Imagine if...

So this weekend is the Minnesota-Wisconsin football showdown on both the amateur and professional levels. In both instances, the games occur on the Western side of the Mississippi. In both instances, the home teams are breaking out a shiny new bauble that they are certain will propel them to victory over their hated rivals. In the Gophers' case, it's their brand new (minature) stadium. And maybe those repellent all golden uniforms that show the sweat stains so nicely. In the Queens' case, well, it's the tarnished, dated, but still shiny penny that is Brett Favre (pronounced like Ben Stiller says it in "There's Something About Mary"). Vegas certainly values these new playthings, as it favors the home teams by about the same margin (Vikings by 3.5 and Gophers by 3).

The blunt truth is, that's probably right. A neutral third-party would likely say that the Gophers rely on their passing game (and the crotch-puncher) to win a close one in an emotional game to take back the axe for the first time in several years. That same "reasonable man" would note that the Packers haven't played a complete game this season, can't really run the ball or pass protect, are missing their left tackle, and made Cedric Benson look like a superstar two weeks ago in concluding that the Vikes will likely take this round. Maybe by more than the line.

Knowing this, let's approach this football weekend (that includes Monday night) with an open mind. If the Wisconsin teams lose, really, so what, it's expected. The tide is turning on the Northeastern prairie. The past is prolouge and all that. This is what Minnesota is telling itself. So if they sweep, expect some crowing come Tuesday, but don't be downtrodden. A sweep is what the genius odds-makers are predicting.

For now, instead, think about the other option. Given these shiny new toys that have finally addressed each team's most deep-seeded excuses, imagine if they fail. Oh boy. If the long-sought, on-campus, outdoor, non-Metrodome stadium doesn't lead to axe reclamation. If the HOF-bound, grizzly-bear quarterback doesn't cure all your football team's ills. A reverse sweep. A Minnesota flop of epic proportions. That idea is just so delicious, I could chew on it all day. Of course, it probably won't come to fruition, but it is a tasty treat to imagine while we wait out the next 45 hours. Hoooo, nelly.

Change?

I'm pretty sure that this article means that Barry has changed the person in the UW athletic department who oversees ticket sales. (I believe that Vince Sweeney used to be in charge, and at the bottom of that portion of the article it says he's moved on to a different position.) If that's the case, hallelujah. Time for some new blood in there to shake up the policies, especially, as has been oft-noted here, those regulating student tickets.

If they're looking for some new ideas, take a look at those proposed in the post by the oddly named "LynxRufus" (down toward the end of the page) here. Those all make sense to me.

The Bowl Season Blahs

As a few of you may have noticed, there's been no discussion on this fine, upstanding website of the University of Wisconsin football team's date with destiny and the Florida State Seminoles, in the Champs Sports Bowl on December 27. Why is that? Well, to be honest, and to channel Top Gun, I have totally lost that lovin' feeling. Of course I'm still a fan. And, of course, I'll watch the game. But, sheesh, I kind of just wish this season was over already.

The moral loss to Cal Poly-SLO really drove it home--- this team is not good. In fact, they kind of hurt to watch. It's like being a dog waiting to get whacked with a newspaper-- you're constantly ready to wince in pain. Further, the lack of improvement this season from the team has been really disturbing, and has made me concerned about the future of the program in general. As far as the bowl game goes, I'm quite worried that Florida State, even a Florida State that is nowhere near what it used to be, is going to hammer them. I fear a result similar to the Penn State and Iowa games this season, or the Mike Bobo/David Pollack-led beatdown by Georgia a few years back. Now, I sure hope that I'm wrong. And I'm glad the Badgers made a bowl game, if just for the extra practice time. But I just can't muster any enthusiasm for the season's ultimate game.

And thinking about the Big Ten's bowl season as a whole is even more depressing. Take a look at the conference's match-ups. The Badgers and a likely beat-down will start things off. Then we have Northwestern, who will get absolutely exposed by Missouri's offense in the Alamo Bowl. Next up is Minnesota against Kansas in the Insight Bowl on New Year's Eve. Hmmm, anyone else think that KU's excellent quarterback Todd Reesing might totally bomb Minnie's atrocious defense?

The morning after, New Year's Day, we have two more likely losses, with Michigan State playing Georgia (given Sparty's overrated one dimensional offense, that is not going to be pretty) in the Capital One Bowl, and a peaking USC team looking to make a statement against Penn State in the Rose Bowl. (To be fair, think this game could be close. PSU is a very good team. But I just don't see them doing much offensively against USC's ridiculous defense.) These two losses will likely overshadow the Big Ten's lone bright spot--- an improving Iowa team should be able to take down South Carolina that morning in the Outback Bowl.

Then, four days later, the capper--- Ohio State playing a pissed off Texas in the Fiesta Bowl. How did a two loss OSU get into the BCS again? Never mind. The Longhorns are going to depants the Buckeyes on prime time national television. The whole world is going to see their sissy-boy panties rippling in the Arizona evening breeze. It'll be a fitting end to a forgettable season of Big Ten football.

Faced by Idaho!

The inexplicably lame and silent Kohl Center crowd on Tuesday was not only noticed by me and other real Badger fans, but also by the Idaho State beat writer traveling with the team. And he called the fans out. Hilarious:

"Wisconsin’s basketball fan base makes me feel spoiled to have ever attended Kansas games for four straight seasons. In short, the Badgers fans in the stands for Tuesday’s game against Idaho State were H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E. There were at least 12,000 of them, and the Kohl Center felt deader than Century High’s gym. Holt Arena gets louder than the Kohl Center did on Tuesday. In my own opinion, it was pathetic. A good number of students attended the game, but hardly any of them cheered. A student told me that was because student tickets are now being chosen at random instead of by how long a certain group of fans camps out for seats. I’m sure that hurts. But c’mon. Regardless of seat selection and the opponent, students should be able to chant “Defense” or “Let’s go Badgers” on key possessions. The Kohl Center was silent for all but the final play of the game."

That's right, Badger fans have been called out by a guy from Pocatello, Idaho. Yow. Thus, I now proclaim that it is indisputable-- the fans at the Kohl Center suck. They're staid, fair-weather, largely disinterested, and, above all, overly meek. But why? And what can be done to fix the problem?

What an ending...

Holy cow. Wisconsin blows a nine-point lead with a minute left, despite only committing one turnover and one bad foul and making its free throws, because the Hokies are totally on fire from outside, in particular one forward/guard known as A.D. Vassallo, who hit UW up for 24 points in the second half, including at least four 3s. That guy was ridiculous. Most of his shots were contested in some form or other, but he scored inside and out. Wild stuff. I can't remember when I've seen a guy be that on fire against the Badgers. I guess Curry in the tournament last year, but Vassallo was more efficient. This was actually similar to Wisconsin's near loss at home against Winthrop two seasons ago.

I definitely have never seen a team rally from that far down in a college game against a team I support. I mean, from a nine-point lead to a tie in one minute? Totally crazy. You won't see that happen very often. But Pop saves the game, and the Badgers make it happen with no timeouts left. Sometimes it works out best that way. Instincts take over, and leaders step forward. Well done, Pop, and well done, Badgers. A gutty performance in a tough environment in the face of ridiculous performance by Vassallo. Random thoughts---

- The defensive rebounding was much improved in the second half.
- Rob Wilson got a ton of minutes this game. That's excellent to see. Plus, the 80% underclassmen group on the floor of Leuer, Taylor, Wilson, Jarmusz and Landry didn't give away the store, like they did against UConn. The younger guys seem to be coming along.
- But they still have a ways to go. Wilson's aggressiveness is great, but he needs to be better from the line. Nankivil needs to be strong in the post. He looked afraid of taking the ball in there and going to the hoop. He's a good offensive option when he gets the ball in the right position. He needs to take his shots. And he also needs to be strong on the defensive boards. Leuer also has some rebounding issues. His positioning was often a bit off. And of course Jon's foul on a Hokie three attempt late in the game, when the Badgers were clinging to a four-point lead, can't happen.
- Joe looks like he lost some quickness. I like him in the post on a guy about his size. I don't like him facing up his guy and driving to the basket, unless he's guarded by a larger, slower defender.
- What ridiculous outside shooting for both teams. Wisconsin shot 12 for 18, but was outdone percentage wise by Tech's 11 for 16 performance. At least four of those came in the last minute or so.
- Just a great college basketball game. Hard fought, magnificent plays by both teams right until the end. An excellent win for Wisconsin. Despite their three losses, Va Tech should make the tournament this season. They have a fair amount of talent, and the ACC looks pretty top heavy. Virginia Tech should really be able to make a strong push for third, or for second, over Duke, if they continue to improve.

Badger-Hokie Halftime Thoughts

Badgers up 8 at the break on hot three point shooting and careful offense-- only two turnovers so far. Random thoughts:
- You have to really like the way UW is taking care of the ball and getting to the free throw line.
- Conversely, I am quite concerned about the rebounding. Va Tech has got to have at least five or six offensive boards. Leuer is just not a solid rebounder yet, and Nankivil hasn't looked aggressive when he's been in there. This game wouldn't be close if the Badgers had blocked out better.
- The Badgers need to do better when a teammate posting up draws a double or triple team, as Landry has done repeatedly. Too often the ball is just passed back outside, not for an open jumper, but to resets the offense. There should be a quick pass or two to either a cutter or an open man on the perimeter.
- The Badgers have an 8 point lead due to deadly three point shooting. Unfortunately, shooting this well is likely not sustainable. And Va Tech's leading scorer only played 4 minutes due to being whistled for two quick fouls. The second half should be quite close.

UConn-UW AND Packers-Saints

What a night, huh? Two seriously meaningful games for two of this blog's three teams, both coming against high quality opponents.

If you had to set the Tivo on one though, I think it'd have to be the Wisconsin men's basketball team's match-up against UConn. It should be a fascinating match-up, as UConn has a 7' 3" center who's actually pretty skilled and athletic, and a bunch of other guys who are potential pro prospects. It's one of those contests where the other team has "more talent" on paper, so Wisconsin will likely have to outexecute them. Anyhow, I don't expect them to win, largely because this team still seems to developing its own identity, but I hope they keep it close. Also, a loss wouldn't be earth-shattering, as I highly doubt they'll go undefeated this season, and it's really early still. A loss to a very highly touted squad (UConn is currently ranked 2nd), would be absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

In contrast, the Packers game is more important as far as the season's prospects go. Both the Vikings and the Bears won yesterday. To keep pace in the division, Green Bay must beat the New Orleans Saints, who are also desperately fighting for the playoffs. Like the Pack, the Saints are also 5-5, but have gone 4 and 1 in the Superdome. So it's going to be a tough environment. Plus, Drew Brees is the leading passer in the league (yardage wise), and New Orleans has some top-notch talent at key positions, like Reggie Busch (who's questionable) and Deuce McCallister in the backfield, Marques Colston at wideout, and Will Smith at defensive end. As far as the intelligent stats go, the Saints have the third best offense in the league. (See here for Football Outsiders' current batch.) But they're also saddled with a pretty mediocre defense, ranking twenty-sixth in the league. So you'd expect it to be a bit of a shoot-out. Interestingly, it's also something of a homecoming for McCarthy, as he was the offensive coordinator in the Big Easy for a few seasons. He's done pretty well in his "homecoming" games so far (as the Pack won at SF two seasons ago, and won at KC last fall).

Unfortunately, the Packers are a bit unlucky in the timing of this game. Smith and McCallister both tested positive for a naughty supplement (a substance that can help mask the presence of steroids), but their suspensions have yet to be handed down. I guess the NFLPA negotiated some extraordinarily timestaking appeals process for this positive tests. Anyhow, those guys will be on the field tonight, but the Bears will likely get to play the Saints without seeing these two. Argh. (The Bears may also get to play Minnesota with both of the Williams brothers suspended. No way the Packers lose in the triple H Dome two weeks ago if those two monstrosities are sitting on the sidelines.)

Anyhow, enterainment abounds this evening. Get the tivos set and get the "jump" button primed! Go Badgers and go Packers!

Huh

I think Wisconsin men's basketball fans, myself definitely included, may have gotten a bit overconfident after Tuesday's beat down of SIU-Edwardsville. And that's because the Badgers just had to go to overtime to beat Iona. Of course, since the game wasn't broadcast anywhere, there's no way to know what was going on really. Although from reading uwbadgers.com's blog entries, it sounds like UW went absolutely ice-cold in the second half, hardly scored for long periods of time, got whistled for a ton of fouls, and was down four points with a minute or two left. Then they gutted it out, tied the game, started playing decent defense, getting a few foul calls and making some free throws. Though not enough to make it comfortable-- they won by two, 60 to 58. Phew.

San Diego beat Valpo, so UW will play them on Sunday evening in the semi-finals of the illustrious Paradise Jam. The game will allegedly air on some derivation of Fox College Sports, apparently Channel 617 on DirecTV, but we'll see. San Diego is the team that beat UConn in the tournament last year, and has returned all five of their starters. They've lost once this season, a 5-point season opening loss at UNLV, where they were missing three starters, including all all WCC player. Yeah, all three of those guys are now back. They did only beat Valpo by seven, earlier today, but still-- Sunday's contest should be a very tough one. And you can't have a lot of confidence in Badgers after tonight's near loss. Thankfully, the season is long, this team is pretty young and still getting its act together, and has lots of potential. There's a lot of time to get better.

The Final Triumvirate "Weekend"

Ah, how that blessed season, where the Packers, Badger men's basketball and Badger football overlap, comes and goes so quickly. And this weekend may not even count, as the Packers don't play until Monday night at the Saints (Monday is definitely a weekday, I don't care what the ESPN ads say) and the Badger basketball team is gallivanting around the Virgin Islands in a tournament that may or may not be aired anywhere. Bummer.

Thankfully, the most entertaining and perhaps the most important even this weekend will be the most easy to catch, I think. It's the University of Wisconsin football team playing the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs on Saturday morning at 11 am. Don't laugh. Yes, Cal Poly may be a Division I, FCS level school (formerly known as D-IAA). But they're also ranked third in the FCS polls. They have one of the leading offenses at that level, something callled the "triple option," which, since I wasn't watching much football in the 70s and 80s, is beyond my current understanding. They also have an enormous wideout that's being hyped as a potential first-day draft pick. And they run a 3-4, which could be effective as it's a somewhat novel scheme at this level. In short, this game is nothing to sneeze at and will likely be hard fought and close down to the final minutes. Frankly, I'm frightened by it-- the Badgers need the win for guaranteed bowl eligibility (and the ability to practice through December), but they'll obviously get no credit for a win, let alone a close win. And if they lose, the ramifications are very serious. It'll be a very serious blow to Bielema, the coaching staff and to the program generally, totally killing the goodwill garnered by the Minnesota comeback. And what bowl game is going to take an underperforming 6-6 squad that just lost to an FCS school? This is an important, scary game.

Thankfully, it's played in Madison, starting at 2:30 pm Central time (allegedly on the Big Ten Network, though check your alternates). This means it's going to be friggin' freezing, and especially cold as the game winds down. Since California's central coastline is one of the most temperate places in the Continental United States, you'd have to think the Mustangs will not be loving their environs by the end of the game. Hopefully, the Badgers' running game and some effective passing by Sherer will allow them to play keep away, keeping Cal Poly's bizarre and scary offense off the field. But you have to think the Cal Poly guys will be fired up to prove something, evn though this game basically doesn't matter to them, as their season will continue in the FCS playoffs regardless.

The UW men's basketball will be playing at least three games in the next four days as part of the Paradise Jam tourney in the sunny Carribean. (Why didn't I think to follow them down there again?) Anyhow, unfortunately, their first game (against Iona tonight at 7:30) will not be broadcast, except on the radio or on a terrible paid online feed. See here. You'd hope they'd take care of Iona (12-20 last season, and a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference), but win or lose they'll play either Valparaiso or San Diego. Valpo gave UW a tough time in Madison last season, and San Diego won the WCC tournament last season (Gonzaga's conference), beat UConn in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, and returns all of its guys. Two potentially very tough match-ups. Anyhow, things go screwy from there, depending on if they lose and to whom. They could play UConn or Miami in the final (UConn is currently ranked in the top 5, and Miami in the top 20), they could play LaSalle or Southern Mississsippi in some type of consolation game. It's all up in the air. (Here's the bracket.)

Anyhow, thanks to the tropical locale, it seems very dubious as to whether you'll be able to watch any of those games whatsoever. Allegedly, some of the games on Sunday (when the Badgers will play if they beat Iona) will be broadcast on some series of Fox College Sports (FCS) channels. Alas, I get none of them. The championship game, should the Badgers make it that far (dubious), will be broadcast on Monday night on one of the thousands of derivations of Fox Sports Net. But, of course, this broadcast will run right up against the Packer game. Sigh. Anyhow, go Badgers! I'll be cheering for them in abstentia, apparently.

LOO--ER!

Last night was a bit of a coming out party for the young man from Long Lake, Minnesota (and an alumnus of the same high school as three of my cousins). Of course, SIU-Edwardsville is not a great team. Heck, I'm willing to bet if one checked the Pomeroy ratings at the end of the season, siue (their bizarre uniforms had all the letters in lowercase) would be in the bottom fifty. But man, Jon Leuer looked exactly like you hoped he would when you first read about him two years ago-- a collegiate Dirk Nowitzki, just with better hair. Dunks, mid-range jumpers, facing up his man and driving to the basket, snatching boards. Woo-hah! Good stuff.

Don't have much time to discuss things today as work has gotten pretty hectic all of a sudden. But other random observations---
- Landry continues to look like the man, and like he knows he needs to be the man. He's developing a really excellent touch around the basket.
- Krabby hasn't had the greatest start to the season. It looks like he's pressing at times, especially on offense when he looks for his own shots. Although he did nail both of his free throws last night.
- Tim Jarmusz is the king of hustle. Bo was right-- he busts his ass constantly and makes good decisions offensively. Not a huge talent, but talented and smart enough to be a very good college player, I think. Plus, he showed excellent touch on his two jumpers. Now if he could just start making more of his free throws.
- For some reason, Keaton Nankivil got pulled kind of early and didn't get back in much. He must have screwed up defensively in some sort of difficult to measure kind of way. Or they weren't interested in having him and Leuer on the court at the same time, and Leuer was playing excellent offense.
- True frosh Ian Markolf is no longer a redshirt candidate. He got some garbage minutes last night. Actually, so did everyone except for Jared Berggren and Ryan Evans. Evans is a declared redshirt, and Berggren must be pondering one.
- The order of the subs was the starting five, then Leuer, Jordan Taylor, Jarmusz, and Rob Evans. That really kind of looks like the rotation right now-- nine men, with Evans likely to get smaller minutes than the other three guys off the bench. After that, Gullickson came in, followed by Gavinski. Markolf got in later when the bench emptied. What was neat was the quality of play didn't drop off much when the other guys got in. Gullickson, for one, looked good.
- Tempo Free Stats for the game: Wisconsin's points per possession: 1.29; SIUE's points per possession: .85

Another UW Basketball Game Tonight

As mentioned previously, the University of Wisconsin plays host to the Cougars of Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville this evening. (If you're wondering, Edwardsville is a semi-distant St. Louis suburb, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.) The Cougars are 1-2, and having just played in a tournament in Charleston, South Carolina, with their win coming over Western Michigan.

They're also currently enjoying their first season at the Division I level, and, as you might expect, have a bunch of new folks on their roster, which you can see here. On thing that jumps out at you is the number of freshmen (six), and that all of the upperclassmen (four juniors and a senior) are all transfers from either junior colleges or other schools. So you'd think the Cougars haven't had much experience playing together, and wouldn't necessarily be all that cohesive a unit. But it's hard to know, and, heck, the UW staff doesn't even know, since none of SIUE's tournament games were taped. Essentially, UW is going into this game blind. Should make for some interesting stuff, I bet. Game tips off at 7:30 pm Central on the Big Ten Network. (Bless the BTN, and it saving me from having to watch "The Biggest Loser," again . . . .) If you want more, here's the Capital Times' brief preview of the game tonight. The Cap Times is doing an excellent job covering UW basketball this season, incidentally.

Three for Three!

The first triumvirate weekend of the year results in total success. The footballing Badgers get a sloppy but exhilarating victory over their oldest rival, the Packers whoop up on their oldest rival, and the men's basketball Badgers narrowly avoid disaster by falling back on senior leader Marcus Landry. Inspiring stuff.

In re the Packers:
- This was like the Colts game all over again, except the Bears are a lot worse offensively than the Colts. The Packers ran the ball well, had nice passing lanes set up by the run, and basically held onto the ball for two-thirds of the game-- 37 minutes. The Bears ran the ball decently, but they had trouble converting third downs, and the Packers held onto the ball forever when they had it. Hell, they only punted twice, and only turned the ball over once (that underthrown pass to Donald Driver that Brian Urlacher picked off-- Rodgers should have made a deeper throw or run with the ball). Every other drive ended in a score. Crazy.
- What is up with the Packers offensive line? It's like Jekyll and Hyde. Although, to be fair, their run blocking against Tennessee and Minnesota was decent, it was just their pass blocking that was bad. And the Bears pass rush has been pretty pathetic all year. So maybe they're just pretty good at run-blocking and mediocre at pass-blocking?
- The Packers' run defense actually wasn't that great-- the stats show the Bears gained 4.2 yards per carry. The D just did a pretty good job on third downs. Anyhow, to be plain, the run defense issues aren't suddenly fixed. It wasn't just Nick Barnett having a down year that made the run D poor.
- I really liked the fullback runs on short distances. Now that they've shown the play a few times though, they'll just have to be careful about being too predictable with it.
- I also liked how Charles Woodson went and retrieved the ball on Jason Hunter's touchdown. Chuckie thoughtfully realized that Hunter (an Appalachian State grad, and a guy with at least one season on the practice squad) would probably want to keep the ball.
- I did not like how obvious the Packers' blitzes were. If I can see them coming on TV, I mean . . . come on.
- Always nice to beat the Bears. Great to beat them in a meaningful game. Excellent to get rid of this "Lovie Smith is undefeated in Green Bay" specter. Wonderful to beat the Bears handily and look good in all three facets of the game. Now they just need to perform consistently, starting next week against the Saints on Monday Night Football, where a ball control offense would again be a good idea.

In re the male basketballing Badgers:
- This game was scary stuff. Losing at home to Long Beach State to start the season would have been a North Dakota State-esque embarrassment. Definitely not the way they would have wanted to start the season. So, phew.
- Why was the game close? Well, partly because Beach nailed a ton of contested threes in the first half, and their main guy, Donovan Morris, had a NBA Hang Time "He's on fire!" stretch in the second to pull them back into it. But also, this Badger team made a lot of errors-- failing to get the ball into the post enough, not doing a very good job on the boards, taking some semi-reckless shots and/or making some sloppy offensive decisions (I thought Jason Bohannon was guilty of several of these), and committing associated turnovers that led to easy points for the Beach.
- Of course, Marcus Landry was the man, particularly in the second half. He saved the Badgers with his shooting and help defense. It's nice to have heady, talented seniors.
- So freshmen Rob Wilson and Jordan Taylor are definitely playing this season. Both of them saw time, and both of them made their first shots. Wilson's was a three, and Taylor's was a shot-clock-running-out prayer that hilarious banked in high off the glass. Wilson did get pulled immediately after missing a quick, ill-advised shot in the second half.
- Jon Leuer made a great, athletic drive to the basket at some point in the second. He looked like natural scorer on that play. As time goes on he should be really effective dribble-driving past the centers and power forwards who try to guard him. But Jon also had an ugly, overaggressive turnover. I'd like to see him get more time on the floor, both to get him more offensive experience and because UW will likely UW need the size for rebounding purposes.
- Good to start with a win, and I hope Beach validates the closeness of this game by being a good team in the Big West this season. I also hope the Badgers learned some things from this game that will help them improve going forward. Next game is Tuesday night against Southern Illinois-- but it's not the Carbondale, Illinois based Salukies who have been perennial tournament threats. No, it's Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, which is currently enjoying its first season at the Division I level.

Wisconsin-Minnesota Post-script

A few things:

- The play where Daven Jones was injured (he has a torn ACL and is done for the year, though he has a redshirt he could use next season) was despicable. He was a gunner on a punt, had his man beaten plainly, was the first guy down the field, in great position to tattoo the returner . . . and his man shoves him in the back. His leg twists awkwardly, he goes flying past the returner and crumples to the turf. At least the refs saw it and called the blatant and disgusting block in the back. Nice one, Gophers. Couple that with the stupid body slamming of Nick Toon and the head punch of Bill Nagy, and it looks like many of Minnesota's players were so amped up they weren't playing intelligently.

- It sounds like Kyle Jefferson is doing alright and isn't too badly injured. My original post on the game failed to mention Kyle being knocked unconscious and being taken off the field in an ambulance. That was poor form, as that was scary, scary stuff. Remembering the vicious hit he took against Michigan State last season, you have to wonder if he's just too skinny a guy to be a D-I (excuse me, FBS) receiver. He still has a redshirt season to burn. Taking it, perhaps next year, and using it to really focus on bulking up and getting stronger might be a good idea. At the very least, Kyle has to start acting like David Gilreath when he catches balls in the middle of the field, and get down quickly.

- Finally, I like how Nick Maragos redeemed his botched hold on the Badgers' first field goal attempt. Specifically, on the last defensive play of the game, where Niles Brinkley (who despite his ongoing learning curve as a cornerback, has great hands) snatched an interception and inexplicably decided to start running across the field with the ball, Maragos shouted and waved his hands at him, trying to get Brinkley to fall down. Eventually Niles figured it out, and hit the turf, sealing the win. Smart play, Nick, and a good example of leadership. A fumble there by Brinkley gives the Gophers a fresh set of downs, and the game remains very much in question.

Bowl Eligibility Attained

What a wild and ridiculous game. The two sides, Wisconsin and Minnesota, basically take turns handing the game to each other (two safeties, one a near Krumble, aka kickoff fumble return for touchdown?), but each team is too inept to firmly take control.

True, Wisconsin made some great plays to get back into it. This game was definitely a bit of a coming out party for some of the Badgers' young wideouts, especially native Minnesotan Isaac Anderson. Anderson failed to adjust to a decent bomb in the first half, but made up for it with a fine catch on an excellent throw that was almost a touchdown in the second. Plus, he had some big third down conversions. Hill created some decent runs out of nothing. Shaughnessy and Newkirk put on some solid pressure on many downs. Aubrey Pleasant was making sure tackles in the secondary. True frosh Antonio Fenelus made a great hit to force the fumble that led to the safety.

But both teams committed plenty of boneheaded mistakes. Though Weber is a good QB, Brandon Green was way too open on that embarrassing Fourth and 18 conversion that kept the Gophers in the game. Sherer failed to throw the ball away on several downs, leading to sacks and big lossess. The Badgers' failure to pick up more than 3 yards on the Badgers' last real offensive drive was embarrassing, though at least the ran the clock down before each snap. (Lesson learned, I hope.) Whapping the ball out of bounds on the kickoff return-fumble was uber-frustrating. And Shane Carter creeping offsides on Minnesota's first two point conversion attempt was reminiscent of Travis Beckum's error against Michigan.

But the Gophers had more screw-ups. They had UW stopped on a long third down, when a Minnesota DB decided to body slam Nick Toon while both of them were out of bounds. Fifteen yard penalty, first down. Just dumb. And on the series leading into the safety, why did the Minnesota LG try to cut block Newkirk on a drop back passing play? Was he tired? (Newkirk hoped over the guard and sacked Weber at the 2.) And I have no idea why Weber held the ball so long on the second safety. Or why the Minnesota LT couldn't hold still before the snap in the second half. And of course the fumble that provided the Badgers their final touchdown-- a carbon copy of the unforced Minnesota fumble on the opening drive. What a totally bizarro game.

Maybe that's what happens when you take a bunch of late teenagers/early twenty-somethings, but them in a pressure cooker for a week, tempt them with an enormous axe, and then have them run into each other for three hours. Yeesh. Honestly, I don't think either team's performance should merit it any kudos. It was just too sloppy and too wide open of a game. But that's an agitated Wisconsin fan talking. I bet for the unbiased observer, it was a heck of a game to watch.

Triumvirate Weekend

One of the few blessed weekends of the year is nigh-- 27 hour period in which all three teams that Camp Lambeau is devoted to- the University of Wisconsin football team, the UW men's basketball team, and the Green Bay Packers- play meaningful televised games. Hip hip hooray! Or as Lil' John says-- "Yeah-uh!" I am especially enthused as I have recently been stricken with a hilarious case of shingles (aka "The Shingles"), which has left me couchbound, and usually in the fetal position. (Although it did merit me a Vicodin prescription, so I can't be too upset.) The football games are far more important than the basketball event, but Bo Ryan's team will be playing it's first actual (non-exhibition) game of the season, so that has to account for something.

Anyhow, as U-65 nicely explains below, the UW football team's bowl options hang in the balance tomorrow against the Minnesota Gophers. Actually, UW's ability to go to any bowl whatsoever hangs in the balance. If UW loses, and then goes on to beat Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in 8 days, yes, the team will be "bowl eligible" with six wins. But last season two other Big Ten programs (Iowa and Northwestern) hit the allegedly magic number of six wins, and the only bowling they did was at their local Brunswick-affiliated alleys. So UW needs this win to keep hope alive for any bowl game whatsoever, in addition to all those other excellent reasons-- to have the option of a pretty solid bowl destination, to make sure this year's seniors continue to hold onto the axe, to keep a lid on a big rival, because beating Minnesota is fun, etc.

As far as scouting that game goes, you hope UW will keep up it's MO of late--run the ball effectively, and play passable solid defense. Minnesota's run defense, at least on paper, hasn't played that well, and UW's passing defense is leaky enough that holding onto the ball and having a bunch of punishing ground-oriented drives could be really helpful. In other news, I have no doubt that the crotch-puncher, aka Gopher wideout Eric Decker, who's allegedly out with a sprained ankle, will play. No doubt whatsoever.

The Packer-Bear game on Sunday is equally pivotal for Green Bay. The Packers are 4-5, coming off two very close road losses to decent ('Queens)/very good (Titians) teams, where they didn't play all that well, with neither the offense nor the defense able to get it done when it mattered, and with the refs not helping either (the no-call PI on Jennings in the Titan game, and Peterson taking off his helmet with no penalty against the 'Queens). They stand one game behind Minnesota and the Bears in the standings. This is their chance to pull themselves back into the division race and make a real run for the playoffs. (Since it looks like the runners up in the NFC South and East will take the wild card slots.) And it's a chance for Rodgers to show he can perform under pressure, when teams have had a chance to scout him out, and for McCarthy to show that he can beat Lovie Smith in a meaningful game. With a loss, and upcoming games against New Orleans, Carolina, and at Jacksonville and Chicago, the playoffs are likely out of the question. It's simply a huge game. The most meaningful Packer-Bear game in several years.

Thankfully, the Bears' weakness this season- inability to get pressure and a therefore poor pass defense- matches up with the Packers offensive strength-- throwing the football, when Rodgers can get some protection. Unfortunately, the Bears are running the ball decently, and the Packers have had serious difficultly stopping the run for most of the season. I think this will be a very, very close game, unfortunately, and given the buddha-like Lovie Smith's record against the Pack, I could definitely see it turning South. Let's hope the Sexy One, aka Gross Rexman, makes some key errors, or if Captain Neckbeard, v. 2.0, plays, that his sore ankle makes him immobile enough so he takes some sacks.

But don't despair for long even if the Packers lose, since as that grudge match is ending, the UW men's basketball team will be tipping-off, with their game against Long Beach State set to start at 3 pm on the Big Ten Network. (The Kohl Center is going to look like a Dodger game-- half full until 45 minutes in.) The notable thing about this game will be seeing who hits the floor: Keaton Nankivil is expected to be the fifth starter, but what will the rotation be behind him, and which of the five frosh are going to redshirt? It also marks the return of former Minnesota coach Dan Monson to the Kohl Center. Hopefully, two-Gopher connected teams will leave Madison with losses this weekend, as you'd expect this one to be a nice, encouraging win, with LBSU picked to finish in the middle tier of the Big West.

Anyway, a wild weekend awaits. Set your Tivos!

Bloomington is Nice

Especially when the Badgers have three different guys, including a wide receiver, rush for over a hundred yards. Really, that game should have been ridiculous from the get-go. They were running all over them from the first play from scrimmage, even without Andy Vanden Huevel, who I fear is lost for the season. (On an odd play where he pulled, ran forward, blocked his guy down the sidelines and fell down. Didn't look like he should have hurt anything.)

Instead, the defense made a few bonehead mistakes in coverage, the Badgers fumbled twice and Sherer threw a completely stupid interception, and Indiana was about to take the lead going into halftime. And then, Jay Valai did what he does best-- lay the wood. And he laid it to the head and neck of Indiana's starting quarterback. The Hoosier QB drops the ball, Andre Levy snatches it up, runs back 50 yards (although he totally outran his blockers), and the Badgers drive a bit before time runs out and kick a field goal to go up four. IU's best offensive hope, their pretty good QB, is out for the rest of the game. Wisconsin scores 31 straight points, shuts out the now hapless Hoosiers, and it's a blow out. But for the first 27 minutes it was close, because of Wisconsin's own mistakes, again.

Anyhow, now they're back to .500 (again), and hopefully will be able to win the last two at home, and qualify for a marginally tolerable bowl game. I know that sounds cynical, but at this point, Wisconsin is really playing for the future. Sure, it's important for the seniors to beat Minnesota one last time and have this class go out with a winning record. But for the program as a whole, I feel that it's more important to keep a somewhat respectable record for publicity and morale purposes, and to start working on things for next season. To wit, I was especially pleased to see guys like Gilreath, Clay, Valai and Toon step forward on Saturday and make big plays. Let's hope they keep it up against the Gophers.

In a Hoosier-like State

The woman and I are headed down South this weekend to see the University of Wisconsin football team try to pick up a road win against the University of Indiana Hoosiers. I can't remember exactly when I bought these tickets. I think it might have been before the season started, when I was thinking about how I had never been to Bloomington, and had always heard that it was a nice town.

And, of course, I was thinking that this game would be a gimmie, a cakewalk, a nice pleasant distraction, that would be a cheery appetizer to a day of exploring a new Big Ten college town. But now, despite Wisconsin's rise from the depths of utter sucktitude against Penn State and Iowa, I'm kind of nervous about this game. Lose it, and any shot at a bowl game should go out the window. Seriously. I know you can make a bowl with a 6-6 record, but, I believe, every D-I team with a winning record has to get chosen ahead of you first. And honestly, who would want a 6-6 Wisconsin team with losses to Michigan and Indiana? I sure hope the Motor City Bowl has better taste. Hell, I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. After all, Minnesota has looked somewhat competent lately, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has one of the top scoring offenses in D-IAA.

Anyhow, I will be at the game and will be reporting back. Hopefully, Wisconsin can run all over Indiana, and finally get a solid road victory over another Big Ten team. But we'll see.

Ahem

Despite the old adage, almost no one hates to say I told you so, so I'm not going to pretend that I do. But man, I wish the Badgers' terrible clock management on their last drive against Michigan State hadn't mattered. Kudos to the pops for spotting this issue right away.

Cute Stuff

If you've ever lived on the West Side of Madison, you'll recognize the subject of this story. The Holiday Season doth approach, and the University of Wisconsin Men's Basketball team is helping make the dark months cheery.

I Don't Think I'm Ever Doing That Again

Watching "Live Streaming Video" on the Big Ten Network's website is, uh, awful. The speed of the feed kept slowing down, speeding up, stopping, etc. And the sound, the radio broadcast for the game, which could have been great, was about three minutes ahead of the video. Ugh. What crap. Again, why did the Big Ten Network opt to show volleyball on its television channel instead of some men's basketball exhibitions? I like volleyball, but I'm almost certain the ratings will be higher with basketball, even an exhibition game. So yeah, the point is I watched the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team beat Augustana College in their first exhibition game last night, on the Big Ten Network's website, and it was an unpleasant viewing experience.

Anyhow, here's the box score. Again, Augustana College is a D-II school, which means some of their guys are on scholarship, and they did make the D-II tournament last year. They had some decent ball-handlers, and they had some good jump shooters. (I love Bo's post-game comment that "They can shoot it. Division II, Division III teams, you don't play H-O-R-S-E with them." As a former D-III athlete, I agree.) But Augustana was not tall, I bet their tallest guy was 6'8", and they were not particularly athletic. Thus, the Badgers scored a fair amount of points in the paint.

In particular, Landry scored a lot, although about a third of his points were two three-pointers that bounced around the rim. He's looking very fluid and confident on the offensive end. Leuer looked like you'd want him to-- hit a three, scored in the paint, took his guy to the basket once or twice. Bohannon nailed a bunch of threes-- his release looks to be quicker than the last two seasons, which is very exciting. Frosh Jordan Taylor was strong with the ball, and made good decisions; plus, that kid is flat out built. He looks more like a running back than a point guard. Mystery frosh Ryan Evans played a fair amount and looked pretty good, grabbing some offensive boards, slashing to the basket a couple of times. That was reassuring, because after reading that he didn't do much in the scrimmage I was starting to get a bit worried. The frosh big men-- Ian Markolf and Jared Berggren-- looked fine, large, not awkward with the ball, and reasonably mobile. No worse than Stiemsma or Butch as freshman, and well above the Gavinski/Mader level, at least in my opinion. But I bet one or both redshirt. And yes, the frosh can play in these exhibition games without burning their redshirts. It'll be interesting to see what happens on that front. All I know is that Taylor is not redshirting. That kid is going to be a consistent contributor.

Finally, regarding frosh Robert Wilson-- ATTENTION, ATTENTION: we have an impending paradigm shift! Wisconsin is no longer a clean cut and wholesome team! That is, (the horror, the horror)-- Wilson has a visible tatoo. The team's Hoosier-esque, 1950s image is irretrievable shattered. What's next, players with unkempt hair or, god forbid, headbands? Hell, we might as well join the Big East. What a terrible recruiting oversight, Bo. This is what happens when you give a scholarship to a kid from Cleveland.

(The above paragraph was said in jest, of course. Wilson looked quite good, a legit 6'4" or 6'5", smooth with the ball and his shot and scrappy on defense; he does not seem to be a redshirt candidate.)