James Franklin interlocked arms with his defensive line — two on one side, two on the other — as they walked toward the Beaver Stadium tunnel. “It starts up front!” the head coach shouted at them minutes before kickoff.
It was a theme hammered into the heads of the front four all week. Wisconsin’s offensive line boasted three preseason All-Americans. The front collectively weighed 16 pounds more than the Green Bay Packers’ starting five. And the coaching staff reiterated their strengths every day, until they started to sound like a fight song stuck on repeat.
“We respect Wisconsin’s offensive line,” defensive end Shareef Miller acknowledged Saturday, “but some of us were tired of keep hearing it.