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Countdown to Nebraska

Robert Smith Loves the Badgers....

This should get your football juices going Badger Fans,  Robert Smith says Wisconsin might be the best team in the Nation...

Link

 

Inside the Numbers: 54

....the size differential (in average pounds) between UW’s starting offensive line and UNLV’s starting defensive line.  The Rebel D-line  averages 6’2” and 268 lbs (throw in a smallish set of LB’s and the front seven averages just 249 lbs) compared to UW’s massive offensive line which averages 6’5” and 322 lbs.

Last season UNLV ranked 116th against the run- allowing 223 yds/game including 275 yards by UW and an impressive 374 yds by Nevada.

Day Before Game Day Link

As the seconds tick by and the start of the 2011 season is staring at you in the face here are a few links to get you through your day - 

First up Jeff Potrykus at JSOnline.com has an update on two often injured Badgers Chris Borland and Brendan Kelly.  In his Wednesday notes he details the game day preparation of the new Badger QB Wilson.  From Tuesday, a story on Jeff Duckworth and his goal to contribute as a third receiver this year and a preview of UNLV.  Jeff's preview seems to indicate UNLV doesn't have much of a chance on Thursday.

Madison.com talks with the LB core of Taylor and Borland and their much anticipated reunion on Thursday.  Cap Times has a piece on the business side of college football which currently looks pretty good at UW.

B5Q looks at how far the the Badgers can go in 2011.  Adam Hoge at B5Q take a look at UNLV in his Take Five piece with the Mountain West Connection.  This is always a good read and a chance to get a breakdown on the opponent from people who know them best.  Adam also has an in-depth preview of the full 2011 season over at CBS Chicago.

We will be back tomorrow with all the Game Day links.

It's Finally Game Week

After countless position previews, training camp reports, and BCS predictions it’s finally game week. If you're a Wisconsin native you have a lot of sports interests to juggle in the coming weeks between the Badgers, Brewers, and Packers. That's a good problem to have.

I'm in the middle of of a cross country move so the links will be a little lighter than usual this week. If you want to know what the beat writers who get paid to cover the Badgers have to report, be sure to check out the JSOnline and Madison.com.

Wisconsin begins the season on top of the ESPN's Big Ten power rankings, ahead of #2 Nebraska and #3 Michigan State. Anyone else think Michigan State is in line for a drop off like Iowa had from 2009 to 2010?

Bret Bielema met with the media this weekend to talk about the team and UNLV. You can watch the press conference here or read the transcript here.

If you want to know what some football experts expect from the Badgers this year, check out the Badgers Rountable at JSOnline. We participated last year but we lost our seat at the table to some people that have journalism degrees and have more insights. Oh well.

At B5Q, Jake writes that Nick Toon has battled through a myriad of injuries but is ready to team up with Russell Wilson while Adam shares his list of the top 5 Badger players. If you don't want to read, the list includes LB Chris Borland, WR Nick Toon, RB James White, RB Montee Ball, and QB Russell Wilson. No arguments there.

I don't think Paul Imig at Fox Sports WI go the memo that position previews are done. He takes a look at the linebackers, who could be a dangerous unit if Mike Taylor and Borland can stay healthy.

Borland is one of the x-factors on defense. Will his injured shoulder hold up? Will he adjust to the middle? Will he a force in Chris Ash's new aggressive defense? Mike Lucas writes that Borland is healthy and ready to go.

Since I already linked to a position preview, I might as well include a team preview. FoxSports.com has a lengthy write up on the Badgers who are ranked #6 in its preseason rankings.

Hoops

While a lot of the buzz this week is for the opener on Thursday, there's also some hoops news. The JSOnline Badgers Blog and Badger of Honor both reported that Sheboygan Luthern senior and UW commit Sam Dekker is now a 5-star recruit according to Rivals.com and is ranked ahead of Menomonee Falls' J.P. Tokoto, who committed to UNC last spring. Nice catch Bo.

Awesome New York Times Article on Russell Wilson

via www.nytimes.com

There has been no shortage of articles about Russell Wilson this summer. The New York Times has one of the best ones I've read yet and is worth a read. The legend is continuing to grow and he hasn't even played in a game for the Badgers yet. Here's hoping to an unforgettable, in a good way, season.

Badger News Links Update - Another Wilson Article

I know we have all probably had our fill of Russell Wilson article but this one from the NYT is an absolute gem.  Definitely not the same old article that has been published 20 times in 20 different publication.  READ IT NOW!

Tight End U Rumored to Pick Up a Transfer; BBall Has a 5-Star Recruit

Football

The recruiting hits keep coming for the Badger football team.  This time they have been rumored to land transfer Pitt TE Brock DeCicco.  Brock is an in-line TE who will sit out 2011 and join the team next year.  Next years class continues to look very strong.

Tom Mulhern has an update on the current TE situation. As it looks now all three freshman will be redshirting baring an injury.  Tom also takes a look at the new look WI offensive lineman particularily Ray Ball, a 6'7", 335lb guard, yes I said guard.   Kevin Zeitler at 6'4" is the shortest of the lineman.  

Basketball

Despite the 2012 recruting class being so small (as in one recruit) it is sure looking like a good one.  Rivals boosted Sam Dekker's rating to 5-stars, rating him as the 19th best recruit in the nation.  Dave Heller reported that Sam had 24 points at the Adidas Nations tournament.  ESPN Insider ranks WI class as 23rd in the nation.

The Defensive Line Still Has Depth and Other Misc. Links

Jeff Potrykus writes about a lesson learned from the 2008 season- depth is important.  A ten man rotation sounds crazy, but it would afford the Badgers a luxury that most teams don’t have. 

Alec Lerner has won the kickoff job for this year according to Potrykus.  It sounds like he has matured a lot since arriving on campus and getting consistent touchbacks is a huge help to special teams.  The only question is whether he can perform under the bright lights, so we will be pulling for him.

Finally, an article that bashes media star Russell Wilson…. Just kidding.  Tom Mulhern points out that Wilson is impressing coaches with his attention to detail including ball handling.

Linebacker Ethan Armstrong has been opening a lot of eyes with his performance during camp.  After turning down scholarship offers just for the chance to walk-on, it is hard not to pull for him.  It sounds like he will be getting some playing time this year.

CBS Sports has a story on Chris Borland and how tough it has been for him to ease back into playing since coming back from his injury.  We were all familiar with what a difference-maker he can be, but Russell Wilson and new LB coach Dave Huxtable have been extremely impressed.

This is a preview from a website I have never heard of in caller.com who had the Badgers as #11 and one from the timesleader who has WI winning the Leaders division.

This is a link to an interview Brett Bielema did for radio station The Big 1070.  Can you guess what the main topic was?

Patrick Reusse from the Star Tribune takes a look at how the sports landscape has dramatically changed in the past 18 months for Wisconsin and Minnesota sports fans. I like the past 18 months a lot better.

The Sports Bank has an article on Patrick Butrym and how he expects to take his game to the next level this season.

Hoops

Phil at Bucky’s 5^th Quarter lets us know that the next few weeks are very important for the Badger Basketball team’s recruiting.  A few of the players will be making visits to Madison.  Good to get them in now before the weather turns for the worse.

Defensive Line Has Depth and Potential Playmakers

We're just a little over a week away from football. If you haven't done so already, don't forget to block some time off on your calendar for next Friday morning so that ass in accounting doesn't schedule a meeting.

A lot has been written about how the defensive line will replace J.J. Watt's production. The storyline has been that it will be done by committee but I wouldn't be surprised to see someone step up like Watt and O'Brien Schofield have done the past two years. One likely candidate is DE Louis Nzegwu, who is being asked to take more calculated risks this season.

While it's been the defensive ends that have put up big numbers lately Tom Mulhern writes that it all starts in the middle of the line for the Badgers. The Badgers have a lot of depth and Patrick Butrym appears to be the first dispruptive tackle UW has had since Mike Newkirk.

Another big production void the Badgers will have to replace is TE Lance Kendricks. UW always seems to have a bunch of TEs that can play and this year is no different. Mike Lucas looks at some of the guys we'll hear more about this season.

The Russell Wilson love fest continues with Russell being selected a team captain. If you've missed this story you can catch up at CBS Sports and BadgerBlitz, which has an interview with Wilson.

Dave Heller takes a look at where each AP voter had UW on his or her ballot. UW was ranked 11th overall and was as high as #3 and as low as #23. That's quite the spread. Bite me Mitch Angle.

Jon Budmayr is supposed to learn more today about the extent of the injury to his throwing arm. Budamyr has been experiencing numbness and tingling for a little while now and may need season-ending surgery. You can read more about it at Fox Sport Wisconsin and UWBadgers.com.

I've stopped linking to a lot of Big Ten predictions because they are all the same - Wisconsin and Nebraska win their divisions and one of them wins the championship game. Midwest Sports Fan takes a different approach, predicting Iowa will win whatever the name of their division is and beating the Badgers in Indy. Doubt it.

Hoops

Phil at B5Q posted the expected UW schedule a poster on Buckyville shared. If it's true, Nebraska's first Big Ten basketball game will be against Wisconsin too. UW is going to be on ESPN a lot next season.