Jalen Berger – Page 5 – Syndication Server

Team preview: Minnesota Golden Gophers

Wisconsin football will take the field against head coach P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Gophers this weekend with Paul Bunyan’s Axe at stake.

The 2-3 Wisconsin Badgers were given a gift by the Big Ten Conference on Sunday as they received a shot at renewing their long-standing rivalry with 3-3 Minnesota after the game between the two schools during the regular season was canceled due to COVID-19.

A win could be a breath of fresh air for the struggling Badgers, as no matter how rough a season is trending, a win against Minnesota always seems to help turn the season’s struggles around.

A loss on Saturday, however, would make an extremely tough season even worse for a team that has seen three games canceled due to COVID-19 and is riding a three-game losing streak heading into the contest.

The state of Wisconsin saw Minnesota break out last season, finishing with an 11-2 record and a co-Big Ten West crown (which the Badgers obviously won thanks to their win against the Gophers). Everybody also saw the Gophers create championship rings for their season, which included “winning” the Big Ten West even though they finished second.

That is all in the past, however, and the battle for Paun Bunyan’s Axe will be renewed just two days from now.

Here is a complete team preview of the 2020 Minnesota Golden Gophers:

Five keys to a Wisconsin victory over Iowa on Saturday

The 2-2 and No. 25-ranked Wisconsin Badgers and the No. 19 Iowa Hawkeyes are set for a December battle that will decide who finishes…

The 2-2 and No. 25-ranked Wisconsin Badgers and the No. 19 Iowa Hawkeyes are set for a December battle that will decide who finishes second in the Big Ten West.

Entering the season, this matchup could have been for the division, but thanks to Northwestern’s victories over both schools the Wildcats have punched their ticket to Indianapolis and the winner of this game will now decide who faces Ohio State during Big Ten Champions Week.

Kinnick Stadium is never an easy place to win, and even when the Badgers have found success there it has been a hard-fought, closely-contested football game.

Expect that to be the case on Saturday, with the Hawkeyes riding the momentum of five straight victories and the Badgers looking to continue their four-game winning streak in the schools’ all-time series.

Saturday’s loss to Indiana happened in large part because the Badgers did not accomplish any of the five keys to victory I outlined heading into the contest.

Now, for Paul Chryst’s team to turn around on Saturday and end their two-game losing streak, here are five things they must do:

Five takeaways from Wisconsin’s 14-6 loss to Indiana

The No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers battled hard down the stretch but in the end came up short in the red zone and lost to the…

The No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers battled hard down the stretch but in the end came up short in the red zone and lost to the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers 14-6.

The game was dominated statistically by Paul Chryst’s team with the Badgers gaining 342 offensive yards to the Hoosiers’ 217, 140 rushing yards to 87, 50% on third down to 40% and 35:08 time of possession to 24:52.

In the end, however, it came down to Graham Mertz and the offense being unable to capitalize on red zone opportunities, the offense being depleted in many areas and a talented Indiana defense coming away with stops when they needed them most.

Here are five takeaways from the Badgers’ loss:

Five keys to a Wisconsin victory over Indiana on Saturday

It’s game week yet again for head coach Paul Chryst and the 2-1 Wisconsin Badgers. After yet another idle week the Badgers return to the…

It’s game week yet again for head coach Paul Chryst and the 2-1 Wisconsin Badgers.

After yet another idle weekend, the Badgers will return to the field three days from now and face the 5-1 and No. 10-ranked Indiana Hoosiers.

This hasn’t been the season that many had scripted for the Badgers, as through six weeks the team has missed as many games as they’ve played, two of which because of COVID-19 outbreak within their program and one because of an outbreak at Minnesota.

Despite no longer being eligible for the Big Ten Championship game due to the conference’s six-game requirement, Wisconsin gets to close their regular season with two ranked teams in Indiana and No. 24 Iowa and still has a shot at facing Ohio State during the conference’s “championship week” on December 19.

But that’s all down the road, and the focus right now is on the Michael Penix Jr.-less Indiana Hoosiers that will travel to Camp Randall this weekend.

This isn’t the Indiana team we’ve seen Wisconsin defeat 10 times in a row. However, it also isn’t the team we’ve seen this season with Penix Jr. under center.

Here are five things the Badgers must do on Saturday if they want to bounce back after the Northwestern loss and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive:

An update on our bold predictions for the Badgers’ 2020 football season

We are now six weeks into the Big Ten’s 2020 football season and the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers sit at 2-1 after seeing three of their…

We are now six weeks into the Big Ten’s 2020 football season and the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers sit at 2-1 after seeing three of their six games canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.

A lot has gone well for the team this year, including redshirt freshman Graham Mertz bursting onto the scene, true freshmen Jalen Berger and Nick Herbig having an instant impact and a blow out win against Michigan.

Much has also gone wrong, though, with the program experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak and having to cancel two games, losing 17-7 to Northwestern and the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe being canceled due to COVID-19 cases in the Minnesota football program.

Before the season, site editor Asher Low and I put together nine bold predictions for the team’s 2020 season.

Here is a past-mid-season update on how the predictions are shaking out:

10 people Wisconsin football has to be thankful for going forward

We are past the halfway point of the Big Ten’s 2020 football season and the Wisconsin Badgers sit with a surprising 2-1 record…

We are past the halfway point of the Big Ten’s 2020 football season and the Wisconsin Badgers sit with a surprising 2-1 record.

Surprising not because the team is 2-1 and doesn’t have control of the Big Ten West division, but because they have only played three games thus far and now will not be able to play the six games needed to even qualify for the conference championship.

It’s also Thanksgiving week, a time we all get together with our families and discuss what we’re thankful for.

For the 2020 Wisconsin Badgers, a lot could have gone better thus far— including a normal season, their senior quarterback staying healthy, the team not experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak, a win at Northwestern, a chance at keeping Paul Bunyan’s Axe and more.

Nevertheless, the program is set up well for success both through the end of this year and for the future. So, here are 10 people Wisconsin football has to be thankful for this season and beyond:

Five takeaways from the Badgers’ 17-7 loss to Northwestern

The Wisconsin Badgers entered Evanston, Illinois yesterday with the chance to knock off the 4-0 Northwestern Wildcats and take control…

The Wisconsin Badgers entered Evanston, Illinois yesterday with the chance to knock off the 4-0 Northwestern Wildcats and take control of the Big Ten West division.

If you’ve followed Badger football over the years you know Northwestern is always a tough place to play and makes for a perfect trap game scenario. Well, that was the case yesterday as Paul Chryst and his team fell 17-7.

There is a lot to take away from the game, including young players continuing to break out, an impressive performance on one side of the football, a key player practically losing the game for the Badgers and more.

Here are five main takeaways from the Badgers’ loss yesterday to Northwestern:

Studs and duds from Wisconsin’s disappointing loss to Northwestern

The No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers entered Evanston, Illinois today with Big Ten title and College Football Playoff aspirations after they sat…

The No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers entered Evanston, Illinois today with Big Ten title and College Football Playoff aspirations after they sat idle for Weeks 2 and 3 of the season and watched the rest of the nation play football.

Well, things did not go as planned today for Paul Chryst’s team as they fell to the Northwestern Wildcats 17-7.

What decided the contest today were Badger mistakes on offense, awful quarterback play and dominant defense from both teams.

With today’s win, Northwestern moves to 5-0 on the season and takes a stranglehold of the Big Ten West division. Wisconsin, on the other hand, now sits at 2-1 on the season with a rivalry showdown against Minnesota coming next weekend.

Here are studs and duds from the Badgers’ disappointing loss:

What Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh said about Wisconsin after the game

Paul Chryst and the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers returned to the field last night in Ann Arbor, Michigan and made an absolute statement…

Paul Chryst and the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers returned to the field last night in Ann Arbor, Michigan and made an absolute statement, routing HC Jim Harbaugh and the 1-3 Michigan Wolverines 49-11.

The game was more than a positive sign for the Badgers, especially after having to wait 22 days to play their second game of the year.

Michigan, on the other hand, now sits at 1-3 on the season and has real questions about the team, the coaching and the overall direction of the program.

Harbaugh discussed after the game what his team needs to change going forward, saying “there’s nothing to right now to say an acceptable job is being done — players or the coaches.”

He then continued to note that his team needs to re-evaluate the “process of everything we do — we’ve gotta try to win by all means necessary. That’s gonna be our training, that’s gotta be our workouts, that’s gotta be our meetings, that’s gotta be our coaches. All of us in terms of putting our plan together — every meeting, every walkthrough, every practice, nutrition, recovery — everything we do is going to be aimed at improvement. Really all areas, all areas. Anything we can identify of a way we could do it better. I’m thinking of things, but gotta address all areas.”

The Michigan head coach also had good things to say about the job Paul Chryst and the Badgers did in every area last night, especially on the perimeter:

“They had extra blockers on the perimeter. We didn’t set the edge all night. We weren’t containing.”

A testament to the job Chryst and his staff did preparing the team, Harbaugh noted that they “were thoroughly beaten in every phase. Didn’t really do anything well. Did not play good, did not coach good.”

Most of the focus of the press conference was on the state of the Michigan team and program, though the overall tone pointed towards the Badgers’ utter domination of the Wolverines on all fronts.

Paul Chryst and the Wisconsin Badgers are back in action on Saturday against the undefeated No. 19 Northwestern Wildcats. A fun fact to note: the game will mark the first top-20 matchup between the two teams since 1962.

Gameday work:

Instant analysis: The Badgers make a statement in their return, routing Michigan 49-11

It was a long time coming, but quarterback Graham Mertz and the Wisconsin Badgers finally returned to the football field tonight in…

It was a long time coming, but quarterback Graham Mertz and the Wisconsin Badgers finally returned to the football field tonight in Ann Arbor, Michigan and made an absolute statement in their return, routing the Michigan Wolverines 49-11.

There were many question marks heading into the contest about what the Badger football team would look like after 22 days since their Week 1 contest, whether they will be well conditioned and what the team will look like against a team not named Illinois.

Well, those questions were answered, as even without several key contributors on both sides of the football–running back Garrett Groshek, defensive end Garrett Rand, cornerback Rachad Wildgoose and outside linebacker Izayah Green-May to name a few–and without Graham Mertz playing an amazing game, they played a sharp and dominant football game from start to finish.

Jim Leonhard’s defense came out of the gates with a bang, intercepting Wolverine quarterback Joe Milton on his first two pass attempts, and held the Milton-led offense to zero first-half points, 219 total yards, 47 rushing yards, 2.5 yards-per-carry and 11 total points.

Joe Rudolph’s offense did everything they needed to do to win–establishing the run early, letting Graham Mertz get comfortable, dialing up end arounds, getting their playmakers the ball in space and punching the ball into the end zone on all of their red-zone trips.

There are several things you can take away from this game, but the biggest thing we saw on the field tonight–aside from players like Leo Chenal, Nick Herbig, Jalen Berger and the entire offensive line showing out–was how much of a mismatch Paul Chryst was for Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.

It can be stated as clear as this: Chryst’s team came out with a purpose and like a team that had just gotten two games taken away while Harbaugh’s team came out uninspired and looked like a unit that had nothing to play for.

Paul Chryst’s Badgers now move forward to next weekend’s contest aginst 4-0 Northwestern undefeated and looking sharp, something anybody would have taken heading into the season.

We have a lot of postgame content coming your way this week on BadgersWire. But for now, it’s good to have Badger football back and I could not have envisioned a better return for the team as they work towards winning their first Big Ten Championship since 2012.