Aside from prolific running backs and outstanding quarterback play, the 2020 Rose Bowl will also feature a rare matchup of two first-round offensive linemen playing for different teams. Both the Wisconsin Badgers and the Oregon Ducks are fielding two of the nation’s premier offensive linemen and both men will be critical to their team’s success on January 1. While their styles of play and positional objectives are vastly different, their levels of importance to their teams and what they do on offense are extremely similar. If they are having a good day as individual players, their teams are usually having a good day as well.
For the Wisconsin Badgers, Tyler Biadasz takes the field as the Rimington Trophy winner, given to the nation’s top center. He was a first-team Big Ten selection and an AP All-American. Picked by several pundits as the No. 1 interior lineman in the upcoming NFL Draft, Biadasz has yet to declare his intentions but surely must be weighing his options after an impressive haul of personal awards. As crazy as it may seem with Wisconsin having such a pronounced history of successful running backs, Biadasz is the Badgers’ first-ever Rimington Trophy winner. There’s not much left for him to win as a center. Biadasz can do it all. He’s sound in pass protection and firm off the ball as a run-blocker. In fact, he was a finalist for another trophy that will be mentioned in this column — The Outland Trophy.
The winner of this year’s Outland Trophy, given to the nation’s top interior lineman, was Penei Sewell of Oregon. Sewell and Biadasz going pro in the same class would give general managers sleepless nights when making a decision between the two, but fortunately for the GMs, Sewell has another year to play before he is eligible to go pro. He will certainly be talked about as a top-10 pick when he does go pro, however. In 466 pass-blocking snaps, Sewell has allowed only seven pressures and zero sacks. Sewell gets the job done.
Both of these offensive linemen are critical to what their teams do on offense. Sewell’s ability to keep Oregon QB Justin Herbert clean has allowed Herbert to throw for 3,333 yards, 32 touchdowns, and only five interceptions. As talked about in our look at the quarterbacks in this game, the ability to play mistake-free and turnover-free football has enabled these teams to thrive against tough competition. On the other side, Biadasz has led the way for the nation’s top running back two years in a row. Jonathan Taylor is part of a running back room that ran for more than 1,400 of Wisconsin’s 3,127 total rushing yards up the middle.
In any other year, Justin Herbert is likely being fawned over and projected as a No. 1 overall pick. But Joe Burrow isn’t any other player and he has stolen a lot of shine from Herbert. As a result, people have somewhat overlooked how dominant Sewell is on that Oregon offensive line. Just put on tape of the Ducks’ passing game; his play will immediately jump out at you. There won’t be a need to ask which player he is, that will become evident in less than a minute.
If Sewell and the Ducks can keep Herbert clean, they’ll have a chance to pick apart Wisconsin’s 16th-ranked passing defense… or, as an alternative viewpoint, Wisconsin will have a chance to show the nation why its defense is ranked that high. The Badgers have the nation’s 14th-ranked passing efficiency defense. Given Oregon’s run defense ranking, one of these things is likely to break in Pasadena.
The Ducks will have to find a way to budge Biadasz off the snap and get to Taylor. If Wisconsin can block for Taylor, he will have a chance to humble Oregon’s 10th-ranked rushing defense. The Badgers enter the game with the nation’s 15th-ranked rushing offense. The Ducks are either going to shut Taylor down, or Taylor is going to show the nation why he’s the Doak Walker Award winner, given to the nation’s top running back, two years in a row.
There are already many reasons to tune in to the 2020 Rose Bowl. There are prolific running backs, NFL-ready quarterbacks, solid defenses, and the guys up front deserve some love. If you’re into offensive line play, this really is the game to watch. You won’t find a bowl game with two better offensive linemen on the same field. Tyler Biadasz and Penei Sewell are the cogs in the wheels of these offenses.