A win is a win. Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema and numerous Badger players echoed this cliché following Wisconsin’s (1-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) 26-21 victory over FCS opponent Northern Iowa (0-1 overall, 0-0 Missouri Valley Conference) Saturday afternoon in the first game of the 2012 season.
Expectations can often be deceiving. For Wisconsin football (1-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) and head coach Bret Bielema, the team’s high expectations proved to be a little misleading this past weekend as the Badgers pulled out a 26-21 nail biter over Northern Iowa (0-1 overall, 0-0 Missouri Valley Conference). With many projecting the preseason No. 12 Badgers to roll to their 15th consecutive season-opening win, it took a timely fourth quarter pass deflection by redshirt junior defensive lineman Ethan Hemer on a fourth-and-one to pull out the win.
When star running back Montee Ball announced he was returning to Madison for his senior season just days after the Badgers lost the 2012 Rose Bowl, a baseline of expectation was set for the 2012-’13 campaign.
Wake up early enough to pre-game
Offense
About a year and a half ago, Big Ten officials spent hours on end attempting to find the perfect balance between the two, six-member divisions that the conference would be split into. Now though, the balance between the Leaders and Legends divisions already seems a bit unstable.
Wisconsin football head coach Bret Bielema spoke with the media Sunday and to no one’s surprise the main topics covered included the team’s quarterback competition and recent off the field issues.
Only at the University of Wisconsin can you repeatedly lose All-American offensive linemen and go into the next season with as much confidence in the unit as years’ previous.
CHICAGO -- The Big Ten Conference has never been more ready to take the football field and put the tumultuous offseason in the rearview mirror. Players and coaches alike could not have made this more evident during the Big Ten Media Days at the McCormick Center from July 26-27.
La Bahn Arena
Melvin Gordon: Redshirt freshman running back
It just got a little less crowded under center for the Wisconsin Badgers football team, as two of the squad’s quarterbacks have been ruled out for the 2012 season.
No. 1: Montee Ball, junior running back, football
1. Badgers beat Spartans in inaugural Big Ten Title Game—December 3, 2011
UW-Madison running back Montee Ball was among the hundreds of people Madison police arrested and cited at the Mifflin Street Block Party Saturday.
Most of the headlines from Saturday’s spring game will go to redshirt freshman running back Melvin Gordon, but a Wisconsin defense without redshirt junior linebacker Chris Borland and redshirt senior linebacker Mike Taylor, was equally impressive.
Redshirt freshman running back Melvin Gordon’s big day propelled team Cardinal to a 21-10 victory over team White in the Wisconsin Badgers’ annual Spring Game.
After a massive turnover in both players and coaches from one of the most productive offenses in Wisconsin football history, the 2012 Badgers’ offense will take their first step toward another Big Ten title this weekend in the annual Spring Game.
Over the past two seasons, most of the attention for the Wisconsin football team went to its offense. From the running back-dominated offense in 2010 that averaged nearly 250 rushing yards per game, to the Russell Wilson-lead campaign that put up more than 44 points per contest, Wisconsin’s offense has been the team’s centerpiece.
Death and taxes might be the only things more consistent than the Wisconsin football team’s offensive line in the last 20-plus years.
Read on Issuu
Solutions by The State News
