Tag: Badgers

Who Earned Game Balls from Wisconsin’s 38-17 victory Against Minnesota?

Here are the players who earned game balls from Wisconsin’s 38-17 victory against Minnesota Jack Coan Caesar Williams Quintez Cephus

Here are the players who earned game balls from Wisconsin’s 38-17 victory against Minnesota Jack Coan Caesar Williams Quintez Cephus

Badgers remain at No. 12 in latest CFP Rankings

The Wisconsin Badgers come in at No. 12 again, with a chance to rise after a potential win this week.

We are officially headed into Rivalry Week, or Week 14, of this college football season, and the Wisconsin Badgers remain at No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings…the biggest rankings of them all this time of year.

That should not come as much of a surprise, as the Badgers picked up a victory last week, but did not look very impressive at times against the visiting Boilermakers at Camp Randall.

In addition, they are the third-highest rated team with two losses, coming in just behind Florida and Penn State.

There were two pretty major moves featuring Big Ten Teams, though. The aforementioned Nittany Lions slid down two spots to No. 10, and the Minnesota Gophers took Penn State’s spot at No. 8.

Also, there is a new number one team this week, featuring the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0) as the top team, taking the previous place of LSU.

Finally, the Michigan Wolverines come in at No. 13 with a major test at home against the Buckeyes this week, and the Iowa Hawkeyes are No. 17 in the current rankings.

One could argue the Big Ten is the best football conference in the land this year, with six teams in the top 17 of the rankings alone.

Though the team most likely to represent the conference would be the Buckeyes, both the Badgers and Gophers each have an outside shot to make it, of course needing to win Paul Bunyan’s Axe first this week to give the winning team a shot to face the Buckeyes.

Wisconsin Linebacker Zack Baun named finalist for Butkus Award

A two-year starter, outside linebacker Zack Baun is starting to receive more accolades in his final season as a Badger.

The recognition keeps coming for Badgers senior outside linebacker Zack Baun, who on Monday morning was named a finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the best linebacker in the country.

One of six finalists for the award, which is named after the legendary Dick Butkus, Baun has earned this recognition by showing that he can do a bit of everything this season.
On the year, Baun has 53 tackles and 9.5 sacks. In addition, he has two forced fumbles, two pass break ups, and an interception for a touchdown, creating multiple turnovers which are a key stat for the next level.
Baun, along with Penn State’s Micah Parsons, are the only two finalists from the loaded Big Ten conference.
After just celebrating Senior Day, Baun has a huge matchup with Minnesota next week to look forward to,  for the Badgers’ final game of the regular season.
The winner of the award will be presented on December 12, as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show.

Wisconsin remains at No. 14 in latest Amway Coaches’ Poll

Badgers stay in same spot in the most recent poll, powered by USA Today Sports

Following an up and down home victory against the Purdue Boilermakers, the Wisconsin Badgers remain stagnant at No. 14 in the latest Amway Coaches’ Poll, powered by USA Today Sports.

Overall, the Badgers (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) did what they had to do, winning and keeping pace with two Big Ten losses to give themselves a major opportunity. Up next, Wisconsin has their biggest opportunity set up this season, to travel to Minnesota to face the Gophers for a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Minnesota (10-1, 7-1), who suffered their first loss of the season a week ago, moved up two spots to No. 9 after knocking off the Northwestern Wildcats on the road.  The Badgers travel to play the Golden Gophers Nov. 30 in their final game of the regular season, with some major implications in the Big Ten West race, and of course to play for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

Wisconsin is one of an impressive six Big Ten teams in the Amway Coaches’ poll. The Big Ten conference has proven yet again to be one of the toughest football conferences in the country, with five teams in the top 15 alone, and all six of the Big Ten teams just inside the top 20 of the poll.

 

 

ESPN’s College GameDay to host show in Minneapolis for Badgers-Gophers

ESPN’s major morning kickoff show will be in Minneapolis for the first time ever, as the Badgers come to town.

Next Saturday in Minneapolis, there will be plenty on the line as the No. 12 Badgers travel to face their biggest rival, the No. 10 Gophers, on the road.

As always, it will be a battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe, one that has been played an incredible 128 times, the most in the nation.

In addition, this year’s matchup will be for a spot in the Big Ten Championship game against Ohio State in Indianapolis.

And for the first time in Minneapolis and the history of the Gophers, ESPN’s College GameDay show will be on hand for the matchup, as announced Saturday evening by the worldwide leader in sports.

Wisconsin had recently dominated the series, but Minnesota beat the Badgers in Madison last season to take back the Axe, and remarkably, tie the series at 60-60-8 through 128 games.

The game will be played at 2:30 on ABC next Saturday, while ESPN’s College GameDay can be seen at 9:00 Eastern time Saturday morning to start the full day of college football.

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.