The defense was, by far, the highlight in 11-on-11 live action, especially on the third-down drills. By my count, around half of the plays were tackles for loss.
As the Wisconsin Football Twitter and Facebook accounts hyped a “big” announcement Wednesday, endless possibilities roamed through my head. Would the program unveil a new alternative Adidas jersey to be worn next year? Would it officially be announcing the new realignment of the divisions, distinctly playing to UW’s advantage? While my estimations were not even close in stature, the announcement to fans should be much more monumental in value than the football program initially alluded to. Per a UWBadgers.com press release—the “big” announcement—Wisconsin will kick off the 2015 college football season against the powerful Alabama Crimson Tide in the state-of-the-art Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas. What was my first impression of the announcement? It’s about time. Badgers fans have been accustomed to seeing the red and white take the field—either at Camp Randall Stadium or an away stadium—against the cupcakes of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) or marginal Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams year-in and year-out. Dating back to former head coach Bret Bielema’s arrival in 2006, Wisconsin has been anything but challenged in its non-conference schedule. The program has a combined record of 27-1 in such games over the last seven seasons, with the lone loss coming on the road against Oregon State this past season. Moreover, the Badgers outscored their lackluster opponents by an average of three touchdowns (35.8 to 14.6) and scored over 35 points 17 times, including against all of their non-conference opponents during the 2011 season. I really never understood the essence of scheduling opponents well below a team’s caliber of play, except for the fact teams can pat themselves on the back after bullying up on a less-than-superior opponent. Sure, they walk off the field feeling high and mighty after dismantling teams like Marshall, Cal Poly, San Jose State or UTEP, but does it really prepare them for the rigors of the conference schedule? This past year, Minnesota took the route of scheduling its fair share of lowly non-conference teams, and it paid off for the Gophers in the short-term, as they owned a 4-0 record heading into the Big Ten season. Want to know how that turned out? They went 2-7 the rest of the way, including a 34-31 loss to Texas Tech in the Meineke Care Bowl. On the contrary, I completely understand the notion of Southeastern Conference teams scheduling “cupcakes” mixed-in throughout the season, especially toward the end of the season, because of the depth of their grueling conference schedule. However, they still challenged themselves to a certain extent throughout their non-conference slate. Alabama played preseason Big Ten favorite Michigan this past year in Cowboy Stadium. LSU kicked off their 2011-’12 season with Oregon and Georgia played Boise State in the Georgia Dome in the same season. While I’m sure Wisconsin fans are giddy about making travel arrangements to Arlington and finally seeing UW challenged on the field during its non-conference slate, they should be more giddy about the explicit meaning behind the Alabama-Wisconsin announcement: Things are changing for the better under head coach Gary Andersen’s regime, specifically in terms of scheduling. Planning games against superior BCS-level programs like Alabama in 2015 and Virginia Tech in 2016 will provide a respectable body of work for the playoff selection committee to refer to, should the Badgers be in contention for college football’s playoff in the coming years. Moreover, the message Andersen and athletic director Barry Alvarez are sending aligns with the common sports saying, “In order to be the best, you have to beat the best.” By in large, Alabama is currently the face of college football, having won three of the last four national titles, and it is the closest thing fans have witnessed to a football dynasty since the days of Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart at Southern California. Yet with the announcement, the Crimson Tide’s prestige did not phase Andersen and Alvarez. Both of them have made it known they want to compete at the highest level, and this 2015 matchup will serve as a golden opportunity to do just that. Finally. What do you think of UW scheduling a non-conference game against Alabama? Send Rex your thoughts in an email to sports@dailycardinal.com.
College football isn’t just a sport. College football is a business. With Bret Bielema, the former head coach of the Badgers, leaving a $2.7 million salary for a $700,000 raise, we’re reminded of the amount of money that changes hands. Consider that the Big Ten generates hundreds of millions of dollars per year solely from licensing of television rights and you’ll gain insight into just how huge the industry is. The television networks make millions, the advertising agencies make millions, and the coaches make millions. There’s only one group that’s left out: the players.
PASADENA, Calif.—In the end, Stanford senior running back Stepfan Taylor made just a couple more clutch plays than the Wisconsin defense.
PASADENA, Calif.—Since Montee Ball announced he would return for his senior season 360 days ago, almost nothing has been predictable for the University of Wisconsin football program.
PASADENA, Calif.—Wisconsin has lost its third straight Rose Bowl game, now destined to being nicknamed “the Buffalo Bills of college football.” As with both the 2011 and 2012 editions, the Badgers had a chance to win a Rose Bowl title on the game’s final possession, only to see their hopes crushed when redshirt junior Stanford cornerback Usua Amanam intercepted UW redshirt senior quarterback Curt Phillips with just 2:03 left.
PASADENA, Calif.—Wisconsin (4-4 Big Ten, 8-5 overall) head coach Barry Alvarez will take the field one last time Tuesday in an attempt to protect his unscathed Rose Bowl resume against No. 6 Stanford (8-1 Pac 12, 11-2).
PASADENA, Calif.—With just over two hours before kickoff at the Rose Bowl, here are some pre-game notes about Wisconsin and Stanford.
PASADENA, Calif.—When the Wisconsin football team meets No. 6 Stanford in the 99th Rose Bowl later this afternoon, there appear to be more known qualities about the matchup. The Badgers’ opponent is not a little-tested but very talented Texas Christian team or an exotic, high-powered Oregon attack. This is power against power. Strength against strength. Each team relies on fundamentals to power stout front-sevens on defense. Each team has an offense built around a cornerstone talent at running back—Montee Ball for UW and Stepfan Taylor for Stanford (11-2).
LOS ANGELES—Stanford head coach David Shaw addressed the media Saturday morning at LA Hotel Downtown and praised his freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan and junior tight end Zach Ertz.
LOS ANGELES—Saturday morning, Stanford and Wisconsin players and coaches participated in the Rose Bowl’s media day, giving reporters access to everybody on both rosters. Here are some quick bits and pieces from both teams. Wisconsin’s practice and media availability scheduled for this afternoon has been cancelled, likely because it has rained all morning here. Look for more Daily Cardinal coverage this evening and leading up to kickoff Tuesday afternoon.
New Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen had to do some thinking when interviewed by a couple of athletic directors over the past few weeks while still with Utah State.
University of Wisconsin Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez announced Thursday the Badger football program has hired former Utah State head coach Gary Andersen to the same position at Wisconsin.
Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin’s Director of Athletics and head coach for the upcoming Rose Bowl game against Stanford, met with the media Sunday after practice and assured everyone that the Wisconsin football team is not in panic mode.
Ball sets all-time touchdown record against Penn State
The 99th Rose Bowl game kicks off at 2 p.m. (pst), but there’s much more to be had in the Pasadena, Los Angeles and Santa Monica areas than the 60 minutes of football Jan. 1. While none of these gigs will likely top the main event, we’d like to suggest a few things to do for those trekking west to watch the Badgers face Stanford.
The Wisconsin football team conducted practice without Bret Bielema at the helm of the program for the first time in seven years Saturday afternoon. With Barry Alvarez adding interim head coaching duties to his standing duties as the school’s director of athletics, the energy level appeared to be high throughout.
If it was not for a meeting put together by team captains following the news that former head coach Bret Bielema had bolted to Arkansas, Barry Alvarez would still be carrying out normal duties of Director of Athletics and searching for a new head football coach. Now, Alvarez’s next month will be even busier.
Bret Bielema’s seven-year tenure as the Wisconsin football team’s head coach came to a sudden, unexpected end Tuesday when he was hired by the Arkansas Razorbacks, throwing the UW program into a state of turmoil four weeks before the Badgers face Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
UPDATE: UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez has issued a press release stating:
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