Tag: Tanner Mordecai

WATCH: Wisconsin WR Will Pauling is going off against LSU

WATCH: Wisconsin WR Will Pauling is going off against LSU

As this article is being written, the Wisconsin Badgers currently hold a 28-21 lead over the No. 13 LSU Tigers in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

Yes, many top LSU players including Heisman Trophy winner QB Jayden Daniels opted out of the game. But the Badgers were double-digit underdogs entering the contest, yet might be playing their best game of the season.

One big piece of that is outgoing QB Tanner Mordecai. He is 18/27 for 259 yards and three touchdowns midway through the third quarter. Another bright spot and someone who will be a huge piece of the team next year: wide receiver Will Pauling.

Pauling went off in the first half, catching five passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

His burst and explosion made it look like Wisconsin was the SEC power with the nation’s top wide receivers, instead of LSU on the opposing sideline.

 

Wisconsin and LSU have gone back and forth offensively day, making for an entertaining product. For the Badgers going forward, it’s great news big contributors like Pauling look primed for a huge 2024.

Wisconsin vs. Nebraska: Prediction, point spread, odds, best bet

Can Wisconsin snap their three-game skid?

The Badgers (5-5) play the Nebraska (5-5) at home on Saturday and if you’re looking to do some last-minute betting research, you’re in luck! We’ll give you the latest point spread, money line odds and over/under number, as well as the information you’ll need to make the smartest bet.

The game starts at 6:30PM and can be seen on NBC Sports.

Wisconsin is coming off of a 24-10 loss to Northwestern. In that game, the Badgers quarterback Tanner Mordecai made his return to the field after missing three games with a hand injury, passing for 255 yards.

Nebraska lost to Maryland last weekend, falling to the Terrapins 13-10 at home. The Cornhuskers struggled to get their offense going, as their quarterback Jeff Sims compiled only 62 passing yards while throwing two interceptions.

Wisconsin will look to beat Nebraska for a 10th straight time and this is how BetMGM sees the game going:

  • Point spread: Wisconsin -7
  • Money line: Wisconsin -275 / Nebraska +225
  • Over-under: 37

It’s unclear exactly what injuries each team are dealing with but here’s the most recent info:

Wisconsin:

  • Braelon Allen, RB: questionable (leg)
  • Chimere Dike, WR: questionable (leg)
  • Grady O’Neill, WR: questionable (undisclosed)
  • Cam Large, TE: questionable (undisclosed)
  • Chris Brooks Jr., WR: out indefinitely (foot)
  • Tommy McIntosh, WR: out indefinitely (undisclosed)
  • Isaiah Mullens, DE: out indefinitely (knee)
  • Max Lofy, CB: out indefinitely (undisclosed)
  • Aaron Witt, LB: out indefinitely (leg)
  • Trech Kekahuna, WR: out indefinitely (undisclosed)
  • Cam Fane, WR: out indefinitely (undisclosed)
  • Jack Pugh, TE: out indefinitely (personal)
  • Chez Mellusi, RB: out for season (leg)
  • Jackson Trudgeon, S: out for season (undisclosed)
  • Angel Toombs, TE: out for season (undisclosed)

Nebraska:

  • C. Purdy, QB: Ques Sat – Undisclosed
  • J. Fleeks, WR: Ques Sat – Undisclosed
  • Q. Newsome, DB: Ques Sat – Undisclosed
  • H. Haarberg, QB: Ques Sat – Ankle
  • T. Corcoran, OL: out for season – Undisclosed
  • E. Piper, OL: out for season – Undisclosed
  • M. Washington, WR: out for season – Knee
  • D. Singleton, DB: Out indefinitely – Knee
  • A. Gilbert, TE: Out indefinitely – Eligibility
  • D. Bootle II, DB: out for season – Shoulder
  • G. Ervin Jr., RB: out for season – Hip
  • R. Johnson, RB: out for season – Shoulder
  • I. Garcia-Castaneda, WR: out for season – Knee
  • M. Noonan, LB: out for season – Knee
  • B. Tagaloa, DL: out for season – Knee

Wisconsin has their backs against the wall and their only advantage is the fact that they’re at home Saturday. Neither team can get out of their own way and both are in danger of failing to qualify for a bowl game. The Badgers need it more, so have the slightest edge.

Prediction: 20-14 Wisconsin wins

Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.

LISTEN: Badgers QB joins local radio show ahead of Nebraska game

Mordecai hops on the radio Thursday night

Wisconsin (5-5) will take on Nebraska (5-5) on Saturday night at Camp Randall at 6:30PM and starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai joined the Drew&KB show on Thursday night (joins around 19:45 mark).

Mordecai talks about the team’s attitude heading into this weekend’s matchup and what’s next for the Badgers as they head towards the conclusion of the regular season.

The quarterback made his return from a three-game absence last week after dealing with a hand injury, completing 31 passes for 255 yards in the team’s 24-10 loss to Northwestern.

Mordecai is in his one and only season with Wisconsin and so far, he’s compiled 1,382 passing yards and three touchdowns while also adding 186 rushing yards and four scores on the ground through seven active contests.

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WATCH: Coach Fickell speaks to Badgers ahead of Week 8

Coach Fickell has a message for his players

The Badgers football team (4-2) is coming off of a disappointing 15-6 loss to Iowa at home in Week 7, but they’ve now shifted focus to their upcoming matchup with Illinois (3-4) on the road Saturday.

Head coach Luke Fickell spoke to his players highlighting the “process” that the team is going through and that they need to “play fast and play aggressive”.

Wisconsin will be operating with a new quarterback under center after Tanner Mordecai broke his throwing hand versus the Hawkeyes. Redshirt freshman Braedyn Locke, who transferred to Madison from Mississippi State, will be taking over as the team’s signal-caller.

Locke replaced Mordecai against Iowa, compiling 130 passing yards while throwing an interception and losing a fumble.

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What Tanner Mordecai’s injury means for Wisconsin

What Tanner Mordecai’s injury means for Wisconsin going forward

On Saturday, the Wisconsin Badgers Big Ten West title hopes took a significant hit with a 15-6 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. To add to the loss, Luke Fickell and the Badgers have lost their starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai for the foreseeable future.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Mordecai suffered a broken hand against the Hawkeyes and has since had surgery with a pin placed in his hand. He additionally reports that Mordecai is expected to be out “for the immediate future” and that a specific timetable for his return is currently unknown.

For Wisconsin, Mordecai’s injury is especially tough considering the Badgers had already lost senior tailback Chez Mellusi for the season. Mellusi suffered a fractured fibula in Wisconsin’s 38-17 win over Purdue in late September.

With Mordecai out, the Badgers will have to turn to freshman quarterback Braedyn Locke to lead the way. Locke in relief of Mordecai completed 15-of-30 passing attempts against Iowa for 122 yards while throwing one interception.

The 6-foot-0 quarterback like Mordecai transferred into the Wisconsin program this offseason, joining the Badgers after spending a year with the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

While there is excitement surrounding Locke’s potential, there is still expected to be a drop-off from Mordecai to Locke, at least in the immediate future. Locke has appeared in just two games in his collegiate career, including this past weekend against Iowa.

The injury and drop-off are not great news either for a Wisconsin offense that was already struggling at times throughout this season. Through six games, the Badgers offense has averaged 399 yards of offense and 28 points. The passing attack for the Badgers has not been much of a threat, averaging just 212 passing yards per game, don’t be surprised to see that number drop over the course of the next few weeks.

With that, expect Wisconsin to lean on tailback Braelon Allen even more going forward. Allen this season has averaged 6.1 yards per carry and has totaled 559 yards and seven touchdowns in six games. Redshirt sophomore running back Jackson Acker will likely see a slightly increased role as well. The Madison, Wisconsin native has 24 carries for 106 yards this season, including three carries for 10 yards against Iowa.

The good news for Wisconsin, however, is that the schedule going forward is not overly difficult especially with the Badgers’ defense being giving strong efforts on a weekly basis so far this season.

Over their last six games, the Badgers have just two opponents who have records of .500 or better. This weekend, the Badgers will travel to Champaign to take on Illinois. They’ll then host Ohio State in Week 9 before finishing their season off with matchups against Indiana, Northwestern, Nebraska, and Minnesota.

Overall, despite the injuries to both Mellusi and Mordecai and starting an inexperienced Braedyn Locke, a potential nine win season is still very much in play for the Badgers this season.

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell explains quarterback depth chart after Tanner Mordecai’s injury

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell explains quarterback depth chart after Tanner Mordecai’s injury

Wisconsin suffered a major blow during its crushing 15-6 loss to Iowa on Saturday, as starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai broke his hand and is now out indefinitely.

The news was originally reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel and was confirmed by head coach Luke Fickell.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 7: Iowa wins the Big Ten West

The Wisconsin head coach went on to clarify where the team’s quarterback depth chart stands during his press conference on Monday. Redshirt freshman Braedyn Locke will be the team’s starter, with a competition between Myles Burkett and Nick Evers for the backup job.

Locke went 15/30 for 122 yards and one interception in relief of Mordecai against Iowa. Wisconsin did score points with Locke in the game, something it wasn’t able to do before Mordecai was injured. But the two second-half field goals were not enough to win the game.

 

Locke was a four-star recruit who committed to Mississippi State in the class of 2022 before transferring to Wisconsin this past offseason. The Badgers will now need to rely heavily on running back Braelon Allen, something the team wasn’t able to do during Saturday’s loss.

Former Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz had a huge day in Florida’s win over South Carolina

Former Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz had a huge day in Florida’s win over South Carolina

Former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz is starting to turn some non-believers out in Gainesville, Florida. The former Badger has the Florida Gators at 5-2 on the season and was stellar in the team’s 41-39 win over South Carolina on Saturday.

He finished off the win with a line of 30/48 passing, 423 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. The performance brought his season numbers up to 76.2% passing, 1897 yards, 8.5 yards-per-attempt, 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

Given the current state of the sport where numerous transfer quarterbacks have turned into busts, Mertz is becoming one of the best portal additions of the offseason.

His touchdown pass to Ricky Pearsall Saturday was the difference between a win and a loss for the Gators:

Report: Wisconsin QB Tanner Mordecai broke his hand Saturday vs Iowa

Report: Wisconsin QB Tanner Mordecai broke his hand Saturday vs Iowa

Here is the injury to add to the insult of Wisconsin’s 15-6 loss to Iowa on Saturday.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported this morning that Wisconsin starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai broke his hand against Iowa and ‘is expected to be out for the immediate future.’

Mordecai was injured late in the second quarter of Saturday’s loss when he hit his hand on an Iowa player’s helmet while completing a pass to wide receiver Will Pauling. The veteran quarterback stayed in for one more play before appearing to say to the sideline ‘I can’t throw.’

Freshman Braedyn Locke went the rest of the way, completing 15 of 30 passes for 122 yards and one interception. Wisconsin scored just six points the rest of the contest with Locke under center and failed to capitalize on Iowa totaling just 70 second-half yards.

Luke Fickell and Phil Longo are now forced to prepare Locke to start for the foreseeable future, including for contests next week at Illinois and the following week vs Ohio State.

The Wisconsin Badgers’ quest to win the Big Ten West is over

The Wisconsin Badgers’ quest to win the Big Ten West is over

We are entering the election-predicting mode of our coverage of Wisconsin’s 2023 football season. And we have a proclamation to make after the Badgers’ 15-6 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday: Wisconsin’s quest to win the Big Ten West in the division’s final year is over.

Is it over mathematically? Not quite. ESPN FPI still gives the Badgers a 17% chance to get the job done, as they are still tied with Iowa in the loss column with six conference games remaining.

But given the context of the rest of the season, how the Badgers looked on Saturday and Tanner Mordecai’s possible long-term injury, I am naming Iowa the winner of this race.

To flip the result, Wisconsin needs Iowa, which has five conference games left, to lose one more game than it does the rest of the way. The challenge rests in Iowa having a cupcake schedule the rest of the way: vs. Minnesota, at Northwestern, vs. Rutgers, vs. Illinois and at Nebraska.

Compare that with Wisconsin’s upcoming slate of at Illinois, vs. Ohio State, at Indiana, vs. Northwestern, vs. Nebraska and at Minnesota. The Badgers would need to go 5-1 in those six games and pray the Hawkeyes drop two contests.

I should note: that can easily happen. Iowa is on to its backup quarterback, doesn’t have any of its top tight ends and boasts one of the worst offenses in the country (again). But Wisconsin took advantage of all of that and even won Saturday’s contest on a down-to-down basis, seen below:

Yet Iowa wins how Iowa always wins: timely turnovers, a strong defense and the best college punter I’ve ever seen in Tory Taylor.

Even if the Hawkeyes do slip up twice the rest of the way, giving Wisconsin life in the division if the team can win out…do we trust this Badger team to suddenly put it all together? I do not.

Saturday’s loss was startling. And it has me officially conceding the Big Ten West.

WATCH: Iowa blasts ‘Jump Around’ in locker room after win over Wisconsin

WATCH: Iowa blasts ‘Jump Around’ in locker room after win over Wisconsin

Saturday was not a good day for the Wisconsin Badgers. The team outgained Iowa by nearly 100 total yards, yet was unable to find the end zone the entire day, turned the ball over twice and lost the crucial contest 15-6.

The loss drops Wisconsin to 4-2 on the 2023 season and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Notably, it bumped Iowa to 6-1 (3-1 Big Ten), giving the Hawkeyes the tiebreaker and the prohibitive edge in the division.

To add injury to the insult, Wisconsin lost starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai late in the second quarter with a hand injury. Head coach Luke Fickell said postgame “It doesn’t look good for a little while. He couldn’t grip the ball,” pointing toward an extended absence. A worst-case scenario.

And then, to add insult to the injury, here’s the postgame scene outside the Iowa locker room where you can hear the Hawkeyes blasting ‘Jump Around’ as they celebrated the win: