For the first time since 1960, three Big Ten teams are in the top 5 of the AP poll. Say it together: “We’re the SEC now.” 1.
In the third season of the NCAA’s College Football Playoff format, the same narratives seem to persist each season; namely, that no one can predict what will happen and, no matter what, there will be controversy surrounding who the CFP Committee selects to play for a national championship. With only one week left in the regular season, the Big Ten—with four teams that could potentially make the Playoff—has exemplified this whirlwind of unpredictability and potential controversy.
Week 12 of college football has come and gone, and the annual matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Gophers is finally upon us.
Vince Biegel’s mullet may say something about business in the front and party in the back, but when the senior outside linebacker jogs out into his last game at Camp Randall Stadium, it will be purely business––just like it’s been the last four years. The foot injury that sidelined Biegel during his first year in Madison proved too debilitating, forcing the then-true freshman to request a medical redshirt.
Wisconsin: Solidify O-Line, gain confidence in run game Casual commentators have frequently remarked on Wisconsin’s rejuvenated rushing attack in the past several weeks.
Who will win the Big Ten? Ethan Levy: Wisconsin will win the Big Ten this year.
Sports editor Bobby Ehrlich talks with football writers Lorin Cox and Andrew Tucker discuss the Badgers' final regular season game.
The Badgers would have liked to leave Milwaukee and enter the upcoming UNLV tournament on a high note, but Milwaukee had other plans. Behind the strong play of junior guard Jenny Lindner and senior guard Sierra Ford-Washington, the Panthers (3-1) were able to dismantle Wisconsin (1-4) fairly easily by a score of 80-63. Lindner finished the night with 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting.
As the 2016 regular season winds down and the NCAA Tournament looms near, the Wisconsin Badgers are playing about as well as they could have hoped. After earning a pair of resounding wins at home this past weekend, Wisconsin (16-2 Big Ten, 24-3 overall) heads into its regular season finale on a tear.
Before the season started, it seemed clear that Wisconsin’s linebacker corps would be the strength, not just of the defense, but of the entire team.
Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, and for the Wisconsin women’s hockey team (10-1-1 WCHA, 12-1-1 overall) this weekend, what they were missing this weekend was their superstar goaltender. Playing their first game without senior goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens, who was sidelined with an upper body injury, the Badgers fell to No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth (7-3-2, 8-3-3) by a score of 4-1 on Friday for their first regulation loss of the season. Starting in Desbiens’ place, freshman Nikki Cece made 26 saves, but her performance was not enough on a night where the offense struggled to convert on numerous early chances.
For a second straight week, I’ll take most of this time to discuss the bigger picture of Wisconsin’s season rather than focus heavily on the most recent game. The Badgers’ 49-20 victory was exactly what you’d hope to see out of a team that’s fighting for a spot in the College Football Playoff against a significantly inferior opponent.
While the Wisconsin women’s soccer team (5-2-4 Big Ten, 9-5-8 overall) didn’t wind up with the result it was hoping for against the No. 9-seed Florida Gators (8-3-0 SEC, 17-5-1 overall), the Badgers will come back to Madison with nothing to hang their heads about. After receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, taking care of Marquette at home in the first round and ultimately getting eliminated by the Florida Gators, Wisconsin’s season is officially over. The Badgers took Florida into double overtime before the Gators put the game away on a goal in the 106th minute, courtesy of senior forward Brooke Sharp.
After suffering a plague of closeout mishaps and blowout losses to open the season, the Wisconsin Badgers scratched and clawed their way to a win Sunday evening.
The Badgers have a long history of scheduling brutal matchups in the early-goings of their seasons, and 2016 is no exception as they have a potentially hellacious slew of opponents waiting in the wings out west at the Maui Invitational. No. 9 Wisconsin’s (2-1) first matchup should be a relative cakewalk Monday against the Tennessee Volunteers (1-1), which is in just its second season under head coach Rick Barnes.
Much like polls for presidential elections, the hockey rankings don’t mean much, especially for the Badgers this early in the season.
While the Badger defense dominated early in the frigid wind, holding the Purdue Boilermakers to just three points in the first quarter, the offense started up like an old jalopy on a cold winter’s morning.
Wisconsin, who has shown the ability to play dominant hockey, especially offensively, has struggled to assert their dominance early.
The No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (13-2 Big Ten, 23-3 overall) made a statement with their dominating performance against No. 18 Michigan (10-7, 21-8), after almost losing to them earlier in the season. The first set didn’t start how the Badgers would have liked, with them giving up three early points, but they quickly bounced back and had a four-point run of their own.
In this week's podcast, host Bobby Ehrlich talks football with beat writer Lorin Cox. Cox believes that Wisconsin can make the College Football Playoff if they win out, but that it doesn't really matter because Alabama will run away with the title.
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