Indianapolis — Wisconsin freshman running back Jonathan Taylor’s longest run in the Big Ten Championship was a measly seven yards.
INDIANAPOLIS — One year after falling to Penn State in the Big Ten Championship, Wisconsin (9-1 Big Ten, 12-1 overall) arrived in Indianapolis looking to not only win the Big Ten, but also punch a ticket to the College Football Playoff. For 12 weeks, the Badgers leaned on its defense to wreak havoc on opposing teams and extend their undefeated season.
While the Badgers (9-0 Big Ten, 12-0 overall) moved into the No. 4 spot of the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, there are still differing feelings regarding the team at both the local and national levels. There’s the committee who begrudgingly moved the undefeated team up at last, and the analysts who are certain of the Badgers’ place in the playoff with a victory versus Ohio State (8-1, 10-2) in the Big Ten Championship Game. The collective feeling possessed by UW’s, however, is none too concerned with the various playoff permutations being touted or the efforts to nitpick Wisconsin’s favorable schedule. The Badgers are just excited to be back in Indianapolis.
The recent history of Wisconsin sports can be easily summed up in a few numbers. Simply uttering the phrases “408” or “38-1” is enough to elicit visceral responses from Badgers fans anywhere.
Minneapolis — The No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers (9-0 Big Ten, 12-0 overall) don’t have a secret recipe for an undefeated season.
Freshman Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor took the first carry of the game up the middle, untouched for the first nine yards of a 13-yard run.
My middle school soccer team was good. Like, really good. The Blue Hawks (yes, our mascot was a fictional variation on a real animal, a fact I didn’t fully grasp until I had graduated) ran the D.C.
With 4:41 remaining in the third quarter, and the Badgers (8-0 Big Ten, 11-0 overall) staring at yet another three-and-out, sophomore wideout A.J. made perhaps the biggest play of his young Wisconsin career, wriggling loose of his man for a 51-yard catch.
In a back-and-forth, sometimes brutal Big Ten battle against the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines (5-3 Big Ten, 8-3 overall), the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers (8-0, 11-0) needed their quarterback to step up and be the difference-maker. Alex Hornibrook delivered, with one of the biggest games of his young career in UW's 24-10 victory. Doubt lingered through the the first half of the game.
Now in the fourth year of his Wisconsin career, senior safety Natrell Jamerson has acclimated to his Midwest surroundings after entering the program from the balmy climate of Florida. The Ocala, Fla., native has elevated to a starting role this fall after dabbling as a wide receiver, cornerback and kick returner in his first three seasons. But while Jamerson has settled into Wisconsin life and created a strong bond with his fellow Florida-bred defensive backs, Madison still lags behind the Sunshine State in one department. “It’s got me a little sick,” Jamerson said of the cold weather starting to hit town.
The vast majority of the Wisconsin-Michigan rivalry has been all Wolverines (they hold a 50-14-1 all-time edge). Legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler used to wallop the Badgers year-in and year-out, going 18-1 against UW in his career. The tables have turned of late though, as over the last seven matchups, the Badgers hold a 4-3 lead and have outscored UM 198-161.
The last three meetings between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Iowa Hawkeyes have been absolute wars.
1. Baker Mayfield, RS Senior QB- Oklahoma At this point, Mayfield has a firm grasp of the steering wheel in this Heisman year.
Wisconsin Wisconsin’s defense will need to keep the same mentality they had against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers (7-0 Big Ten, 10-0 Overall) still have a bad taste in their mouth from the last time they faced No. 19 Michigan (5-2, 8-2). When the undefeated Badgers travelled to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines in 2016, they struggled through a brutal 14-7 loss that put the season in perspective and forced Wisconsin to get back on track. “They were a pretty sound, physical defense, and they kind of kicked our butt that day,” redshirt sophomore right tackle David Edwards said.
It’s a little bit redundant to say at this point, but I still have to say it: what a weekend of college football.
SCENE: We see Michigan Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh bellied up at a bar. It’s late on a weeknight, and the bar is nearly empty, save for a regular huddled in one of the booths in the back and a pool shark practicing his game.
At the start of this college football season, many expected the Wisconsin vs. Michigan meeting to be a top-10 contest.
In a chaotic week full of upsets for the top-10 teams in the College Football Playoff rankings, the Big Ten conference hardly had any surprising results.
Sports editor Ben Pickman and football beat writers Lorin Cox and and Jake Nisse preview Wisconsin's upcoming matchup with Michigan.
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