When Bill Snyder ran the “Wildcat” offense at Kansas State in the late 1990s, the name made sense. After all, they are the Wildcats.
Conventional wisdom would say that 121 meetings between two opponents would be enough to settle a score.
In 2004, this would not have even been a question.
In what was the Wisconsin football team’s (2-1 Big Ten, 5-2 overall) best performance of the season Saturday, the Badgers seemed to find what was missing offensively in the team’s shakey start to the season.
Fresh off a road win that many have deemed Wisconsin’s (2-1 Big Ten, 5-2 overall) breakout game, head coach Bret Bielema addressed the Badgers’ recent offensive improvements at his Monday press conference.
The Badgers have all but booked their trip to Indianapolis with a dominating 38-14 road win at Purdue Saturday. Of the eligible teams in the Leaders Division, Wisconsin controls a two-game lead in the standings and is the only team to win a conference game so far this season.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.—Merely three weeks ago, Wisconsin (2-1 Big Ten, 5-2 overall) senior running back Montee Ball’s chances at breaking the NCAA touchdown record seemed questionable, the team’s chance at returning to Indianapolis seemed equally bleak and its offensive identity was essentially non-existent.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.—Considering the way the Badgers have run the ball this season, their opening drive Saturday was noteworthy. Wisconsin (2-1 Big Ten, 4-2 overall) matched an early Purdue touchdown by marching 75 yards in five plays, including two rushes for 21 yards and three effective play-action-passes. Absent from the whole drive: senior running back Montee Ball.
Wisconsin (1-1 Big Ten, 4-2 overall) will need to add onto its most complete performance last weekend against Illinois if it wants to defeat Purdue (0-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) and remain the favorite to represent the Leaders Division in the Big Ten Championship game Dec. 1.
It’s never easy standing out on a defense that includes redshirt junior linebacker Chris Borland and redshirt senior linebacker Mike Taylor. It’s even harder when that same defense involves a smothering front four that has held opposing rushers to just 3.5 yards per carry.
It is hard to underestimate how much redshirt junior wide receiver Jared Abbrederis means to the Badgers’ offense this year.
After letting a 17-point lead evaporate last weekend against Nebraska, the Wisconsin Badgers football team (1-1 Big Ten, 4-2 overall) had put itself in a must-win situation as it came into its Big Ten home opener Saturday against Illinois (0-2 Big Ten, 2-4 overall).
Just five days after Nebraska’s second-half comeback left the Badgers reeling, Wisconsin is looking to regain some of the bravado that put it on the map as a perennial Big Ten contender and catapulted it to two consecutive Rose Bowl Games.
The Wisconsin Badgers football team (0-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) suddenly has another mantra besides the “1-0” approach to add to its arsenal.
LINCOLN, Neb.—Wisconsin (0-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) let an ugly offensive line and run game performance taint what was perhaps the best half of football the Badgers have played all season.
Defense wins championships. This antiquated cliché and go-to slogan for mediocre sports commentators is believed to still be relevant in today’s NCAA, but if you watched any college football last weekend, you saw that offense has taken over.
As a sports fan, it’s much easier to look at things from a glass-half-full perspective when discerning the prospects of the ongoing season. Fans of this year’s Wisconsin football team (0-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) can take a lesson in optimism from head coach Bret Bielema, who gave off a heavy dose of good vibes at his weekly Monday press conference following a crushing 30-27 defeat to No. 22 Nebraska (1-0, 4-1) Saturday.
LINCOLN, Neb.—The Badgers struggled in short-yardage situations throughout the non-conference season. Saturday night, against No. 22 Nebraska (1-0 Big Ten, 4-1 overall), it cost Wisconsin a chance to win its Big Ten opener.
Saturday night’s tilt at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb. will feature two of the best running backs in the country. ??Each is still looking to get in a real groove for the first time in 2012.
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Solutions by The State News
