Tag: Badgers

No. 12 Badgers defeat Boilermakers, 45-21, to set up monumental showdown with Minnesota

In an up and down battle, the Badgers defeated the Boilermakers to set up a massive game with Minnesota next week.

There are some clear areas to improve, but the 12th ranked Badgers took care of the Boilermakers at home on Saturday, to become 9-2 on the season, and 6-2 in the Big Ten.

Most importantly, Wisconsin now sets up a massive showdown with their biggest rival, the Minnesota Gophers (10-1, 7-1) next week in Minneapolis.

In addition to Paul Bunyan’s Axe on the line, this matchup will have a little something bigger this year: a trip to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Championship Game to face the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes who await the winner.

Some major issues for Wisconsin to clean up for next week are the four turnovers they had today, as well as their lackluster pass defense against a backup quarterback of Purdue that they cannot have continue, especially against a quarterback like Tanner Morgan in Minnesota.

But there were also several positives, including over 600 yards of offense, an improving pass rush and a variability in play-calling that could do wonders for Wisconsin the rest of the season. Jonathan Taylor also rushed for over 200 yards for the 12th time in his storied career, and the third straight game overall.

For now, the Badgers have done everything they could do keep their hopes for Indy alive.

And now, it all comes down to next Saturday against the Gophers.

Badgers lead Boilermakers, 24-17, in record-breaking first half

Taylor and Hintze set some records in the first half of the Badgers’ Senior Day

At the half in Camp Randall, No. 12 Wisconsin led the unranked Boilermakers, 24-17.

In an action filled first-half, there could have been even more points had the Badgers not lost two fumbles, courtesy of AJ Taylor and All-American Jonathan Taylor.

That being said, there were a couple records that occurred in the first 30 minutes in Madison, and it was mostly good from Jonathan Taylor in likely his final home game as a Badger.

In the first quarter of the game, Taylor took a handoff for a modest gain, but in doing so, set a record for the most rushing yards by any player in the history of college football (FBS) in any span of three seasons, then with 5,658 yards in the three-year span. Taylor broke all-time great Herschel Walker’s record.

Then, with two seconds left in the second quarter, head coach Paul Chryst trotted out UW’s kickoff man, Zach Hintze, to attempt a 62-yard field goal, as follows:

Hintze, in remarkably just his second career attempt at a field goal, nailed the 62-yarder by a matter of inches, and set the Camp into a frenzy into the halftime recess.

The 62-yard field goal is a new Wisconsin record.

With Wisconsin only leading 24-17 at the break, there are certainly turnovers and defense to clean up in the second half, but it is always impressive to see a couple records broken in just one half of Senior Day.

For Badgers forward Aleem Ford, hard work has turned into opportunity

A feature on Aleem Ford, with quotes from Badgers legend Alando Tucker included

It seems like more than three and a half years ago that juniors Aleem Ford and D’Mitrik Trice came to the University of Wisconsin, extending their career together from IMG Academy.

I had the pleasure of witnessing the two inseparable friends from the start, as I happened to sit behind them in a large theater class.

They were just freshmen in Madison, and although they sat in front of the lecture hall and enjoyed to make people around them laugh, one thing stood out: they were incredibly close, and no moment would get too big for them as long as they had each other.

Some of those moments came early on for Trice, who played in 37 games his true freshman season, for a team that was seconds away from an Elite Eight appearance.

But for Ford, that moment took a little longer to get there, waiting behind long-time Wisconsin starters like Nigel Hayes and Khalil Iverson.

After a redshirt season, playing as a partial starter as a freshman and then not starting any games last season, Ford is unquestionably a starter for the 2019-2020 Badgers, and needs to play a pretty big role on both ends for this team to be successful.

So far, he has done just that, averaging 11.5 points and five rebounds per game.

Ford has consistently shown flashes of his game since he arrived on campus, but now looks to turn those flashes into full games, on both ends of the floor.

Coming into the year, Ford worked on his post game, and got some help from UW’s all-time leading scorer, assistant coach Alando Tucker.

“I saw he had a lot of potential. He has so much potential, and it’s just dedicating yourself to get better on and off the court every day,” Tucker said about Ford.

“That can be quite a task, and I think he has welcomed it though, as I have truly seen it everyday, from the court to the classroom.”

From watching Ford at practice nearly four years ago, it was clear that there would be some impressive moments, but also some growing pains, especially with his height but a smaller frame early on.

Aleem knew that with the departures of Iverson and All-American Ethan Happ, there would be some open spots for playing time, and more importantly, the need for production, especially on the inside.

“After last season, I knew that was something that I wanted to work on, and something that I took seriously over the summer to get stronger,” Ford said.

“I tried to take care of my body that way, and do everything I could skill and development wise to put myself in that position.”

From a coaching standpoint, as well as that of a former player that could score on the wing and down low, Tucker had an interesting perspective on Ford from his transition into today.

“He’s more committed. The commitment and the dedication…I think the first few years you kind of try to get settled and figure things out, and I think this year he has come in much more committed, and has shown that every day,” Tucker said.

At 3-1 heading into Thursday’s matchup with in-state rival UW-Green Bay, the Badgers have shown improvement through each game this season, specifically down low and on the defensive end.

On the other side of the ball, Ford is third on the team in scoring, and also third in rebounding.

Ford and Trice are finally starting together, and Aleem feels like it has all been a pretty smooth transition to get to this point.

“Coming in as freshmen together, you’ve known us since we’ve been here and have seen it all,” Ford said.

“Just seeing how we have grown together has been awesome, on and off the court, with leadership and chemistry, has been really nice.”

Not surprisingly, Trice feels the same way, and that has done a lot for this squad early on.

“For me and Aleem, we’ve been roommates and teammates for four or five years now, and I think that chemistry really helps build and build over time,” Trice said.

“We’ve both put work in, and I think that and the chemistry has been a big part of our success over the last few years.”

Ford’s growth and maturity have shown in multiple ways early in the 2019-2020 campaign, whether it be on the court, in the weight room, or the in the classroom.

With his long time teammate next to him, Ford and the Badgers will look to continue their success, heading into conference season just around the corner.

Badgers blowout Marquette at home, 77-61, behind massive team effort

Wisconsin had a balanced attack on offense, which was a key to leading the Badgers to victory over Marquette

MADISON- In a highly anticipated matchup between in-state rivals Marquette and Wisconsin, the host Badgers got the best out of the Golden Eagles in blowout fashion, 77-61.

The two teams were within five of each other at the half, but Wisconsin exploded in the second half from long range, and Marquette really struggled to score against the Badgers’ defense.

Check out my keys to the game below:

Balanced attack 

In the win, the host Badgers had one of the most balanced attacks that I have seen in a long time, especially during the Greg Gard era.

This was to be expected this season losing an all-time great like Ethan Happ, but in a rivalry game like this one, it was impressive to see it come together in such fashion for Wisconsin.

Eight Badgers played at least five minutes in the game, and six of them scored in double figures.

One of those players came off the bench, and the rest included all five starters on the squad, combining for 57 of the team’s 77 points.

There will be players that step up more than others on the offensive end, but when a team can get that kind of production from just about their whole rotation, that is certainly a sight to see for this offense.

In addition, Wisconsin shot 48% from the three-point line.

Pritzl

Brevin Pritzl, the one Badgers player that scored in double figures off the bench, very well may have been the MVP of this one for Wisconsin.

In the early-going when the game was very much up for grabs, Pritzl provided an instant spark for the victors, delivering seven points and seven rebounds in eight minutes, at the guard position no less.

Whether it was grabbing offensive rebounds or hitting knock down threes, Pritzl was absolutely relentless for Wisconsin, and finished with a career-high 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Badgers.

After the game, the team let him know how important he was to this win:

Shutting down Howard 

In order to beat Marquette, you have to shut down All-American Markus Howard.

And the Badgers, led by D’Mitrik Trice at the lead guard position, did just that and more.

Howard finished with a solid 18 points, but he scored 16 of those in the first half, and did not make a field goal in the second half.

In addition, Howard only shot 6/21 from the field, which is certainly a testament to how players like Trice, Davison, and Pritzl made things tough on Howard today.

All in all, it was a total team effort from Wisconsin, and an impressive performance to move to 3-1 on the young season.

First half takeaways Badgers vs. Cornhuskers

Some of the biggest keys to Wisconsin’s first half lead in Lincoln

At the break, the No. 14 Badgers led the unranked Huskers on the road, 27-14.

Some of the keys of the first half were Wisconsin’s success on special teams, the play of Jack Coan, and the Badgers’ early lack of rushing defense allowing scores to the opponent.

Special Teams

The third phase of football, often an unsung hero, played a major part to Wisconsin’s success in the first half.

Trailing 7-0 after having a fumble on their first offensive possession, Wisconsin had its first kick off return touchdown in four years, courtesy of speedy wide receiver and kick returner Aron Cruickshank.

In addition to this incredible return, kicker Collin Larsh made two field goals to add on to the Badgers’ lead.

Not always a positive for Wisconsin teams, the Badgers’ special teams looked awesome in the first two quarters.

Jack Coan

Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan played a very solid, in-control half for the Badgers, throwing for 128 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers.

The numbers don’t jump off the page, but Coan had a beautiful throw to Quintez Cephus on a fourth down, delivered a strike to AJ Taylor for a long touchdown, and simpy looked in command of the Badgers’ offense.

In a game against a lesser opponent and in possession of the lead, that’s all Coan really needs to do for Wisconsin to win the game.

Rushing defense

In a mostly positive first half, one major downside to the Badgers’ play was that of the rushing defense.

Nebraska rushed for two scores, and a whopping 151 yards on the ground in the first half.

Against a stout Wisconsin defense, that is very impressive from the Huskers, and a bad look for the Badgers, especially when thinking about the five missed tackles that could have prevented long runs of 27 yards and 26 yards, respectively, and hopefully something for the Badgers’ defense to improve in the second half.

Happy Anniversary, Melvin Gordon!

A brief recap of Melvin Gordon’s record-breaking 408-yard performance against the Nebraska Cornhuskers

On this day exactly five years ago, Wisconsin’s star running back Melvin Gordon ran for what was at the time, the single greatest total in the history of NCAA football: 408 yards, in just three quarters, against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Camp Randall.

It was a truly legendary performance, and although MGIII’s record only lasted a week, it was a game that Badger fans will never forget, and one that I had the fortune of attending in person, in the front row of the student section.

As one of the most highly anticipated games of the year for the 7-2 Badgers coming into that Saturday, Wisconsin was set to host the 8-1 Cornhuskers, on a beautiful, snowy, classic Saturday in Madison.

It was a nightmarish start for the Badgers, falling behind 17-3 against the fast, offensive-minded Huskers early into the second quarter.

But with a 62-yard touchdown run from Gordon to bring the Badgers within a score, things all started to change, as the snowflakes began falling from the sky, and Wisconsin took their spot in the driver’s seat.

The Badgers would go on to score an unprecedented 56 points in a row until Nebraska scored again in garbage time.

This was the night Melvin Gordon became the best player in college football, and to me, the most dominant running back that I have ever seen in person.

Along with the 62-yard touchdown run, Gordon also had a 68-yard run, and finished with four touchdowns and the ridiculous 408 yards, on just 25 carries!

MGIII averaged an absurd 16.3 yards on that snowy day in Madison, and somehow did it in just three quarters, to lead Wisconsin to its biggest win of the year, and to make his mark in the record books.

I was in person for Bronson Koenig’s game-winner to send Wisconsin to the Sweet Sixteen. I’ve seen triple-doubles from LeBron James and game-winners from Giannis Antetokounmpo, but this remains the single greatest sporting achievement that I have had the pleasure of seeing live.

So, thank you, Melvin Gordon, and Happy Anniversary to an all-time performance and a legendary Badger.

Quick hits from Wisconsin’s 83-63 victory over McNeese State

It took a while for the Badgers to hit their stride. But when they did, it was a sight to see on the offensive end.

MADISON- Although it took a while for the Wisconsin Badgers to get going against McNeese State, the home team exploded for 46 points in the second half, and went on cruise control for an 83-63 victory at the Kohl Center to improve to 2-1 on the young season.

Early foul trouble

One major reason for Wisconsin’s early lack of success was some foul trouble to two of the team’s big men, Aleem Ford and Nate Reuvers.

Wisconsin should have been able to use its size to an advantage against a smaller, more guard-oriented team.

But Ford picked up three fouls in the first half, and Big Ten Player of the Week Nate Reuvers got two fouls in each half, so neither player was able to get into a rhythm early on, especially Reuvers coming off such a big week.

In the second half, that was luckily not such a big issue.

Big minutes from walk on

When Wisconsin was struggling early in the game, and even down nearly double digits within the first few minutes, head Coach Greg Gard made an interesting move and gave junior walk-on Walt McGrory his first minutes of the season.

McGrory’s minutes were huge for the Badgers, as Walt scored nine minutes in the first half alone, and more importantly brought a palpable surge of momentum and energy to the squad in a rut.

If he wasn’t the MVP of the entire game, McGrory was certainly a driving force for the Badgers as they turned the game around in the first twenty minutes.

Hot shooting

Wisconsin was double-teamed in the post early in this contest, which created a lot of open shots from the perimeter.

Those shots did not fall in the first half, but they certainly did in the second half, including a stretch where Wisconsin hit 10 shots in a row.

One of the most ridiculous stretches came as part of a 13-3 run, which included back-to-back-to-back threes from Brad Davison, D’Mitrik Trice and Brevin Pritzl.

Wisconsin ended up shooting 61% in the second half, but it felt more like 80%, as part of an impressive run to seal the win for the Badgers at home.