Despite heroics, special teams still suspect
By Molly Reppen and Jake Powers | Oct. 15, 2015There’s no question that Rafael Gaglianone deserves an enormous amount of credit for Wisconsin’s 23-21 win over Nebraska last Saturday.
There’s no question that Rafael Gaglianone deserves an enormous amount of credit for Wisconsin’s 23-21 win over Nebraska last Saturday.
Wisconsin’s long-standing tradition of offensive dominance is well documented. A wildly successful lineage of running backs and offensive linemen have accounted for the vast majority of the Badgers’ success.
After losing a close five-set match with the Minnesota Gophers Wednesday in Madison, No. 15 Wisconsin (4-3 Big Ten, 12-5 overall) will be looking to earn a victory this upcoming Saturday to earn a split with its rival, No. 11 Minnesota (6-1, 14-3).
After their latest underwhelming victory, Michigan State has fallen from its perch in the Big Ten power rankings. A big week lies ahead for the conference, as four of the teams in this week’s power rankings square off against one another.
1. Gaglianone the great?
What a wild week of college football. Of the 20 ranked teams that played this week, five won by just one score and three more lost to unranked teams. No. 10 Alabama struggled mightily against 2-4 Arkansas before pulling away in the fourth quarter, while No. 1 Ohio State got everything they could handle from Maryland.
In a back and forth thriller, No. 15 Wisconsin (4-3 Big Ten, 12-5 overall) fell in five sets to No. 11 Minnesota (6-2, 14-3), 25-11, 24-26, 16-25, 26-24, 11-15 Wednesday at the UW Field House. “It was one heck of a game,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said.
This Sunday will mark the 12-year anniversary of the last time Purdue (0-2 Big Ten, 1-5 overall) beat Wisconsin (1-1, 4-2). It isn’t easy to find many people who think that streak will end when the two teams play Saturday. The Boilermakers’ season has been a bit of a mess, as their only win came Week 2 against the Indiana State Sycamores, and despite giving Michigan State a scare in their fifth game, their 13-41 loss to Minnesota last week was a microcosm of their season as a whole.
After an easy sweep of Ohio State last weekend, the No. 2 Badgers (2-0 WCHA, 5-0 overall) travel to St.
Although Wisconsin started a three-game road trip Wednesday night, one Badger felt right at home. Early into the second overtime period, sophomore forward and St. Louis native Tom Barlow sent in the game-winner for Wisconsin (1-1-2 Big Ten, 3-8-2 overall) against the St. Louis Bilikens (0-1-2 Atlantic 10, 4-5-2 overall).
Returning home, the Badgers will face off against Michigan and Michigan State this weekend, seeking win No. 6 and No. 7 to extend their five-game winning streak.
No. 15 Wisconsin (4-2 Big Ten, 12-4 overall) takes on rival No. 11 Minnesota (5-1, 13-3) in part one of this year’s Border Battle Wednesday night, a match that has major implications in the Big Ten standings. “It’s kind of an interesting week in front of us,” said UW head coach Kelly Sheffield.
Having finally earned their first point at home thanks to a 0-0 draw against Michigan St., the Badgers (1-1-2 Big Ten, 2-8-2 overall) will now head back out on a three-game road trip starting in St.
With the retirement of Steve Spurrier, college football is losing a one-of-a-kind personality and one of the sport’s greatest coaches.
Cross Country The Badgers are gearing up for an exciting weekend, as they host the Adidas Invitational at the Zimmer Championship Course in Verona, where the team regularly trains.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Intercollegiate Athletics announced Monday it will be partnering with other campus departments in the nationwide “It’s On Us” sexual assault prevention and awareness campaign.
For two historically great programs, it is surprisingly surprising that Michigan and Florida are having the kind of success that they are this season. After spending the last few seasons in a dungeon of mediocrity, coaching changes at each school have thus far brought back the kind of winning and dominance generally associated with each program. However, most experts or random college columnist such as myself, did not see this kind of progress coming so quickly, as both teams were left out of both preseason polls, and many predicted it would take at least a couple years to return back to relevance. Yet, maybe we really should have seen the turnaround Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines and Jim McElwain’s Gators are in the midst of this year, as there were plenty of potential signs that pointed in that direction for each program.
The No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (2-0-0 WCHA, 4-0-0 overall) continued their hot start to the season, as they pummeled Ohio State (0-2-0, 2-2-0) 8-0 Sunday afternoon, completing the two-game sweep to open conference play. outscoring OSU by a combined score of 15-0 between the two games.
What started as a three-game winning streak playing at home for the Badgers has progressed to dominating on the road, with Wisconsin (5-1-1 Big Ten, 8-4-3 overall) crushing Nebraska (1-4-2, 5-6-2) 3-0 Sunday afternoon.
Going into noisy, hostile and even wet environments didn’t seem to phase Wisconsin (4-2 Big Ten, 12-4 overall) as the Badgers extended their conference win streak to four by sweeping Rutgers (0-6, 3-15) and Maryland (0-6, 10-10) this weekend. The Badgers faced Rutgers first Friday in New Brunswick, N.J.