295.7 yards per game, and the third-ranked scoring offense, 46.2 points per contest.

The Badgers simply aren't fast enough to keep up with the Ducks. They gave up 190 yards on the ground to a Michigan State team with the 76th worst rushing attack in the nation.

Even if the Badgers were able to keep up with the Ducks in the beginning, it's the Ducks game plan to tire out its' opponent throughout the course of the game.

Wisconsin's Defense Won't Scare Oregon

The big knock on Oregon the past few years is that the offense hasn't shown up in the big games.

They only managed to score eight points in the Boise State game in 2009. Then they only scored 17 points against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl later that season.

In 2010, it was the solid, but susceptible Auburn defense that limited the high-powered Ducks offense to only 19 points.

However, many thought that the prolific LSU defense shut Oregon's offense down. The stats prove otherwise.

The Ducks had 335 total yards that game, and managed to put up 27 points. It was the most points and total yardage that the Tigers surrendered all season. It was also practically a home game for LSU as well.

Wisconsin's defense will be the easiest to score against in comparison to the Ducks' most recent big games. If the Ducks managed to accumulate 335 yards against the stifling Tigers' defense, who knows what they are capable when lining up against the Badgers.

Wisconsin's Defense Is Overrated

When you look at the stats, you'll see that Wisconsin has the sixth ranked total defense in the nation. They have allowed their opponents to score an average of 17 points a game.

Impressive, right?

But when you look deeper into the stats, you'll learn that the defensive statistics are a bit misleading. Take a look at the Wisconsin's schedule results ,and the offensive rank of each team they played. 

Opponent	Points surrendered	Yards allowed	Opponent's offensive rank
UNLV	17	292	113th
Oregon State	0	284	99th
Northern Illinois	7	237	13th
South Dakota	10	173	N/A
Nebraska	17	335	43rd
Indiana	7	287	101st
Michigan State	37	399	39th
Ohio State	33	357	75th
Purdue	17	284	69th
Minnesota	13	156	111th
Illinois	17	301	91st
Penn State	7	233	110th
Michigan State	39	471	39th

The only misleading stat would be Northern Illinois' offensive rank. They did score the 13th most points per game in the nation, but they did play in the MAC Conference.

As you can see, Wisconsin's defense has yet to be tested. The best offense they played this season was the Spartans', and they weren't even ranked in the top 30.

It Will Be a "Home" Game for the Ducks

The Ducks' fan base travel well, especially to California.

A large portion of the University of Oregon's student body comes from California. A large number of those students are from Southern California as well.

So with the Rose Bowl being played during Winter break, students will be home and very close to Pasadena, California, which is where the Rose Bowl is played.

Oregon also has 40 players on its roster from California. Wisconsin doesn't have a single Californian on its roster.

Oregon is also a lot closer to California in comparison to Wisconsin. Last year Wisconsin accounted for nearly 2/3 of the stadium at the Rose Bowl.

Expect that to change now that their opponent is Oregon instead of TCU.

Ducks' Defense Comes Up Big in Big Games

The Ducks' defense has a bad wrap for being small and undersized. It was the most talked about aspect of the 2011 National Championship game against Auburn outside of Cam Newton.

Even though they are undersized, they play bigger than their weight. What I mean by that is, Oregon's defense has the knack for flying towards the ball as a group and gang tackling the ball carrier.

It might sound a little corny, but Oregon's defense is like a pack of wolves—attacking in groups to maximize its effectiveness.

The game against LSU was the perfect example of this. The defense surrendered only 273 yards to the Tigers' offense. If it wasn't for a fumble recovery in the end zone off of a punt, as well as two fumbles by DeAnthony Thomas, that game could've had a completely different outcome.

Oregon's defense also picked off Andrew Luck twice this year when they played Stanford. The quickness of the defense kept Luck from getting comfortable all game.

It was only one year ago when Oregon forced Cam Newton to have his worst game of the season. It was the defense that won the game for the Auburn Tigers.

It isn't just Oregon's offense that's fast. Their defense has to play the offense every day in practice after all. Oh yeah, Oregon's defense has also accumulated 42 sacks this season.

LaMichael James and Ducks Will Have Chip on Their Shoulder

There has been speculation that LaMichael James will forego his senior season, and enter the NFL draft.

He is planning on making his announcement after the Rose Bowl game. Although, word has leaked that his decision has already been made.

James' college resume is certainly impressive. He's put up some of the most impressive numbers in college at the running back position during his three-year tenure at Oregon.

However, his small stature and knack for not showing up during the big games has hurt James' draft stock.

In 2009, James only rushed for 70 yards on 14 carries against Ohio State. It wasn't a bad game for James, but it certainly wasn't his best performance. In last year's National Championship game, he only rushed for 49 yards. It was more of the same against the LSU defense when he ran for 54 yards on 18 yards. 

Needless to say, those weren't James' best games in his college career.

It has been the same story for Oregon's football team as a whole. It hasn't been just James who hasn't played well under the spotlight.

The nation is starting to perceive Oregon as a team who can only play well against teams in the Pac-12 Conference.

James and the rest of the Ducks will be playing with an extra chip on their shoulder against Wisconsin. Even though they will probably be favored to win, Oregon will likely feel like they are the underdogs.

Trying to decide who the better team is before they play is a moot point. However, the fact that Oregon is ranked higher and will be playing with that type of motivation is a dangerous combination for the Badgers.