Tag: Camp Randall

Questions Ohio State football needs to answer to defeat Wisconsin

What questions do you want to see Ohio State answer against Wisconsin? #GoBucks

[autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] will take on the Wisconsin Badgers at night in what should be a rowdy Camp Randall.

Although the Badgers aren’t quite as good as the Buckeyes last opponent, they’re out on the outside of the getting ranked, so it’s not as if they’re a bottom of the barrel Big Ten team.

The Buckeyes are facing off against a quarterback in freshman [autotag]Braedyn Locke[/autotag], who is making his second career start, so the Badgers have plenty of questions about how he will play.

As for Ohio State, they also have plenty of questions entering this contest and here are the biggest ones that stand out in my eyes.

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell urges students to show up on time to Saturday’s game

Welcome to Groundhog Day.

Wisconsin’s game-week press conference this year did not start with the head coach saying he’s ‘excited for the opportunity to play football.’ It’s a new era in Madison, and gone is Paul Chryst’s week-in, week-out press conference script.

Wisconsin is still Wisconsin in many ways, though. There is always a sense of Groundhog Day when certain topics are discussed.

That was the case today at Fickell’s presser as we re-entered the dialogue surrounding when students show up to football games at Camp Randall.

Related: Predicting every Big Ten team’s 2023 wins and losses, final record and the conference champ, Final Wisconsin football 2023 game-by-game predictions

“The excitement, the buzz, the feeling. I’m curious to see how our students show up,” Fickell said. “I’ve heard to get them in a little earlier and start this thing off the right way. It’s a 2:30 kick so it shouldn’t be that early for them. Hoping maybe there’s some newness to getting some things adjusted up a little bit. That’s a suggestion from our players”

Here’s the video:

My thoughts on this topic are clear: Camp Randall has a logistics problem when it comes to getting students in the gate. Are there many late arrivers that don’t have the exact kickoff time in mind, absolutely. But if you’ve sat in the student section at all in the last several years you know how much of a nightmare it is to get from the entrance gate to the seat itself.

Maybe the energy surrounding the Fickell era is an instant fix to this issue. But I’d predict a Week 1 afternoon game against Buffalo isn’t enough to get everybody in their seats 20 minutes before kickoff. Let’s start with the Ohio State night game and go from there. Baby steps.

Ranking the toughest road environments to play in after the Big Ten’s new additions

Ranking the 18 Big Ten stadiums by gameday atmosphere:

Welcome to a new era of college football, and a new era in the Big Ten. Nowadays when we go through the conference for recruiting rankings or power rankings there are 18 programs to address, not 14.

Eventually, that number will grow again and it will take days to make it to the end. But 18 is still manageable, especially when there is a material change in the ranking.

That’s the case here with the best stadium gameday environments in the conference. USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington all bring strong football teams to the mix, but where are their home venues ranked amongst the rest of the Big Ten?

A necessary note: I considered ranking Northwestern’s Ryan Field No. 1 on this list solely due to the grass length and high school atmosphere. But I thought better. So here is every Big Ten home venue ranked by gameday atmosphere:

Badger football fans ranked average for overall passion in Big Ten

Badger fans may not like this one, but Big Game Boomer ranked each of the Big Ten fan bases by level of passion, rating them in the middle.

Badger football fans may not like this one, but Big Game Boomer ranked each of the Big Ten fan bases by level of passion Tuesday and left Wisconsin fans near the middle. Badger fans came in seventh.

Once again, Big Game Boomer is off base with this one. Sure, Nebraska “sells out” every one of its football games, but few fan bases go to bat for their team like the Badgers’ do.

Yes, the 2022 season was a down year for Wisconsin, but the hype leading up to the 2023 campaign has proven fans are as passionate as ever. I’ll give Boomer the benefit of the doubt in his ranking of Ohio State and Penn State above Wisconsin, because there is nothing else to do in those college towns! (Especially State College)

Considering the fact there were more Badger football fans at the Las Vegas Bowl than Arizona State fans in 2021 and there were more Wisconsin fans in Arizona for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl than there were Oklahoma State fans this past December, Badger fans love their team!

At least the Badgers ranked third among the Big Ten West schools and after Wisconsin has an extremely successful season in 2023 (prediction), Boomer will have to reconsider what fan bases are the most passionate.

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Reminder: Less than one week until ‘The Launch’

One week from Saturday, the Badger football team will host “The Launch” at Camp Randall on April 22.

One week from Saturday, the Badger football team will host “The Launch” at Camp Randall on April 22. Starting at 1PM, Wisconsin fans will have their first chance to come see the new-look Badgers in action at practice.

Although there won’t be a traditional spring game, there will be 11-on-11 portions of the practice, giving onlookers an opportunity to see the players in action.

Now operating under Luke Fickell (Cincinnati) at head coach, Phil Longo (North Carolina) at offensive coordinator and Mike Tressel (Cincinnati) at defensive coordinator, the hype around the team is as high as ever.

With the likes of transfer quarterback Tanner Mordecai and star running back Braelon Allen on the field, Wisconsin will look to show the fans what they got heading into 2023.

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Reminder: Badger football launch in one month

In exactly one month, the Badger football team will launch the start of their 2023 campaign, taking the field at Camp Randall for practice.

The Badger Football team will have their spring launch exactly one month from Wednesday. On April 22, the Wisconsin coaches and players will take the field at Camp Randall for their first practice of the year.

Fans will be able to come out and watch as the first full season of new head coach Luke Fickell gets underway. Additions like quarterback Tanner Mordecai and wide receiver CJ Williams will be in action while returning fan-favorites like running back Braelon Allen and linebacker Jordan Turner lace them up.

There has never been an offseason quite like this one for the Badgers and many can’t wait to see what the team brings in 2023.

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LOOK: Wisconsin football gives update on Barry Alvarez Field

A first look at the newly completed Barry Alvarez Field at Camp Randall Stadium:

On Monday afternoon, Wisconsin football revealed the recently completed Barry Alvarez Field, which includes a new turf playing surface for next season on Twitter.

Related: Where is Wisconsin in study of largest college football fan bases?

The field being renamed was a surprise from the Badgers to legendary former Wisconsin AD and head coach, Barry Alvarez, during his retirement ceremony at Camp Randall on Oct. 2.

In addition to the new turf field, Wisconsin will be unveiling the completed CR Future Project for the first home game of the upcoming season. The south endzone renovation will include new premium seating and concessions options for fans.

It will be exciting to see all of the changes to Camp Randall at the start of this season, and hopefully, these additions can help add to the already fantastic fan experience in Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin is one of the most valuable NCAA football programs according to Forbes

Wisconsin is one of the most valuable NCAA football programs according to Forbes

The Wisconsin football program broke the Top 25 of a recent Forbes list of the most valuable NCAA football programs.

The list, as tweeted by FOX College Football, listed Wisconsin at No. 23 with a valuation of $86 million. It is the seventh-most-valuable Big Ten program, coming in behind Ohio State at No. 5, Penn State at No. 13, Nebraska at No. 10, Iowa at No. 21 and Michigan State at No. 22.

Related: Wisconsin S Collin Wilder to miss Las Vegas Bowl with injury

No. 23 is up one spot from where the program was when the list was released in 2018. Big movers in that time include Georgia vaulting up to No. 8, Clemson entering the Top 25 and Texas tieing Texas A&M for the top spot.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

A preview of what the new Camp Randall south end zone will look like after construction

Wisconsin will renovate the south end zone this offseason:

Camp Randall is undergoing a massive renovation that begins after the conclusion of the 2021 football season. The Wisconsin south end zone will be transformed in what is known as the CR Future project as the Badgers introduce premium seating and clubs in a modernized new area of the stadium.

“We are incredibly excited about the CR Future project and what it means for our fans starting in 2022,” Wisconsin Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh said. “After having to delay the project, it’s very gratifying to know we are so close to the start of construction. The response from our fans thus far has been terrific and we expect that to continue as we get closer to unveiling this transformative renovation.”

The Badgers will begin the $77.6 million project in late November and will have it completed in time for the 2022 season-opener.

Here is a look at what the renovations will look like come 2022:

BTN Tailgate is headed to Wisconsin this week

Big Ten Tailgate is headed to Madison

The Big Ten Network is headed to Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday when the Badgers host Army.

Although the Wisconsin-Army clash is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. CT start, the day will get started early with the BIG Tailgate at 9:00 a.m. CT in Madison. Big Ten Network will be showing two matchups on Saturday, beginning with Rutgers at Northwestern at 11:00 am CT.

While Wisconsin has had FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff show on campus, they have yet to have a Big Ten Network tailgate this season. Under the lights at Camp Randall Wisconsin will look to pick up their second straight win. The Badgers can get back to .500 on the year with another victory.