Defense wins championships. It’s an old adage, but one that has withstood the test of time. Over the past decade, ignoring Auburn’s sieve of a defense in 2010, NCAA Championship teams have had, on average, the fifth-best defense in the country.
All throughout preparation during Iowa week, the idea repeated ad nauseam was that the Big Ten is all about physical football.
When the Badgers pour out of the tunnel on game day, they’re met by a mix of cheers from the tens of thousands of fans who fill the stadium and the blare of the band leading them in with the school song.
In movies and TV shows, high schools often feature two stereotypes: band nerds and jocks. Dan Voltz would have been the character that defies the societal norms, a Troy Bolton-esque protagonist that excels athletically and musically. Maybe he’s not exactly like Zac Efron’s character from “High School Musical,” but Voltz has a love for both music and football.
The first full week of conference action is in the books for the Big Ten, and everybody has been left with a whole slew of new questions regarding the state of the conference.
With nine minutes left in the third quarter, No. 1 Ohio State, the defending national champions, found itself trailing Indiana 10-6.
Before Hall of Famer Barry Alvarez built the football house known as Camp Randall, he was a Cornhusker. In fact, Alvarez was the leading tackler for Nebraska during the 1967 season in Lincoln. Alvarez credits much of his success building the Wisconsin football program to the practices and values that he learned in his time at Nebraska.
Wisconsin’s senior tight end Austin Traylor, who expanded his role in the offense this season, will be out 4-8 weeks with a right arm injury, as first reported Thursday morning by the Wisconsin State Journal’s Jason Galloway. Traylor left in the second half of UW’s 10-6 loss to Iowa last Saturday and did not return. Traylor entered the year with only three career receptions, but this season he had caught ten before his injury.
Coming off a strong performance in a road conference battle, the Badgers (1-1-1 Big Ten, 2-8-1 overall) came back home to once again struggle to find the back of the net.
Wisconsin (2-2 Big Ten, 10-4 overall) looks to build on its last two consecutive wins, which included a 3-0 sweep of Northwestern last Sunday, as it faces Rutgers (0-4, 3-13) and Maryland (0-4,10-8) Friday and Saturday. “We’re heading out to the East coast this weekend to play Rutgers and Maryland,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said at a Monday press conference.
With three Big Ten Conference home victories under their belt, the Badgers hope to continue their winning streak on the road against Iowa (0-4-1 Big Ten, 6-5-1 overall) and Nebraska (1-2-2, 5-4-2) this weekend.
When a football game is described as a battle in the trenches, usually it refers to ground and pound football that is won and lost based on which team’s line can get the stronger push up front. When Wisconsin (0-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) takes on Nebraska (0-1, 2-3) this weekend, it won’t be a traditional trench war, but the game will hinge on the performances of both team’s big men on the line of scrimmage.
It’s an overcast Sunday morning in Madison’s Brittingham Park. Out of the calm atmosphere comes a loud, “Brooms up!” Two hordes of college students charge each other at full speed with narrow PVC pipes between their legs. Dodgeballs whiz through the air. Juking out opponents left and right, one player throws a volleyball through a large hoop as his team celebrates their score.
Playing sports is a crucial component to the childhood of countless people, a source for wonderful memories throughout one’s youth.
Earlier in the young college football season, UCLA standout linebacker Myles Jack suffered a knee injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season. Today, he made the call to declare himself for the 2016 NFL draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility. Myles Jack made the right call, and it should be a call that every other standout underclassmen football player should take into consideration thanks to a ridiculous NFL rule.
Women’s Hockey
When the NBA regular season opens in three weeks, Milwaukee Bucks small forward Marcus Landry hopes to join an exclusive group of NBA players that includes Wilt Chamberlain, Derrick Rose, Bernard King and Carmelo Anthony among other notables.
No. 3 Wisconsin’s quest for its first national championship since 2011 got off to a scintillating start this past weekend, as the Badgers notched a pair of convincing victories against the Providence Friars.
After an exciting victory against No. 7 Illinois on Wednesday, No. 19 Wisconsin (2-2 Big Ten, 10-4 overall) stormed past Northwestern (2-2, 10-5) to win its 11th consecutive Big Ten match at home in three sets 25-20, 25- 16, 25-19. “Attack errors are down a little bit more from where we’ve been this year,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said.
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