Auburn Outback Bowl Preview: Wisconsin Badgers Offense

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Nov 1, 2014; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Rob Havenstein (78) takes on Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive lineman Djwany Mera (93) and defensive back Johnathan Aiken (26) at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Wisconsin Badgers Offensive Line

Paving the way for Wisconsin’s rushing success is a talented and consistent offensive line.

Just ask Melvin Gordon.

“It showed Melvin Gordon and 408 yards,” Gordon said after breaking the single-game rushing record against Nebraska – a dominant performance in which the Badgers scored 59 points and rushed for 581 yards. “But it should have everyone up there, all the offensive linemen, because they really made it easy for me today. They allowed me to have a lot of one-on-one matchups. It’s kind of been like that all season. Those guys have really been looking out for me.”

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The starting five of senior left tackle Tyler Marz, senior left guard Dallas Lewallen, junior center Dan Voltz, senior right guard Kyle Costigan, and senior right tackle Rob Havenstein have started all 13 games in 2014, though Voltz suffered an ankle injury against Minnesota and re-aggravated it against Ohio State.

With Voltz on the sidelines, Lewallen handled the center duties with Ray Ball moving to left guard.

Havenstein is the best of the bunch – an All-Big Ten performer, a team captain and has started 41 games in his career. At 6-foot-8 and 333 pounds, he is one of the biggest offensive linemen the Tigers have had to deal with all season.

The starting group is large, with all five weighing 313 pounds or more, and is arguably one of the best in the nation, but don’t expect them to worry if they don’t receive a lot of recognition.

“We don’t want to get our names in the paper or anything like that,” Voltz said. “We want to get Melvin’s game in the paper. If he has a good day, we did our job.”

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