Tag: wisconsin badgers football

Wisconsin could lose key member on defense for entire season

Wisconsin loses experienced starter across defensive line to upper body injury.

As the Wisconsin Badgers started putting the finishing touches on preseason action, they received bad news on the defensive front. Defensive lineman James Thompson Jr. is likely to miss the entire 2024 season due to injury.

The school described the injury as “upper body”, and Thompson already underwent surgery for recovery. Head coach Luke Fickell spoke Monday about the loss of Thompson.

Now he’ll be in a little bit of a different role for us this year. I don’t know that we’ll have a chance to get him back…It doesn’t look like James is probably going to make it. I don’t know that we’ll have him for the year. There’s a lot of things that are still, we’ve got to wait and see. I don’t know if it’s a four- to five-month thing.

Thompson was going to be the most experienced defensive lineman on the roster.  He made 11 starts last season and recorded 29 tackles, which was the most on the team.

Wisconsin has gone 7-6 in each of the past two seasons. When the Associated Press Top 25 poll came out for the preseason, the Badgers were not in the rankings.

The Badgers will start the season Friday night against the Broncos of Western Michigan.

Associated Press preseason top 25 poll to be released on Aug. 12

Associated Press preseason top 25 poll to be released on Aug. 12

The Associated Press preseason top 25 poll will be released on Aug. 12 at Noon ET, according to a report from Action Network’s Brett McMurphy.

With the college football season set to commence the weekend of Aug. 24, fans across the nation will look to the weekly AP Top 25 poll for the latest updates on where their team stands. Kick-started in 1936, the AP poll serves as the official hub for CFB rankings in the mainstream media.

As of Jan. 9, the AP’s final poll for the 2023-24 season had four Big Ten teams in the top 25, including Michigan (No. 1), Washington (No. 2), Oregon (No. 6), Ohio State (No. 10), Penn State (No. 13) and Iowa (No. 24).

For reference, the Associated Press preseason top 25 for the 2023-24 season had Michigan ranked No. 2, Ohio State at No. 3, Penn State at No. 7, and Washington at No. 10. The Wisconsin Badgers landed at No. 19 in the preseason rankings.

Outside the AP, ESPN’s post-spring top-25 rankings failed to include the Badgers among the nation’s best. The outlet did, however, place UW in the ‘just missed’ category alongside West Virginia, Texas A&M, Louisville, Kentucky, Washington, Boise State, Air Force and Liberty.

247Sports, on the other hand, put together a cumulative post-spring poll from the following outlets: CBS Sports, ESPN, The Athletic, USA Today, Athlon Sports, Lindy’s and Fox. The Badgers did make the top 25 of that list either.

Following a 7-6 output in 2023-24, UW will likely fail to crack the AP Top 25 this preseason. With tests against Alabama, Oregon, Penn State and USC on its slate, media members may be hesitant to place Wisconsin alongside college football’s best until they wait to prove their position among the sport’s powers.

Luke Fickell and the Badgers have plenty of opportunities to prove their standing, which starts when they welcome the Alabama Crimson Tide to Camp Randall on Sept. 14.

LOOK: Wisconsin’s EA Sports College Football 25 menu screen revealed

LOOK: Wisconsin’s EA Sports College Football 25 menu screen revealed

Former Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen showcased Wisconsin’s menu screen on the upcoming EA Sports College Football 25 video game via Instagram on Sunday.

Over the last few weeks, bits and pieces of game preview have reached Badger faithful via social media. It’s safe to say anticipation is bubbling prior to the video game’s public release on July 19.

The loading screen, courtesy of the freshly-minted New York Jet, includes visuals of Bucky Badger, wide receiver Will Pauling and several Wisconsin sports symbols embedded throughout the right side of the screen. A giant ‘Motion W’ flag, Wisconsin’s logo and a faded Camp Randall background are also visible.

Since it remains unavailable to a majority of Badger enthusiasts, any behind the scenes content surrounding EA Sports College Football 25 is considered noteworthy to a bevy of Wisconsin gridiron fanatics throughout the nation.

Yesterday, popular YouTube creator UserLurk showcased Chez Mellusi scoring a 70-yard touchdown against Iowa. In late June, a teaser trailer featured Wisconsin and Minnesota’s battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe. Overall, fans are certainly excited to play with the Badgers on their big screens.

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.

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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: