Football
After the blowout win Saturday against Maryland, head coach Gary Andersen praised his players before this weekend’s game against Rutgers (1-3 Big Ten, 5-3 overall).
“We are proud of the improvement and proud of the effort,” Andersen said.
Scarlet Knights’ starting quarterback Gary Nova may not be able to suit up for the game against Wisconsin this weekend because of a knee injury.
When asked if he thinks Rutgers will do things differently with their backup quarterback, Andersen brushed off that notion.
“I don’t think they’ll change their offense, if any, very little, for this game,” Andersen said. “Regardless of the quarterback.”
Andersen was also asked about someone on the Big Ten Network stating that the Badgers would be making a decision on quarterback after the Maryland game.
“That’s never been the plan and I don’t expect it at present to be the plan,” said Andersen.
This upcoming game will be only the second true road game for the Badgers so far this season. “The key for us is to have the ability to prepare correctly,” said Andersen when asked if there are any drawbacks to not having many road games. “I think we prepared very well for the road games before.”
Rutgers has had a couple of tough road losses recently against good teams. This brought up the question of what the plan is for preparing for a Rutgers team that does not have an outstanding record.
“Doesn’t matter what the record is,” Andersen said. “You’re going to put everything you’ve got into it.”
Volleyball
With the win over No. 14 Nebraska, their first in over 30 years, the Badgers were able to extend their winning streak to nine matches. Head coach Kelly Sheffield was proud of his team’s performance against Nebraska.
“I’m awfully proud of the way we played yesterday,” Sheffield said. “I thought we played really well against a really good team.”
Wisconsin will face another tough challenge in Purdue in a short turnaround Wednesday. Sheffield pointed to a number of specific challenges the Boilermakers would pose.
“I really like that team. They play really hard number one,” Sheffield said. “They’ve got a lefty on the right, Annie Drews is probably one of the players who is in the running for Big Ten Player of the Year.”
Since the loss to Penn State Sept. 24, the Badgers have managed to only drop one set since. Sheffield indicated his team has evolved since the loss to the Nittany Lions earlier.
“I think we take pride in getting stronger as the season goes on and learning as the season goes on,” he said.
Sheffield was also asked about how the Wednesday turnaround affects the preparation and the routine for the team.
“I think it’s really tough, yeah, this Wednesdays/weekend, I still haven’t figured it out. It’s really hard to give your players the rest that they need,” Sheffield said.
The Badgers will be going on the road Wednesday to take on Purdue, the No. 2 team in the Big Ten. They will then travel to take on Indiana Saturday, Nov. 1.
Men’s and women’s cross country
Coming off the Adidas meet where the women’s team finished fourth and the men’s team finished third, UW director of cross country and track and field Mick Byrne feels good about his teams’ chances in the upcoming Big Ten championship. Byrne was asked if it was a surprise how the women’s team finished in the Adidas meet.
“I can’t say it was a surprise, but our women did a great job. We didn’t panic, and it’s easy in that type of a race to panic,” he said.
The men’s team is looking to regain the Big Ten title after their loss last year to Indiana. Byrne indicated his preference to win a conference championship rather than a national one.
“Yes, absolutely,” Byrne said. “Right now this year with these young guys I want to win back our Big Ten title, I think that’s very important for this program.”
Byrne holds high but realistic expectations for both of his teams.
“I think we can finish in the top three,” Byrne said in reference to the women’s team. “We would like to think we’re going to be there in the end with Michigan.”
Byrne likes the men’s chances as well.
“If you just take the results from Adidas, I guess they’re saying we’re favorites.”
The Big Ten championship for both the men and women will be held Sunday, Nov. 2, in Iowa City, Iowa.
