Big Ten 2010 // Wisconsin Spring Field Guide
by Graham Filler on May 3, 2010 8:07 AM CDT
in Wisconsin
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PrintTonight at the bar, conversation was steered by a former Badger who wanted to discuss the majesty of Madison. No one argued with him, because honestly - 80 bars, ice fishing, relaxed people, and great football atmosphere equals one America's best college experiences. Welcome to Badger Week on TRE!
EIGHTH IN A SERIES: THE WISCONSIN SPRING FIELD GUIDE
Wisconsin at a glance...
First Season: 1889
Head Coach: Bret Bielema (4th Year, 38-14, .730 winning percentage)
All-Time Record: 614-465-53 (.565)
2009 Record: 10-3 (5-3 Conference)
Offseason Cliff Notes...
At TRE, we had been hotseating Bielema all the way up to September 2009, when our babble was halted by an impressive 5-0 start. With Scott Tolzien bringing much needed stability to a nuanced and effective passing attack, the Badgers played above expectations and then physically dismantled a speedy Miami team in the Champs Sports Bowl.
With an impressive array of veterans returning at skill positions, Wisconsin is primed for 2010 success. John Clay, out for the Spring with injuries, will handle the rushing load. And if he can't? No problem, as the Badgers feature two other powerful backs to contribute immediately. With Tolzien and some star defenders returning, it's no shame to admit you're fearful of what a suddenly well-coached and seasoned Badger team can do.
Now philosophically, Wisconsin is still a "run to set up the pass team." And Wisky can do that when, year after year, their offensive line reloads so well. These young men, almost always weighing 315 lbs and up, buy into the system early and are molded into bulldozing blockers. But as last year's smashing of Miami exhibited, the Badgers can pass to set up the run. Tolzien throws an accurate ball (remember Tressel and the OSU Defense giving him plaudits for his gutsy throwing in the midst of Buckeye pressure?) and Bielema has incorporated end-around fakes and sit down routes into the passing game seamlessly.
Can they take "the step" this year into a BCS Bowl contender? With returning starters galore and a manageable schedule, that "step" doesn't seem like a pipe dream.
In the cupboard...
Total Returning Starters: 18 (10 Offense, 8 Defense)
I believe the Badgers return the most starters of any Big Ten team.
O'Brien Schofield, so dominant during 2009, has rightfully been picked up by an NFL team. Don't worry about it...Forget about it. Frosh of the Year Chris Borland, a whirling dervish of a linebacker, will do his best to continue bringing the devastating pressure which slowed many of Wisconsin's opponents in 2009. He's going to get help from my favorite Big Ten player, defensive lineman JJ Watt. The story behind Watt is this: 210 lbs out of high school, he began his career at Central Michigan. Between the time he transferred from CMU to Madison, he's put on 75 pounds and turned into an absolute high motor killer. 4.5 sacks last year and enough "who was that guy" plays make him a probable All-Big Ten selection.
On the offensive side of the ball, Tolzien will lead battle-tested offensive linemen onto the field along with the 2009 Big Ten offensive player of the year, John Clay. Bielema let his offensive imagination run wild (especially for a Badger coach) last year, but it's all because a) he trusts his signalcaller and b) the O-Line could hold their blocks for longer pass patterns.
$60,000 Questions
1. Will Wisconsin survive the back-to-back OSU/Iowa matchups? Can they match the presumed physicality which we know the Bucks and Hawks will bring?
2. Should we be talking BCS bowl for the Badgers?
3. Will the numerous injuries suffered in the offseason make the Badgers get off to a slow start? Or will John Clay's relaxed Spring, full of PS3 and rehab, make him want to work harder come August?
The Road Ahead...
2010 Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 9/4/2010 | @UNLV |
| 9/11/2010 | San Jose State |
| 9/18/2010 | Arizona State |
| 9/25/2010 | Austin Peay |
| 10/2/2010 | @Michigan State |
| 10/9/2010 | Minnesota |
| 10/23/2010 | Ohio State |
| 10/30/2010 | @Iowa |
| 11/06/2010 | @Purdue |
| 11/13/2010 | Indiana |
| 11/20/2010 | @Michigan |
| 11/27/2010 | Northwestern |
This week...
MONDAY: Spring Field Guide
TUESDAY: Wisconsin's Achilles Heel
WEDNESDAY: Wisconsin's Greatest Strength
THURSDAY: MVP Profile -
FRIDAY: Keeping the Enemy Close
***
More Big Ten 2010...
Indiana | Michigan | Illinois | Minnesota | Purdue | Michigan State | Northwestern
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You should add this $60,000 question
Will Hilary travel to Madison for the Nov. 2nd Wildcats-Badgers game?
The Rivalry, Esq. - Judging the Big 10 since 2008
you damn well better go and wear one of those half jerseys
by Graham Filler on May 3, 2010 9:47 AM CDT up reply actions
Yet another $60,000 question
where is “Arizone State”? Talk about a creampuff schedule.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 3, 2010 1:35 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm all for them
as long as they don’t beat the Hell out of Iowa the way Arizona State did they last time they faced off.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 3, 2010 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions
That was one of the most baffling games (and most baffling seasons) ever.
ASU went nowhere, Iowa went to the Capital One Bowl. Wisconsin was 9-0, then Anthony Davis suffered a bruised ego and Wisconsin could not convert any plays inside the opponent’s 5 yard line. 2004 Wisconsin bombed out of the season like 99 Penn State (loss to Minnesota, loss to Michigan, loss to Michigan State), losing to Georgia in the bowl game to close out a promising season that went to hell in Kinnick Stadium.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on May 3, 2010 3:51 PM CDT up reply actions
Not to forget
The infamous 6-4 Iowa-Penn State game.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on May 3, 2010 4:06 PM CDT up reply actions
You need some schooling here
The infamous 6-4 Iowa-Penn State fuck-you-safety game.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 4, 2010 3:19 AM CDT up reply actions
I think it went to hell the week before...
when they got stomped, 49-14, in East Lansing. Iowa just kicked dirt on the grave.
Like so many games that year, that game was all about the Iowa defense keeping things under control until the offense could stop getting out of its way long enough to do some good things. I remember Tate being miserable for most of the first half. But once he finally got things rolling, it became a rout and the defense just crushed Wisco into dust in the second half.
ASU was just a weird, weird game. Nothing went right for Iowa in that one. It was Tate’s first road game and he struggled badly. And the defense just got dissected; one of the worst performances by a really good defense you’ll ever see. (Although they were prone to giving up big plays in the passing game at times; see the Capital One Bowl later that year, when they made JaMarcus Russell look brilliant.) From what I’ve heard after the fact, that was also a game where Iowa’s prep wasn’t as good as it should have been — and ASU was chomping at the bit to exact some revenge after getting schooled 21-2 in Kinnick the year before.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I still maintain it was two things;
From what I’ve heard after the fact, that was also a game where Iowa’s prep wasn’t as good as it should have been — and ASU was chomping at the bit to exact some revenge after getting schooled 21-2 in Kinnick the year before.
Yes, and also because of the storm that delayed the game it was like eleven fucking o’clock in IC when the thing started!
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 4, 2010 11:01 AM CDT up reply actions
Yep.
I remember watching that game back in IC. That was a very long and very miserable evening. Had you told me that season would somehow end with an eight-game winning streak, a Big Ten title, and a heroic, miraculous finish in the Capital One Bowl… I would have asked you to pass the acid.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
2009 Wisconsin - Iowa game video
I had to upload it on Dailymotion instead of Youtube because of the songs I used:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xavan9_iowa-hawkeyes-vs-wisconsin-badgers_sport
Make sure HQ is selected or its way too grainy.
The Iowa-Wisconsin game is usually one of my favorites each season. Its like fighting your twin brother.
Its like fighting your twin brother.
So true, I’m always pleased to see an Iowa/Wiscy game played because I know I’m gonna see smashmouth football on both sides of the ball. Makes me all giddy, ya know.
Master of the convoluted IOWA cheers!
by EnergizerHawk on May 3, 2010 9:01 PM CDT up reply actions
As a Northwestern fan...
…I’d say Iowa-Wisconsin is like watching our little twin brothers fight…..
That's just like me and my own little brothers;
I can still take either of them down and yet am nowhere near as successful as either one. A perfect analogy.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 4, 2010 11:03 AM CDT up reply actions
At least the scheduler won't be fired.
A late season game against Michigan on the road could be heartrending (and it flips both ways, Wisconsin could win, tearing Michigan fans’ hearts into tiny pieces just before Ohio State, or lose, tearing Wisconsin fans’ hearts into even tinier pieces).
And this year, if Wisconsin loses to Minnesota (somehow), fire Bret Bielema. ON THE SPOT. The Gophers are going to keep Bret in his seat that’s as hot as nuclear fission, though. Srsly.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on May 3, 2010 11:53 AM CDT reply actions
Losing to Iowa for the third year in a row would not bode well for anyone's job.
Unless you’re Tim Brewster, in which case, it’s assumed…
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on May 3, 2010 11:59 AM CDT up reply actions
Whoops! You wrote "Tim Brewster"
where you meant to write “Joe Paterno”…
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 3, 2010 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions
No, Joe Pa's quite secure in his reign...
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on May 3, 2010 3:46 PM CDT up reply actions
No matter how many times he loses to Iowa and Ohio State...
I think Kirk Ferentz could be the next Joe Paterno if he chooses permanent loyalty to the Hawkeyes. And why not?
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on May 3, 2010 3:47 PM CDT up reply actions
I think Fitz
is the next JoePa in terms of school longevity.
The Rivalry, Esq. - Judging the Big 10 since 2008
And I see him
as George Welsh in terms of ceiling.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on May 4, 2010 3:27 AM CDT up reply actions
Perhaps.
Although Ferentz is highly unlikely to coach Iowa for 44 years. I don’t see him as the sort to coach into his 80s. In terms of staying loyal to one school, though — yeah. It seems massively unlikely that he would ever go to another college and a jump to the pros seems less and less likely with each passing year.
In terms of loyalty + longevity, I agree with hmlee that Fitzgerald is likely to be the next JoePa. They’ll never fire him unless (a) there’s a scandal (which seems unthinkable, although the same could have been said about JoePa too and he had his own little road rage kerfluffle) or (b) they just really, really go in the tank as a program (which also seems unlikely, sadly). I think he’d only ever leave if (a) he felt he’d accomplished all he could at Northwestern (winning a Rose Bowl? a national title?) or (b) he became frustrated at the inability to do so because of the (relative) lack of resources and admissions challenges and whatnot. Then again, who knows — maybe the Bears get desperate in a few years and make him a godfather offer…
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Good luck with that,
and as has been noted, JoePa seems to be doing pretty well for himself despite Iowa beating his boys like a drum over the past decade. But maybe you’re right, Barry A did lose his last four games against Iowa.
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