Tag: wisconsin badgers football

Breaking: Former Wisconsin DL Rodas Johnson will transfer to Texas A&M

Texas A&M has gained another big man, as former Wisconsin defensive lineman Rodas Johnson will transfer to Texas A&M.

That’s now 12 transfer portal additions in the last 72 hours for Texas A&M and head coach Mike Elko, as the incredible hot streak continues in less than two months on the job. On Saturday, the streak continued as four more portal members announced their commitments, including former Wisconsin defensive tackle Rodas Johnson.

After spending four seasons with the Badgers, Johnson, who stands at 6′ 2″ and weighs over 300 pounds, appeared in 38 games and 22 starts, with over 50 tackles in his career. Due to his size, Johson brings substantial versatility to the trenches and has a chance to compete for the Aggies’ vacant nose tackle position.

Johnson, who came out of the 2019 recruiting class as a three-star prospect, received a lot of interest in the transfer portal from multiple Power 5 programs due to his size and Big 10 experience.

Johnson joins former Florida linebacker Scooby Williams and cornerback Jaydon Hill, while former Troy offensive tackle Derrick Graham is Elko’s first portal commit on the offensive line.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Former Wisconsin WR Markus Allen announces next school

Former Wisconsin WR Markus Allen announces next school

Former Wisconsin football wide receiver Markus Allen officially announced his next school on Thursday.

He was with Wisconsin this past spring, but ultimately decided to enter the portal over the summer as the new coaching regime came in.

Allen will be heading to a notable community college program that has produced NFL talent in the past and is often a good stepping stone back to a great opportunity. He will head to Kansas to play for Butler Community College, which has produced notable professional names such as Demarcus Lawrence and Michael Gallup among others.

Allen will head to Kansas with three years of eligibility.

BREAKING: Wisconsin football lands a 2025 in-state linebacker

The Badgers land a 2025 LB

The Badgers unleashed their new bat signal on Tuesday, and it was quickly followed by a commitment from in-state linebacker Cooper Catalano. The 2025 prospect is a consensus three-star recruit across recruiting sites, and a native of Germantown, Wisconsin.

He is seen as a top-five player in the state in the 2025 class according to 247Sports rankings.

Catalano had offers from the likes of Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, and Michigan State before ultimately deciding on becoming a Badger. He plays his high school football at Germantown High School.

The 6-foot-2 linebacker announced his decision via Twitter on Tuesday. Here is a look at what he had to say:

Luke Fickell gives honest opinion on seventh-year college football players

The Badger head coach had some thoughts on seventh-year players

Thanks to the extra COVID year and a number of injuries, certain players are sticking around in college football and college basketball much longer than they used to.

As Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell was prepping for the Battle for the Axe, he noticed Minnesota has a seventh-year player. The first-year Badger head coach had some thoughts on that.

“This world today, I think we’ve still got a couple more years left of not knowing how old or what guys have left in the tank based on how many years of experience,” said Fickell on seventh-year players. “I just saw Minnesota’s got a seventh year guy and I just saw a Utah quarterback is saying he’s coming back for a seventh year. Is this still college football? I don’t know. I’m not sure it was meant to be six years, seven years. There’s a lot of those things still hanging.”

It is still college football, and it is still the Battle for the Axe which will be taking place on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT.

Big 12 Bowl Projections: Sooners face Pac-12 power in latest projections from USA TODAY Sports

According to the latest Big 12 bowl projections, the Oklahoma Sooners take on the Utah Utes.

The final two weeks of the regular season are upon us. It’s crunch time for the conference title and College Football Playoff contenders. While the playoff is out of reach for the Sooners, they still have an outside shot at a Big 12 title game berth.

They’ll need to take care of business against BYU and TCU over the next nine days. But if the Sooners finish strongly and get a little help, one final trip to Arlington is certainly in the cards.

But at the moment, they’re on the outside looking in, and that affects where they’re heading in USA TODAY Sports’ latest bowl projections.

Let’s take a look at where the Big 12’s projected postseason landing spots.

Braelon Allen leads the Big Ten in this category

The Badger running back was at his best on Saturday

It felt like a defining statement game for Braelon Allen in Wisconsin’s come-from-behind win over Illinois on Saturday. The Badger running back totaled 29 carries and 145 yards on the ground to go along with a touchdown.

Allen is now up to over 100 rushing yards per game, which leads the Big Ten conference by a significant margin. Kyle Monangai of Rutgers is in second place at 93 yards per game, then there is a steep drop off before third and fourth.

Allen is now asked to do even more for the Badgers after Chez Mellusi went down at Purdue. The Badger back will have to be at his best on Saturday when Ohio State visits Madison.

Five takeaways from an unbelievable Wisconsin comeback win at Illinois

The Badgers escape with a win at Illinois

With fifteen game minutes left, Wisconsin was staring down a 21-7 deficit on the road at Illinois. They were trusting a freshman quarterback in his first collegiate start, had barely moved the football, and had been having trouble stopping the rushing attack of Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer.

So, naturally, with everything going the Fighting Illini’s way, Wisconsin outscored Illinois 18-0 over the final fifteen minutes and walked out of Champaign with a 25-21 victory. 

From a wild final drive, some questionable calls early, and a few game-changing moments, here are five takeaways from a Wisconsin win that got them back into the Big Ten West title picture:

Wisconsin football social media reacts to an ugly home loss to Iowa

Wisconsin loses ugly at Camp Randall…

It was a disastrous offense performance on Saturday as Wisconsin fell 15-6 to Iowa and with it fell out of the Big Ten West drivers seat.

The Badger offense dealt with a right arm injury to Tanner Mordecai that knocked him out late in the first half, and struggled no matter if it was Mordecai or freshman Braedyn Locke leading the offense.

Iowa capitalized on an 82-yard run by LeShon Williams in the first half, the outstanding punting of Tory Taylor, and a defense that was as good as advertised to take the lead in a Big Ten West that lacks a dominant team.

Here is how Wisconsin football Twitter reacted to the loss:

BadgersWire Staff Predictions: Homecoming for Wisconsin against Rutgers

The Badgers return home to take on Rutgers

The Badgers return home to the friendly confines of Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Rutgers visits Madison for a Big Ten battle.

Wisconsin opened up their conference account with a win at Purdue, while the Scarlet Knights sit at 1-1 in Big Ten play after a season-opening win over Northwestern and a loss at Michigan.

The Scarlet Knights have been largely impressive in the early going this season, relying on a unique offensive structure and stout defense to build a 4-1 record through five games. Here is how our BadgersWire staff sees Saturday going for Wisconsin:

Five takeaways from Wisconsin’s 38-17 win at Purdue

The Badgers come away with a win in their Big Ten opener

The Badgers started fast and it proved to be enough off of a cushion to keep Purdue at bay late as Wisconsin won their first Big Ten contest 38-17 under new head coach Luke Fickell.

The Badgers improved to 3-1 (1-0 BIG) behind Tanner Mordecai’s miraculous first quarter where the Wisconsin quarterback rushed for a pair of scores, caught a pass, and had everything clicking.

Leading 21-3 at halftime, Wisconsin was in cruise control before the Boilermakers scored 14 points in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 27-17.

The fourth quarter was smooth sailing for the Badgers, who clinched the game on a strange fumble by Hudson Card midway through the fourth. The night was marred with the loss of running back Chez Mellusi, who went down in the fourth quarter with what looks like a very serious leg injury.

Here are five takeaways from Wisconsin’s win at Purdue: