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Badgers Knock Off Goldie in OT

It wasn't pretty for the last 8 minutes of the second half but UW pulled out another Big Ten road win at Minnesota.

UW went 8 minutes and 49 seconds in the 2nd half and OT without scoring. How many perrenial top-20 programs consistently have prolonged scoring droughts like the Badgers? I'm guessing just them.

I've given up on ever being able to defend UW's style of play to any other fan but they got the win and that's all that matters these days.

Fan Reaction

If you want to read, or join in, on a mostly civil discussion of the game, check out Eric's 10 Things thread at Buckyville.  Needless to say Tubby Smith doesn't impress a lot of Badger fans with his coaching skills.  Minnesota fans seem to like him but mediocrity is a step up for them.

Blogger Reaction

Phil notes in his game recap at B5Q that UW had a 6-minute FG drought in the first half.  Add that to the cold freeze at the end of regulation and UW went almost 15 minutes without scoring a FG. That's ridiculous.

Jack at Badger of Honor writes that UW is still in the Big Ten title hunt but they're really playing more to secure a top-4 seed in the BTT. Remember that with Nebraska in the conference the #5 seed plays on the first day of the conference tourney.

Beat Writer Reaction

In his post-game blog Jeff Potyrkus writes that UW showed a lot of mental toughness at the end of regulation and in OT, Ryan Evans wasn't always pretty but was effective, and he thinks UW will win in East Lansing next week.

Game Highlights

Couresty of the UW Athletic department.

Take 3: Penn State Preview, Poll Rankings, and Recruiting

Is this thing on? Apologies for being AWOL the last month. Things have been busy and we've missed a lot -- some small turnover on the football coaching staff, the ensuing freak-out about the state of the UW program, some crappy basketball, and a 5-game winning streak.

Hopefully we can get some fresh content on here more frequently. Thanks for sticking with us. Let's get onto some of the big Badger stories this week.

Penn State Previews

The Badgers look to extend their win streak to 6 games when they travel to Penn State tonight. BTN will broadcast the game with tip off set for 7pm CST. I'll be honest, I haven't followed Penn State at all this season. I just assume they suck every year.

One of the story-lines for the game is the point guard match-up between Jordan Taylor and Tim Frazier. Fox Sports WI takes a closer look at Frazier, who leads PSU in points, assists, rebounds, and steals. I feel OK about UW's ability to shut down a single guard.

You can read more previews at B5Q, Madison.com, and the JS, where Jeff Potrykus writes that UW's aggressiveness earlier in the shot clock is leading to a better offense (although still painful at times).

Movin' on Up

UW moved up to 19th and 20th in the  Coaches and AP polls released Monday. Joe Lunardi also moved UW up to a #5 seed in his latest Bracketology.

Dave Heller looks at where UW was on the AP ballots. The Badgers are as high as 10th and don't appear on 3 ballots -- come on, even Seth Davis has UW at #20.

CBS Sports Gary Parrish attacks those 3 voters for their stupidity. If you're not a UConn fan I suggest clicking the link because Parrish spends more time talking about how much UConn sucks than how good UW is.

Recruiting Season Coming to a Close

With national signing day Wednesday there's still some drama left about which high school seniors will be wearing Cardinal next fall. Want to know how the class is shaping up? Read this thread on Buckyville.

Jeff Potrykus reports that a highly ranked safety picked Michigan State over UW and the Badgers could be losing highly ranked OL Kyle Dodson but has a chance at a couple of other highly tauted linemen.

A common theme with UW is recruiting is to talk about how UW's classes usually don't rank that high but UW continually churns out All-Americans and NFL players.

UWBadgers.com shares some facts and figures on the 2007-2010 classes, which never ranked higher than 6th in the Big Ten yet produced 5 All-Americans and a possible Heisman winner in 2012.

Take 5: Chryst Staying Put, Crist May Be On the Way, and More Rose Bowl

It’s been a bumpy couple of weeks for the non-Badgers sports teams in Wisconsin with a potential suspension for Ryan Braun and the Packers losing a game for the first time in a year. With final exams underway in Madison it was a pretty quiet weekend, but here’s some storylines for you.

Chryst Likely Sticking Around, Again

While Paul Chryst interviewed for another head coaching gig at Pittsburgh, it looks like he’ll be staying in Madison. Jeff Potrykus is reporting that Pitt has offered the job to the Florida International head coach.

It sounds like Chryst is ready to leave for the right job. Selfishly I hope that job doesn’t come around for a little while. I like watching the Badgers consistently score in the 40.

Rose Bowl Prep

Some Oregon defensive players made comments last week that they weren’t concerned about UW’s offensive line. John at B5Q writes that UW’s line doesn’t give a shit. That’s the right thing to say but I’m sure they’ve filed that away.

Tom Mulhern compares the starting QBs and writes that Chris Borland is looking forward to playing in the Rose Bowl this year after watching from the sidelines last year. People complaining about Borland being moved inside should note that he lead the team in tackles for a loss and had 4 forced fumbles this year. Oh, and he was a 3^rd team All-American.

Russell Wilson and Travis Frederick talked to UWBadgers.com about UW’s Rose Bowl prep. Sounds like they’re trying to kick the rust of a little.

 

Crist

If you’ve been reading Badger sites you know Notre Dame QB Dayne Crist is considering transferring to UW for his final year of eligibility. Crist visited Madison this weekend and, not surprisingly, heard a ringing endorsement of UW from Russell Wilson. Crist is deciding between Kansas and Wisconsin. Is that really a choice?

Defensive Dominance

In his latest power rankings (UW is 14^th), SI’s Luke Winn looks at the added defensive production UW gets by swapping Jarmusz, Nankivil, and Leuer for Evans, Bruiser, and Berggren. One of UW’s calling cards the last 15 years has been defense but this year’s team looks like one of the better defensive squads Bo has had.

Etc

UW is 14^th in Luke Winn’s latest power rankings. That’s cool, but Indiana is #11. Whatever.

Bart Houston, UW’s highly touted incoming QB, lead his high school team to the California state championship this weekend. If you have a Scout subscription you can read more about it here.

Brad Nortman claims he didn’t flop on his final punt in the Big Ten championship game. I don’t care. We’re going to Pasadena.

Jon Leuer had an impressive (preseason) NBA debut with 18 points against Minnesota.

Take 5: UWM, Crist to Visit Madison, and Badger All-Americans

It's game day so let's get to it.

Badgers Travel to Milwaukee

UW takes on UWM at The Cell in Milwaukee Tuesday night. The most important thing to know about this game is they serve beer at the arena. Other things to know are Jordan Taylor is looking to shake off his season-long shooting slump but that slump hasn't stopped UW from being the #1 team in the country acccording to some statistical rankings.

Notre Dame QB to Visit Madison

Dayne Crist is reportedly going to visit Madison later this week after trips to Deleware and Kansas. While Crist isn't as good as Russell he has experience and was a highly rated QB coming out of high school (see below for what that's worth).

Some people are concerned having a 5th year senior transfer in for the second consecutive year will harm the program. I say get the best players you can as long as it doesn't rock the boat.

Badger All-Americans

There have been a lot of All-American teams announced recently and the Badgers are well represented on all of them. UWBadgers.com rounds up where Montee Ball, Chris Borland, Peter Konz, Russell Wilson, and Kevin Zeitler ended up.

It's a little surprising the Wilson only ended up on one team (3rd team for Yahoo! Sports) but that speaks more to the quantity of great college QBs this year than his performance.

Recruiting Stars Don't Always Mean Success

The ESPN blog revisits the recruiting rankings and quotes from analysts for each of the offensive players on its All Big Ten team. Russell Wilson, Montee Ball, Peter Konz, and Kevin Zeitler were all ranked 70th or lower at their positions coming out of high school.

By most accounts this year's recruting class is shaping up to be one of the better ones in Bielema's tenure at UW. It will be interesting to see if these more highly touted athletes have the same, or more, success in college.

Etc

Tom Lea at Badger Blitz writes that despite not having the same success close friend Jordan Taylor has had at UW, Rob Wilson has maintained a good attitude and still works hard to add anything he can to the team.

Brian Butch and Greg Steimsma recently signed NBA contracts with the Hornets and Celtics. You can read what Bo had to say about that here.

Dave Heller breaks down the AP votes from this week's poll. UW appears on every ballot, ranging from 9th to 23rd.

Take 5: Heisman Thoughts, UW Beats UNLV, and More 411 on Oregon

Compared to the rest of the Wisconsin-related sports news this weekend the buzz around the Badgers was pretty quiet.

Ball 4^th in Heisman Voting

I'm sure you know by now that Baylor's Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night. Montee Ball placed a distant 4^th. While in NY, Ball did a very candid interview with All Media NY where he said he and the Big Ten don't get enough respect.

Jeff Potrykus writes about how impressed he is not just by Ball's numbers, but the type of person he is. I'm sure the UW coaching staff will be using Ball as an example of sticking with it for years to come.

You can argue that Ball might have had a better shot at winning if UW had promoted him more earlier in the season but it wasn't until the TDs started piling up that Ball started entering the discussion. Promoting a guy that rushed for just under 1,000 yards the previous season would have been a little premature.

Wisconsin 62, UNLV 51

Some things we're learning about this year's UW basketball team. Defense is a major strength. Ben Brust is unconscious sometimes. And Jordan Taylor seems off. UW beat UNLV 62-51 Saturday afternoon behind some strong defense and Brust, who shook off a shooting slump to hit all 7 3's and finish with 25 points.

Jim Polzin breaks down the game while Jack at Badger of Honor writes a key to the game, and UW's season, is the extra shots UW got from winning the turnover battle.

Oh, and with the win Bo became the third fastest coach to reach 250 Big Ten wins.

More Rose Bowl Prep

Bucky's 5^th Quarter has a get to know you Q&A with Oregon blog Addicted to Quack. Oregon fans were expecting a 2-3 loss season so they're pleased to be in the Rose Bowl, which Oregon hasn't won in 95 years.

Team Awards

At the football's award dinner Friday night Ball and Wilson were name co-MVPs on offense. I'm still amazed at quickly Wilson fit in with this team. Mike Lucas has more on the awards ceremony and notes that Montee is actually pronounced Mon-TAY.

Etc

There are 20 former Badgers playing in the NHL right now – the exact number that dress for a game. If you want to know what an all-Badger team would look like, check out this post on UWBadgers.com.

Take 5: Ball Adds a Cherry to the Top of UW’s Sundae

Wow. I know I'm late on weighing in but the celebratory Jaeger Bombs at the Wicked Beaver resulted in a two-day hangover. UW is set to appear in its 2^nd straight Rose Bowl. That's impressive.

Montee Ball, Heisman Finalist

Congrats to Montee Ball for being named one of five finalists for the Heisman and will be in NYC this weekend for the award ceremony. Ball likely won't win – I'm betting on Baylor's Howard Griffin III – but it's still an honor. You can read more about the news at the JSOnline, B5Q, and Madison.com.

Rose Bowl

If you thought Badger fans with high preseason expectations wouldn't be excited to go back to Pasadena for a 2^nd straight year, think again. UW sold out its ticket the first day they went on sale. Now the question is, do those tickets sell for $50 before the game like the last two UW Rose Bowls.

According to Tom Mulhern, both coaches are excited for the game as well.

Voting Breakdown

Dave Heller looks at how each AP and Coach voted in the final polls. This is the only time all season coaches' votes are made public. UW was as high as 5^th by several writers and coaches, including Bob Stoops and as low as 16^th by Baylor coach Art Briles. Thanks, a-hole.

Brian Bennett weighs in on each Big Ten coaches ballots. Bielema had OK ST 2^nd, UW 6^th, and Northern Illinois 23^rd. If you want to see each coach's ballot, USAToday.com has an interactive chart for you.

Individual Awards Rolling In

It shouldn't be a surprise that several Badger players besides Ball are receiving post-season recognition. Kevin Zeitler and Peter Konz, along with Ball, were named 1^st team All-Americans by the Football Coaches Association.

Also, Konz is one of six finalists for the Remington award, given to the nation's best center. What happened to all the preseason hype about Brewster at OSU?

Etc

Notre Dame QB Dayne Crist plans to transfer. Like Russell Wilson, Crist will be eligible to play right away as a 5^th year senior and message board rumors include UW as a potential transfer school.

Pat Hill was fired by Fresno State Monday. Let's hope the man who gave us "smash 'em the mouth" finds another head coaching job soon.

Buckys 5^th Quarter has a bunch of videos of the on-field celebration and post-game interviews Saturday night.

Too Many Sports Too Little Time

Between Football, Basketball, and the NFL, I can't believe my marriage is still in tact. It was a tough game for the basketball team, but the week could still be a good one for Badger fans with a Rose Bowl birth and state bragging rights for basketball on the line.

Basketball

Jack at Badger of Honor says that despite the loss, the Badgers can hang with anyone in the country. He points out some staggering statistics that I thought would have led to a complete blowout. To play as poorly as they did and still make it a game was very impressive.

If your looking for some recaps, here they are: JSOnline, Madison.com, and the AP.

Football

John at Bucky’s 5^th Quarter points out that the Badgers can’t afford to take a quarter off like they have against Michigan State and Ohio State this year.

Congratulations to Montee Ball who took home the Offensive Player of the Year Award in the Big 10. I don’t think this will be surprising too many people.

It sounds like a longshot that Peter Konz will be playing but he is traveling, and according to Bielema, been participating in limited activity at practice.

Jeff Potrykus writes that payback will not be a motivating factor this Saturday. No matter what they say, I find this hard to believe. He also notes that offensive line coach Bob Bobstad has developed a special bond with tackle Josh Oglesby. Oglesby has been a target of some fans over the years, but you can’t argue his dedication to the program.

The Badgers got the 2^nd straight Gatorade Player of Year in the state in WI, as Vince Biegel recently took the honor home. Melvin Gordon won the award last year.

Tom Mulhern has a good article on the overlooked defense. Statistically, it is one of the best defenses the program has ever had, but often times they are looked at as the weak link because of the dominating offense.

All is Right Again in Badger Nation

It was a pretty good weekend to be a Badger fan. The Axe is staying home, UW is in the drivers seat for whatever their division is called, the basketball team won, and the hockey team beat #1 Minnesota Friday night. Enjoy watching Montee Ball because he might not be in Madison too much longer.

Rewriting the History Books

Some points to highlight from Dave Heller's post-game notes: Montee Ball holds the UW and Big Ten record for TDs, Russell Wilson broke John Stocco's school record for passing TDs, and Nick Toon is now 3rd in career receiving yards.

Konz Out 2-4 Weeks

Jeff Potrykus reports that center Peter Konz is expected to be out 2-4 weeks after dislocating his ankle against the Gophers. That seems pretty good considering the injury. Potrykus also writes that Jared Abbrederis is expected to practice this week after suffering a shoulder injury.

Don't Forget About Russell for the Heisman

UW's Brian Lucas makes a case for why Russell Wilson should still be considered for the Heisman and other national awards. While the losses to MSU and OSU hurt his chances Wilson has some pretty damn good stats.

UW Moves Up to 17th

The Badgers moved up to 15th in the AP, 13th in the Coaches, and 17th in the latest BCS Rankings. You can see the full rankings here.

Badgers Drill Kennesaw State

The men's basketball team quietly started its season Saturday with 85-31 drilling of Kennesaw State (who?). The Badgers tied a school record with 15 3-pointers. Josh Gasser and Ben Brust lead the Badgers with 14 points. You can read more about the ass kicking at the JS, Fox Sports WI, and Badger of Honor.

Meet the UW Freshmen

Phil at B5Q writes about the challenges each member of this year's freshman class faces in getting playing time this season. It's worth noting that George Marshall and Jarrod Uthoff didn't play Saturday.

Wisconsin 2 of Katz's Can't Miss Games

The Marquette and Ohio State games in Madison are two of Andy Katz's 25 can't miss games this season. December 3rd could be a big day for Badger fans.

It's Never Too Late for a Season Preview

Swingtown Basketball takes an in-depth look at each Big Ten team and predicts UW will finish 2nd to OSU while Pocket Doppler addresses some of the holes UW will need to fill this season.

Other

The ESPN Big Ten blog writes that one of the things we learned this weekend is UW and Michigan State are on a collision course for a rematch in Indy. It also projects UW to play in the Rose Bowl so read between the lines there.

The Montee Ball Love Continues

The Montee Ball Show

Russell Wilson received a ton of individual attention earlier this season but Montee Ball is the guy in the spotlight these days after scoring more than an out of town guy at an Eau Claire bar on Water Street.

Mike Fiammeta at the Badger Herald writes that last week's game against Purdue was Ball's finest of his career and notes that most of Ball's numbers have come when the game isn't out of hand.

Ball obviously benefits from running behind a NFL-caliber offensive line, which brings up the question of how much of his success is because of his talent and how much is the system. According to Tom Oates, Bielema acknowledges that UW's offensive system helps but most of the credit should go to Ball. Bielema said Ball is essentially better than Brian Calhoun and compared him to Darren Sproles.

Nick at iSportsWeb argues that Ball deserves more Heisman consideration. He has better numbers than Trent Richardson and LaMichael James, but UW's two losses hurt him.

More on Jordan Taylor

Oates writes that Jordan Taylor is a good cautionary tale for those that get hung up on recruiting rankings. Taylor wasn't a hot-shot prospect coming out of high school but he made himself into one of the best players in college basketball. If you're a high school point guard why wouldn't you want to come to Wisconsin?

Where are the Wisconsin Big Uglies?

The state of Wisconsin churns out offensive line products as often as Katy Perry has a poorly written song hit the top 40. This year's entire line is from the state but the 2012 recruiting class doesn't have a single commit from an in-state OL prospect. Tom Mulhern takes a look at the lack of in-state prospects and notes that UW's depth on the line is getting thin with only 12 scholarship linemen on the roster.

2011 a Successful Season for UW?

Aaron at Badger of Honor makes the case that even if UW doesn't play in the Big Ten championship game and ends up another 2nd tier bowl, 2011 will be a successful season because UW got arguably more exposure than any other time in the past and that will help the program in the future. I get that but anything less than a Rose Bowl appearance is going to be disappointing.

Barry Alvarez, Big Ten Icon

Barry is a Badger icon and now a Big Ten one as well. He was featured in the BTN's Big Ten Icons series last night. Here's the video if you missed it. Pay attention to how much smaller Joe Panos, Joe Rudolph, and especially Chris McIntosh look than when they played.

Etc.

Dave Heller has his weekly post about where the AP voters had UW on their ballots. The Badgers were as high as #10 and were left out of the top 25 by a couple of writers, who are obviously idiots.

Heller also shares some bowl predictions for the Badgers. A lot of people still think UW will sneak its way into the Rose Bowl.

Bo got a nice raise this week and his total compensation will be over $2 million annually. Let's hope Bo sticks around for a while.

Eight Year Olds, Dude

THE story in college sports this week is the child molestation scandal at the catholic church Penn State. Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries has a good summary of the grand jury testimony.

Keep the snippet below from this Yahoo! Sports article when you read about the allegations – it puts some perspective on the horrible shit that happened in the Penn State showers.  (Warning - this is fairly graphic.)

The grand jury report said McQueary was in the locker room that night to put away some new sneakers when he heard "rhythmic, slapping sounds" and looked into the showers.

He reportedly saw a naked boy, about 10 years old, with his hands against the wall as Sandusky subjected him to anal sex. McQueary left immediately and first contacted his father before calling Paterno the next morning and then meeting at Paterno's home.

 

I know this stuff isn't normal for a sports blog but what happened to these kids is awful and I think the details make the point better than simply writing "child abuse" or "child molestration".

With that upbeat intro, let's shift gears to the Badgers, who as far as I know don't have any pederasses on the coaching staff.

Where Will Montee Ball's Record Setting Season End?

Jesse Temple at FoxSports WI takes a look at the monster season Montee Ball his having. Ball is tied with Brian Calhoun for the UW single season TD record, is 2 TDs from the Big Ten record, and 15 shy of Barry Sanders NCAA record of 39.

Konz, Wagner, and Zeitler Latest Products of UW's OL Factory

Paul at the Sports Bank writes that Peter Konz, Ricky Wagner, and Zeitler are the next batch of talented offensive lineman in Madison. Konz is projected to be a late 1^st round pick if he leaves early, Zeitler is rated a top 5 guard in the 2012 class, and Wagner hasn't gotten much pro love yet but he will in time.

What We Know About the Badgers So Far

Dan at Badger of Honor looks at some the things we've learned about this year's Badger team. The list includes Russell Wilson being really good; although, maybe not as good as we thought, and that special teams and the secondary aren't very good.

Take That Tweet Back

Jeff Potrykus notes that Brian Calhoun tweeted Saturday that Bielema made a mistake moving Borland to MLB. After Borland was named the Big Ten defensive player of the week Calhoun essentially tweeted a "my bad".

Traveon Jackson Making a Good Impression

One of the pleasant surprises in UW's win over UW-Stevens Point Saturday was the play of true frosh guard Traveon Jackson, who is the son of former OSU star Jim Jackson. Jesse Temple at Fox Sports WI writes that Jackson is getting a good chunk of playing time because he's been able to play solid defense while BadgerBlitz notes that Jackson has picked up the defensive reads quickly, but that doesn't guarantee him a lot of playing time.

SI Big Ten Preview

Luke Winn at SI puts the Badgers 2^nd in his Big Ten Power Rankings and writes that Jordan Taylor should get the Naismith and Wooden awards if he puts up similar numbers to last year without Leuer and Nankivil.

Etc.

You can read the transcript of Bo Ryan's Monday press conference here. Bo notes that Leuer, Nankivil, and Jarmusz would have been back this year had they redshirted. Pretty obvious, but something to think about.

Fox Sports has an updated UW football team report.