Tag: Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin linebacker Chris Orr named Lott IMPACT Trophy semifinalist

Wisconsin Badgers senior linebacker Chris Orr has been named a semifinalist for the Lott IMPACT trophy.

If you asked Wisconsin fans which player is the heart and soul of this year’s team, most would name Chris Orr without hesitation.

The senior linebacker has always been known to have outstanding character throughout his time in Madison, but he has stepped into a prominent leadership role on the defense this year and emerged as an unquestioned leader among his teammates, both on and off the field. Orr also happens to be having a fantastic statistical season, leading the Badgers in both total tackles (55) and sacks (10) and trailing only Zack Baun in tackles for loss (11).

As a result of his special combination of leadership and on-field production, Orr has earned recognition as a semifinalist for the prestigious Lott IMPACT Trophy, an honor that is “awarded annually to individuals who demonstrate excellence in the field of athletics and recognizes college football’s Defensive Player of the Year who best exemplifies the IMPACT acronym: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.”

The other semifinalists are Derrick Brown (Auburn), Cole Christiansen (Army), Jordan Fuller (Ohio State), Brandon Jones (Texas), Kenneth Murray (Oklahoma), Isaiah Simmons (Clemson), Curtis Weaver (Boise State) and Evan Weaver (California).

Orr would be the second Badger to take home the award since its inception in 2004, as J.J. Watt received the honor in 2010.

The winner will be announced on Dec. 15.

Badgers in the NFL: JJ Watt reveals phone number and texts with fans

Former Wisconsin Badgers defensive end JJ Watt posted his phone number on Instagram, and has responded to hundreds of texts from fans.

If there’s ever been anything you wanted to say directly to Wisconsin Badgers legend JJ Watt, now is your chance.

The future Hall of Fame defensive end, now with the Houston Texans, is using his extra free time after going on the injured reserve to connect with his fans in an even more direct way than his usual strong presence on social media.

View this post on Instagram

text me. 262.404.3664

A post shared by JJ Watt (@jjwatt) on

That’s right, Watt posted his phone number and allowed fans to reach out to him directly. He admitted he was looking for better ways to connect with his fans, and wanted to try out direct texting.

Watt said he received over 25,000 texts, and while he did take the time to respond to hundreds of them, don’t be surprised if your text goes unanswered while the Pro Bowler navigates his sea of fans over the next few weeks.

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What are the Five Keys to a Wisconsin Victory over Purdue?

What are the five keys to a Wisconsin victory on senior day over Purdue? Zack Baun LB, Chris Orr LB, Jonathan Taylor RB, Jack Coan QB

Wisconsin (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) has dominated Purdue (4-6, 3-4) as of late considering the Badgers have won 13 straight games over the Boilermakers. Although Wisconsin has had its way against Purdue the Boilermakers have given Wisconsin a fight over their last two meetings as Wisconsin beat Purdue in triple overtime in order to extend their current winning streak.

Here are the five keys for a Wisconsin victory over the Boilermakers on senior day:

1) Jonathan Taylor’s success on the ground

Purdue has had trouble containing Taylor as he posted a career high 321 yards in last year’s victory. Taylor will certainly get his chance of having success against a Purdue rush defense that’s allowing 170.9 yards per game over Big Ten play. In addition, the Boilermakers have allowed seven different running backs to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark this season. With Taylor averaging 146.3 yards this season if he can get into a rhythm early he should be able to put together another impressive performance against the Boilermakers.

2) Limiting David Bell’s impact

Despite not having his counterpart in wide receiver Rondale Moore hasn’t slowed Bell down from having production over conference play. Considering Bell’s 8.4 receptions over Big Ten play leads the conference and his 94.4 receiving yards a game is tied for second with Minnesota’s Tyler Johnson for most in the conference. Making it important for Wisconsin’s secondary to try and limit his yards after the catch. Bell will certainly get his targets in the passing game the key will be making sure he can’t make the first defender miss as Wisconsin will need to try and hold him to a minimal gain each time he catches the football. If Wisconsin can they’ll take away one of Purdue’s most consistent offensive weapons.

3) Wisconsin’s ability to create pressure

Purdue has run 510 offensive plays over Big Ten play and is attempting a pass on 57.4 percent of those plays. Purdue’s 217 rushing attempts are the fewest over Big Ten play. With how often Purdue drops back to pass the Badgers defense will have their chance of creating pressure as the Boilermakers are allowing an average of three sacks over Big Ten play. Between Zack Baun and Chris Orr as the duo has registered a combined 19.5 sacks this season and should be able to make there way into Purdue’s backfield. If Wisconsin can consistently create pressure it will assist Wisconsin’s secondary in covering Bell and should help the Badgers create short drives for Purdue.

4) Keeping George Karlaftis out of Wisconsin’s backfield

Taylor has run for at least 200 yards over the last two games. Part of the reason for his success on the ground is he doesn’t get tackled behind the line of scrimmage as he consistently does a good job of picking up positive yards. Although Taylor has had success against Purdue’s rush defense the Badgers are going to have to neutralize Karlaftis as he leads the Big Ten in tackles for loss per game with 1.57 a game. If Wisconsin’s offensive line doesn’t get the better leverage Karlaftis will find a way of making sure Wisconsin is working behind the chains.

5) Wisconsin’s ability to get off to a strong start

With it being senior day there naturally will be distractions making it important that Wisconsin comes out executing at a high level. Considering, Purdue needs to win their last two games in order to become bowl eligible for a third straight year. If Wisconsin comes out flat the Boilermakers will take advantage and Wisconsin could find themselves in a hole early. Making it important that Jack Coan is able to guide the offense down the field early on in the game and that Wisconsin comes away with a touchdown in order to set the tone early for the game.

Three takeaways from Wisconsin’s 88-70 win over Green Bay

Wisconsin took down the UW-Green Bay Phoenix 88-70 on Thursday night. Here are the top three takeaways from the victory.

Wisconsin picked up its fourth victory in a row on Thursday night, taking down UW-Green Bay 88-70 at the Kohl Center. Here are our top three takeaways from the game for the Badgers.

1. Wisconsin stayed hot offensively. 

The Badgers have looked extremely impressive on offense dating back to the victory over McNeese State, and the trend continued last night.

Wisconsin was once against lights-out from long-range, going 15-31 (48.4%) from beyond the arc. Despite a fairly impressive offensive showing of its own, Green Bay simply could not keep up with the Badgers’ onslaught of threes.

It was another incredibly balanced performance from Wisconsin, who saw the same six players that hit double figures against Marquette do the same against the Phoenix. Nate Reuvers led all scorers with 17 points despite playing just 20 minutes while dealing with foul trouble, while Brad Davison (15), Kobe King (12), Aleem Ford (12), D’Mitrik Trice (11) and Brevin Pritzl (10) also had productive days.

There may not be one obvious star on this year’s team who you know will go out and get you close to 20 points every game, but Wisconsin does have six players who look capable of stepping up and being that guy on any given night. In addition, you can probably lump Micah Potter into that group as well once he’s eligible on Dec. 21.

That’s an exciting level of balance that we have not seen from the Badgers in a while, and it should make upcoming opponents very nervous.

2. Foul trouble was an issue yet again. 

As mentioned, Reuvers was only on the floor for 20 minutes against the Phoenix due to foul trouble, something he has struggled with on multiple occasions already this season. While his absence wasn’t a crippling blow to Wisconsin this time considering the caliber of opponent and the production it received from the rest of the rotation, his inability to stay on the court was concerning considering the difficulty of the Badgers’ upcoming schedule.

Simply put, Greg Gard is probably going to need his star big man- and really the only true post player in the rotation at the moment- to stay on the court for a minimum of 30 minutes in at least a couple of the four games Wisconsin’s has left until Potter enters the frontcourt rotation, and possibly all of them. The Badgers’ matchups with NC State and Indiana seem certain to be very challenging, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Richmond and Rutgers give Wisconsin all it can handle, either.

The Badgers aren’t going to get the type of balanced production we saw last night every game, and there will come a time when they are desperate for a scoring punch or are getting dominated in the post by an opposing big man. Arguably the team’s best scorer and a critical presence as a shot-blocker in the post, Reuvers simply must be smarter with his fouls.

3. Tyler Wahl continues to impress. 

Wahl has been an important piece off the bench for the Badgers so far this season as a true freshman, and he continued his strong play against Green Bay with a career-high five points to go along with three rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 15 minutes of action.

Wahl came to Madison with a reputation as an incredibly versatile player who will stuff the box score and make an impact in a variety of ways, and he has certainly lived up to those expectations so far. However, what has most excited me about the Minnesota native has been his three-point shooting, which was the one major deficiency in Wahl’s game coming out of high school.

He hit a huge three against Marquette and drilled another last night against the Phoenix, and while it’s a pretty small sample size (he’s only attempted six), I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how pure his shot looks from long range. If Wahl can add reliable three-point shooting to a skill set that is proficient in just about every other aspect of the game, his upside could be considerably higher than we anticipated.

Game Day Grades – Wisconsin vs. UW-Green Bay

What grades did Wisconsin earn following their victory over in-state foe UW-Green Bay?

Offense: B+

Wisconsin came out firing against UW-Green Bay as they were able to quickly build a double-digit lead over the Phoenix as the Badgers never trailed. By the time the 16-minute media timeout hit in the first half Wisconsin was up 16-4 and were shooting 6-for-9 from the field and were 3-for-5 from three.

Wisconsin’s shooting was strong throughout most of the game but the Badgers did hit some dry spells too, which opened the door for the Phoenix to climb back into the game.

Despite the strong start to the game from the field after the 16-minute media timeout, the Badgers went to shoot 3-for-7 from the field and committed five turnovers as the Badgers allowed Green Bay to cut their double-digit lead to six at 27-21 with 7:44 to go in the first half.

Wisconsin was able to regain their shooting form and end the half on a high note as the Badgers finished the first half on a 24-8 run. Wisconsin went 8-for-14 to end the half as five of those eight made field goals came from 3-point range.

The Badgers were two made three’s shy of tying a school record for most 3-pointers made in a game as the Badgers went 15-for-31 (48.4 percent) from three.

Seven different players for Wisconsin made at least one three and six different Badgers made at least two of their 3-point attempts. D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison each made three of their 3-point attempts while Aleem Ford, Kobe King, Nate Reuvers, and Brevin Pritzl all made two 3-pointers. Tyler Wahl (five points) went 1-for-2 on his 3-point attempts.

Wisconsin did an excellent job of working the basketball around as the Badgers registered 24 assists on their 32 made field goals. With the Badgers consistently playing selfless basketball it allowed for Wisconsin to consistently generate open looks on offense as Trice led the team with seven assists.

With Wisconsin consistently working the basketball around the Badgers were able to get contributions from a variety of players for a second straight game. As the Badgers had six different players reach double figures as Reuvers led the way with 19 points. Davison finished with 15 points, King and Ford each had 12 points, Trice had 11 points, and Pritzl scored 10 off the bench.

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Wisconsin knows exactly what Purdue is going through

One particular vantage point of Saturday’s game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Purdue Boilermakers is explained.

The Wisconsin Badgers and their fans would love to forget 2018, though the 2019 team’s 8-2 record has represented a concrete attempt to move past that difficult season. Yet, as the Badgers prepare for their home finale this upcoming weekend, their opponent has made it hard to forget the 2018 season. You see, the Purdue Boilermakers have followed a path Wisconsin fans know well, based largely on the 2018 season. In a very real way, 2018 Wisconsin can strongly relate to 2019 Purdue.

One part of the 2018 season which was hard to forget for Wisconsin fans — like it or not — was the tidal wave of injuries which swamped the team during the season. In early October, the Badgers were already dealing with injuries to, among many others, Travian Blaylock, Deron Harrell, Caeser Williams, Faion Hicks, and D’Cota Dixon. They had to go far deeper into their depth chart than any team or coaching staff can reasonably expect in a given season. That was one piece of a frustrating and uneven football season — not the only one, but a core component which explained why Wisconsin fell off the pace in the Big Ten.

One fundamental challenge for the Badgers this season was to take all of the snaps played by younger players in 2018 and translate those added reps into a stronger, more complete defense. That challenge was met in the first half of this season, and it helps explain why Wisconsin has bounced back to a degree in 2019. UW’s opponent this Saturday hopes this same dynamic will pay off next year.

Purdue’s injuries to centerpiece players on offense have been devastating. The Boilermakers have beaten Nebraska and Northwestern in spite of these injuries, but they won’t make a bowl game as a direct result of attrition and the erosion of their roster. Quarterback Elijah Sindelar was knocked out early in the season. Purdue likely would have been able to beat Illinois with Sindelar, and it would have a very good chance of beating Indiana with him as well. More than that, Purdue lost star receiver Rondale Moore. Backup quarterbacks and receivers have had to play a lot. The short-term pain has been considerable, but the Boilermakers hope it will become a blessing when the 2020 season starts.

The 2018 Wisconsin Badgers and the 2019 Purdue Boilermakers are staring at each other across the sands of time. These two schools will meet on Saturday, knowing where the other one stands. Paul Chryst can tell Jeff Brohm before Saturday’s game, “Hey, man. I know what you’re going through. Good luck next year… well, except against us!”

Wisconsin can restore order in one basic way against Purdue

A simple note on the meaning of this Saturday’s game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Purdue Boilermakers.

The obvious and primary point of significance for the Wisconsin Badgers in this Saturday’s game against the Purdue Boilermakers is that UW can stay in the Big Ten West race, setting up a super showdown against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Nov. 30. Everyone knows that. Yet, beneath the surface, this game against Purdue is important for another powerful reason. Wanna guess what it is?

Giving the seniors a win in their final home game? True, but not quite what I was looking for. Cleaning up bad habits or tendencies on defense before the Minnesota game? Well, that is accurate enough as well, but also not the response I had in mind.

Here is the larger reason why Wisconsin-Purdue is so important to the Badgers: They can go unbeaten at home this year. That’s a very big deal.

In 2015, 2016 and 2018, Wisconsin lost at Camp Randall Stadium. The 2017 season was a triumphant victory march for the Badgers, their best non-Rose Bowl-winning season in program history. (They won the Orange Bowl instead.) That team went unbeaten at home.

The 2019 Badgers can restore what the 2017 team established and the 2018 team failed to sustain. This matters as a point of pride — no visitors win in our house! — but the value of protecting Camp Randall is greater than that. As tough as the Big Ten is, being able to maintain an airtight fortress in Madison matters. Creating an expectation that no visitor will win in Camp Randall will enable this 2019 team to pass the baton to the 2020 team and give this program a chance to take a great home-field culture and make it even better.

No home-field loss from 2018 stung more than Minnesota coming into Madison and beating the Badgers. Wisconsin needs to plant its flag against the Gophers in 2020, and going unbeaten at home in 2019 is one small but real part of building back a heavyweight identity against P.J. Fleck. Minnesota has clearly announced itself as a threat to Wisconsin’s Big Ten West supremacy, so in a larger context which transcends individual seasons, the Badgers need to tell the Gophers, “No visitors celebrate here” in Madison.

Beating Purdue and sealing a perfect 2019 record in Camp Randall Stadium won’t make this year a complete success. Beating Minnesota on Nov. 30 will do that. Nevertheless, after the wobbles and struggles of 2018, achieving a perfect home record will represent one tangible and resonant way in which Wisconsin restored order this season.

Cole Van Lanen to Miss Game Against Purdue

Wisconsin will be without starting left tackle Cole Van Lanen when they play Purdue.

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Wisconsin was already going to be without starting nose tackle Bryson Williams, as he’ll miss his second straight game and fifth overall this season. Wisconsin can add one more name to that list, as starting left tackle Cole Van Lanen will also miss the game against the Boilermakers with a head injury.

Van Lanen wasn’t listed on the preliminary injury report that was released on Monday. He will be replaced by redshirt sophomore Tyler Beach in the starting lineup.

This will mark Beach’s second career start for Wisconsin as he started earlier in the year against Illinois at right tackle. Overall, Beach has appeared in 23 career games for Wisconsin.

Losing Van Lanen hurts, as Beach will be counted on to try and help neutralize Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis, who leads the Big Ten in tackles for loss per game at 1.57.

There was one subtraction from the injury report that was released on Thursday, as true freshman cornerback Semar Melvin (head) who was listed as questionable on the preliminary injury report was taken off the report.

3-Point Shot Wisconsin vs. UW-Green Bay

What are the three keys to a Wisconsin victory against UW-Green Bay on Thursday?

Wisconsin will play its second in-state opponent in a row when they welcome UW-Green Bay to the Kohl Center on Thursday. Wisconsin and Green Bay didn’t play a season ago, as the Badgers have won the past eight meetings against the Phoenix.

In this Badgers Wire feature, we will look at the three keys or questions for Wisconsin as they prepare to play UW-Green Bay.

LAYUP: LIMITING GREEN BAY’S SECOND CHANCES

Wisconsin, over their first two games of the season, allowed their opponents to average 12 offensive rebounds a game. However, over Wisconsin’s last two games they have been able to reduce that number to an average of five a game.

Despite Wisconsin doing a better job of boxing out once a shot goes up, the Badgers will have a challenge against Green Bay. The Phoenix on the year are averaging 13.3 offensive rebounds a game and in the Phoenix loss to Purdue, they pulled down 12 offensive rebounds.

Wisconsin will need to be able to box out Manny Patterson, who leads the team with 10 offensive rebounds. Wisconsin’s ability to limit Patterson on the offensive glass and make sure he can’t help generate second chances will help limit a Green Bay offense that’s shooting 44 percent (96-for-218) from the field.

MID-RANGE: CAN WISCONSIN BRING THE SAME KIND OF DEFENSIVE PRESSURE?

Wisconsin’s defense was active throughout the game against Marquette as it allowed for the Badgers defense to create 15 turnovers. That activeness will need to continue considering Green Bay is averaging 17.7 turnovers per game.

With Green Bay turning the basketball over at such a high rate, Wisconsin’s defense should be able to flourish, coming from a unit that is forcing an average of 14.75 turnovers a game. The fewest turnovers Wisconsin has forced this year was 11 against Eastern Illinois.

The Phoenix, through three games, have allowed 24 steals as the opportunities for Wisconsin to come up with a steal will be there.

3-POINTER: WISCONSIN’S ABILITY TO GENERATE OPEN LOOKS 

Wisconsin’s offense has been up and down through four games, as the Badgers are shooting 44 percent (96-for-218) from the field. The Phoenix, on the season, are allowing teams to shoot 45.8 percent (87-for-190) on the year.

The Phoenix allowed Purdue to shoot 50.8 percent from the field on 31-for-61 shooting from the field. One of the reasons why the Boilermakers were able to shoot a high percentage against the Phoenix was they registered 16 assists on their 31 made field goals.

Although Wisconsin’s shots haven’t fallen at times, the Badgers have done well at trying to create the best shot for them. Wisconsin, on the season, is averaging 11.3 assists per game while D’Mitrik Trice leads the team in assists with nine. But Wisconsin has received production in this area from a variety of people as four different players have led Wisconsin in assists in each game.

If Wisconsin can space the floor effectively and knock their shots down, it should allow for the Badgers to be able to get into a rhythm on offense and build an early lead over the Phoenix.

Five Purdue players who Badger fans need to know

Here are five Purdue Boilermakers who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout Saturday’s matchup between Wisconsin and Purdue.

No. 12 Wisconsin will look to claim its third victory in a row on Saturday afternoon when it hosts 4-6 Purdue at Camp Randall.

This season has been a struggle for the Boilermakers, who were expected to take another step forward this year after making a surprise run to a bowl game in 2018. Unfortunately, Purdue has been held back from achieving its goals as the result of a series of devastating injuries to star players. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find any team in college football that has been bitten by the injury bug more than the Boilermakers.

Purdue gave Wisconsin one hell of a scare in last season’s triple-overtime thriller in West Lafayette, but the Badgers have won a whopping 13 games in a row against Purdue and is a heavy 25.5-point favorite to make it 14 this weekend. However, head coach Jeff Brohm still has some talented players at his disposal on both sides of the ball, and we have seen the Badgers struggle at home against far worse teams than this.

Here are five players on the opposing sideline who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout the game.

Aidan O’Connell – Quarterback

2019 stats: 67.6% passing, 402 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT

O’Connell is the third quarterback to step in as the starter for the Boilermakers this season following injuries to the original No. 1 signal-caller, Elijah Sindelar, and his replacement, freshman Jack Plummer, and will probably be forced to stay in that role the rest of the year.

A redshirt sophomore walk-on, O’Connell is seeing the first action of his college career, and for the most part, he’s performed valiantly. He led Purdue’s game-winning touchdown drive after replacing the injured Plummer against Nebraska on Nov. 2 and did the same in his first career start against Northwestern the following week.

Brohm was heavily reliant on O’Connell to move the Boilermakers down the field against the Cornhuskers; he went 34-50 for 271 yards and a couple of interceptions in the win. After struggling against Nebraska last week, this Wisconsin secondary will be tested early and often on Saturday.

David Bell – Wide Receiver

2019 stats: 65 rec, 791 yds (12.2 avg), 5 TD

Oct 26, 2019; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers wide receiver David Bell (3) dives for extra yardage against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the fourth quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Bell was one of the top additions to Brohm’s impressive 2019 recruiting class as a consensus 4-star prospect and the Gatorade Player of the Year in Indiana, and he has been an instant impact addition for the Boilermakers as a true freshman this season.

He was always going to be heavily involved in the offense this season, but Bell has taken on a larger than expected role with superstar wide receiver Rondale Moore out with an injured hamstring suffered in Purdue’s fourth game of the season. The Indianapolis native currently leads the Big Ten in receptions and ranks No. 4 and No. 5 in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, respectively.

Bell is coming off of an impressive performance against Northwestern in which he caught 14 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.

NEXT: Brycen Hopkins/George Karlaftis/Ben Holt

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