Coming full circle: Senior running back Montee Ball eyes NCAA record on Senior Day
By Parker Gabriel | Nov. 15, 2012Montee Ball’s run to this point started out of necessity more than anything.
Montee Ball’s run to this point started out of necessity more than anything.
The Wisconsin football team (4-2 Big Ten, 7-3 overall) has proved more than ever this season that it lives and dies by one simple fact: if the team can’t establish a run game, ugly results ensue.
Men’s Cross Country
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—On an afternoon that featured feel-good stories and falling records, one fact carries more weight with the Wisconsin football team than any other.
I, like all Badger fans must be, am extremely happy with the outcome of Saturday’s game against Indiana. And who would not be?
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Wisconsin’s (4-2 Big Ten, 7-3 overall) rushing attack made redshirt senior quarterback Curt Phillips’ first start of his career and first time seeing live action since 2009 about as easy as it gets Saturday against Indiana (2-4, 4-6).
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—On an afternoon that featured feel-good stories and falling records, one fact carries more weight with the Wisconsin football team than any other.
When the Wisconsin football team (3-2 Big Ten, 6-3 overall) kicks off a de facto division title game in Bloomington, Ind., Saturday, it will have its third starting quarterback of the season under center.
The Indiana offense leads the Big Ten in passing attempts (381) and passing yards per game (299.9). It is tied for second in the league with 19 passing touchdowns and third in scoring (33.1 points per game). Yet the Hoosiers (2-3 Big Ten, 4-5 overall) rank dead last in the conference in time of possession, averaging just 27:13 per game.
If senior running back Montee Ball gets even remotely close to replicating the numbers this month he put up the past two Novembers, the Badgers’ remaining opponents better brace themselves.
Injured Wisconsin redshirt freshman quarterback Joel Stave made it clear Monday that he is not pushing a comeback in any way, despite his status for the team’s bowl game still being up in the air.
While the Wisconsin offense lit up the scoreboard this weekend against Minnesota State, the defense seems to be hitting their stride after getting off to a slow start to the season. Dating back to the final game against New Hampshire, they have been lights out, allowing minimal shots on goal and have held a shutout for the past 130 minutes.
In the Wisconsin football team’s ninth game last season, it lost a heartbreaker in Columbus, Ohio. Not only did freshman quarterback Braxton Miller throw the game-winning touchdown with 40 seconds left, but the Badgers had lost on a Hail Mary just seven days earlier to Michigan State.
Wisconsin (3-2 Big Ten, 6-3 overall) lost more than just a game Saturday against Michigan State (2-3, 5-4), as redshirt freshman quarterback Joel Stave is expected to miss eight weeks with a broken clavicle.
Low-scoring football games are often referred to either as defensive slugfests or just plain ugly. Most of the time, the beauty—or lack thereof—is in the eye of the beholder.
Wisconsin’s (3-2 Big Ten, 6-3 overall) defense was playing at its best level all season until the last drive of regulation for Michigan State (1-3, 5-4), which ultimately snapped the Badgers’ 21-game home winning streak.
In 2010, Wisconsin (3-1 Big Ten, 6-2 overall) lost to Michigan State (1-3, 4-4) 34-24 away from home in an otherwise regular road game. Last year however, the Badgers were forced to play in East Lansing again, thanks to the scheduling adjustments made after Nebraska was added to the conference.
Once every year, two newspapers battle on a field of mud, sweat and more than occasionally blood and (Herald) tears. Such will be the case when The Daily Cardinal faces off Friday against its long-time rival, The Badger Herald, in their annual flag football game.
As different variations of the spread offense stretch to all corners of the college football landscape, the Wisconsin offense has the luxury of tuning out all the change.
No matter what sport they play, it is important for players on a team to have trust in one another. It is especially the case in football, in which all 11 players must be on the same page at the same time to be successful.