Fresh off its 68-17 rout against Bowling Green, Wisconsin (2-1) will host South Florida (2-2) this Saturday in its nonconference finale.
“It was a very positive game,” said head coach Gary Andersen. “I’m proud of the way the kids handled it, and it was a good team victory.”
Against Bowling Green, the Badgers rushed for a Big Ten record 644 yards with redshirt junior running back Melvin Gordon leading the way with 253 yards and five touchdowns.
“Melvin was unbelievable. On some of those runs, he broke three or four tackles, and was very physical and dynamic,” Andersen said. “In this game, he attacked the hole, made people miss and it was great that he had the opportunity to have that game.”
Even though UW has had success running the ball this season, the Badgers need to improve their passing game so they can get the ball downfield more.
“Our ability to take those deep shots is very important,” Andersen said. “When you want to be who we are and run the ball, and you don’t have the ability to throw downfield a few times a game, our offense won’t be as effective.”
Andersen also explained how he hopes redshirt junior quarterback Tanner McEvoy can continue to improve and throw to more of his receivers to spread the ball around. “He’s very productive right now and fitting in his role within the offense. I like the direction he’s going in and by no means is he satisfied.”
Women’s hockey
Women’s hockey head coach Mark Johnson likes what he sees as UW gets ready for its season opener at Lindenwood this Friday night.
“I think leadership ... in our business is extremely important and I’m very excited about Blayre Turnbull as our captain this year, Karley Sylvester and Katarina Zgraja as assistant captains,” Johnson said. “They’ve learned from some of our past captains, and I think they’ll do a great job of providing leadership with this team this year.”
Johnson explained that UW will have some key returning players including goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens and senior forwards Turnbull, Brittany Ammerman and Katy Josephs.
“We’re also going to add five new freshmen, led by Annie Pankowski who was part of our national team and was one of the last players cut last year for the Olympic team, so with her coming in along with our four other freshmen, a lot of good pieces,” Johnson said. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to automatically win hockey games, so we’ll start this weekend.”
Johnson also gave his take on UW’s schedule and explains what the key matchups will be for the Badgers this year.
“As far as a look at our schedule, we’ve got Minnesota coming in here early this season and then North Dakota at home the first half of the season,” Johnson said. “We’ll travel out to New Hampshire and play UNH, and then the second half of the season we’ve got Clarkson coming in the middle part of January. Clarkson won the national championship last year, so that’ll be a good matchup for us on our home ice.”
Volleyball
After splitting matches against Pac-12 powerhouses USC and Washington, the Badgers will face Penn State at home Wednesday night, which will be a rematch of the 2013 national championship game.
“We’re excited about Penn State and we’ve got them coming in,” said head coach Kelly Sheffield. “I’ve been asked to let people know that they probably want to get their tickets ahead of time because it looks like that’s going to be a sellout. They are a great team with a lot of talent. We’re excited about being home and being able to host it.”
Despite this huge rematch, Sheffield explained that the factor of revenge may not be as important as many people might think.
“I don’t think that that’s a phrase that our players are using; maybe a few of them. If that gets them going, that’s fine,” Sheffield said. “Like I said, it’s about this year’s team. It’s about this match. It’s about one night. It’s about continuing to try to get better. We’re hoping that it’s a match where at the end of it, the fans feel like that was a heck of a battle.”
