Tag: Chase Wolf Covid

Another update on Wisconsin football’s COVID-19 outbreak

Saturday morning, another update about Wisconsin football’s COVID-19 outbreak came from Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez on ESPN College Gameda…

Saturday morning, another update about Wisconsin football’s COVID-19 outbreak came from Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez on ESPN College Gameday.

Related: How Wisconsin canceling the Nebraska game affects the rest of the season

Alvarez announced that the latest report this morning has 10 staff members and 12 players that have contracted COVID-19. Alvarez also stated that there are still additions in cases and that it is ‘something we have to get our arms around and control it.’ Later on in the interview, Alvarez also stated that a decision will be made regarding the November 7th game against Purdue on Tuesday of next week per ESPN’s Jen Lada.

This makes a total of 22 positive cases of COVID-19 from Wisconsin football in the last week, and this is a significant jump from the 16 cases reported in the update from Wisconsin football on Thursday. The reported cases for COVID-19 on the team so far include quarterback Graham Mertz, backup quarterback Chase Wolf, and head coach Paul Chryst.

The chances of Wisconsin playing against Purdue are continuing to drop as cases of COVID-19 rise on this Wisconsin football team. Stay tuned to Badgerswire for updates on the developing situation.

Badgers face a Big 12 foe in new USA TODAY bowl projections

After a 45-7 blowout victory of the Illinois Fighting Illini and an outstanding game from quarterback Graham Mertz, Wisconsin is on the m…

After a 45-7 blowout victory of the Illinois Fighting Illini and an outstanding game from quarterback Graham Mertz, Wisconsin is on the move upwards in both polls, moving from 14th to 11th in the Coaches Amway Poll and from 14th to ninth in the AP Poll.

The upward movement of Wisconsin in the rankings has to lead to an updated bowl projection by USA Today from the Fiesta Bowl against the tenth-ranked BYU Cougars of last week’s predictions to facing the fifth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl. The projected College Football Playoff teams are Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, and Oregon.

Wisconsin won the only other Cotton Bowl it has played in a 24-16 victory against the Western Michigan Broncos in 2017.

Jan 2, 2017; Arlington, TX, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Corey Clement (6) celebrates with the trophy after defeating Western Michigan Broncos 24-16 at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Cotton Bowl is the biggest Non-College Football Playoff Bowl game this season, and a projection for Wisconsin to be in it indicates that USA TODAY expects the Badgers to finish as the fifth or sixth-ranked team in the country. If the Badgers make the Cotton Bowl, it would be their second consecutive season just outside the reach of the College Football Playoff.

These are very high expectations, especially with the news reported today of Graham Mertz’s second positive test for COVID-19 that means he will enter the Big Ten protocol for at least the next 21 days. On Monday, it was also reported that backup quarterback Chase Wolf has tested positive for COVID-19 as well, which could leave Danny Vanden Boom as the starter for the next three games against Nebraska, Purdue, and Michigan.

As the situation with Wisconsin Football continues to develop, the extremely high projection for the Badgers will likely change. Stay tuned to Badgerswire for continued updates.

 

REPORT: Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz tests positive for COVID 19 in confirmation test

Sunday evening, news broke of an initial positive daily test for COVID-19 of Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz by Jeff Potrykus of the M…

Sunday evening, news broke of an initial positive daily test for COVID-19 of Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz by Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, and today Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports broke the story of a second positive confirmation test for the Wisconsin quarterback.

Related: Report: Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz tests positive for COVID-19

Related: A look at the Big Ten testing protocol that will determine Graham Mertz’s situation

The second test was a follow up to the daily antigen test that Mertz initially tested positive from over the weekend, and was a more reliable PCR swab test to confirm the result. The second positive confirmation test will enter Mertz into the Big Ten’s protocol for COVID-19 and he will be out for Wisconsin for at least 21 days. This means Mertz will miss the upcoming games against Nebraska, Purdue, and Michigan.

Oct 23, 2020; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz (5) is tackled by Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Tarique Barnes (44) during the second quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, reported yesterday that backup quarterback Chase Wolf missed practice on Monday because of a positive COVID-19 test as well. This means that third-string quarterback Danny Vanden Boom could now be the starting quarterback for the Badgers, despite being the fourth quarterback on the roster at the beginning of fall camp.

Related: Report: Wisconsin QB Chase Wolf tests positive for COVID-19

Wisconsin is not allowed to comment on testing and cases of individual players per Big Ten protocol, but the next few weeks could be very interesting for Wisconsin Football.