Weekly Musings...

The UW Athletic Dept. denied any connection to the proposition to play UNLV at Lambeau next year. Vince Sweeney attributed it to a 3rd party.

'"Contrary to published reports, at no time has the UW Athletic Department had conversations with UNLV officials regarding moving our 2007 game to Lambeau Field. . . . We have confirmed that UNLV officials were approached by a third party about moving our game, but that contact was done without our knowledge and without our involvement," the school said in a statement. "We can assure you that we will be playing that game in Las Vegas as scheduled."'

Huh?

The reports on Stocco's status for tomorrow are all over the place. He apparently practiced yesterday and threw the last pass of the day, a weekly ritual, to an OL. Bielema contends this will be a gameday decision. Unless this was his only activity of the day, I can't imagine him not playing as the coaches would not risk his health for the balance of the season unless they intended to start him Saturday.

Time for this week's prediction. Regardless of Stocco's status, this is a low-scoring affair. UW's defense proved its meddle the last six quarters, and Iowa's performances against the Badgers during the Ferentz era cement this fact. Drew Tate played poorly last week against an inferior NW defense, so I can't see him improving much against Bucky's more formidable front. Iowa is always well-coached on both sides of the ball, including special teams, so the mistakes of the past couple of weeks cannot be replicated on the road! The running game is key in any defensive battle, and with Stocco's health in question, PJ Hill shoulders a larger burden. He'll find holes against the Hawkeyes. Should UW clamp down on Iowa's RBs, Bucky prevails in a 16-10 contest.

Badger Football at Lambeau?

UNLV declined two offers for a 2007 game, and logistical barriers make it unlikely, but the prospect is enticing nonetheless.

Conference Champs?

Chicago Sun-Times writer Herb Gould thinks so. Bucky is picked to win the Big Ten Basketball title, followed by OSU's "Thad Five," Indiana, Illinois, and Purdue. Sparty is listed at #8, and it absolutely breaks my heart to see Haluska and the Hawkeyes at #9. I wonder if Alford regrets backing out of consideration for the job in Bloomington.

Jordan Taylor Joins 2008 Recruiting Class

According to the JS:

"When Jordan Taylor, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Benilde St. Margaret High School in suburban Minneapolis, committed to the Badgers' class of 2008, he bypassed the opportunity to raise his stock with a strong junior season.

"It was the right fit so there was no point in waiting," said Taylor, who was offered a scholarship by UW two weeks ago.

Taylor had offers from several mid-major programs. Also, Minnesota showed a lot of interest but Taylor said the coaches there told him their priority for the 2008 class was big men."

Stocco Update

The Badger QB apparently attended practice and participated in some drills yesterday, but Coach Bielema reiterated the fact that a decision won't be made until later in the week. Paul Hubbard predicted that his offensive teammates will step up their respective games on Saturday if Tyler Donovan is forced to assume the reigns. Donovan was recruited by Iowa as an All-American out of Hartland Arrowhead HS.

To Redshirt or Not to Redshirt

6 foot 11 freshman center J.P. Gavinski faces a decision whether or not to redshirt this season.

Under NCAA rules, if a player plays in any game other than the two exhibitions, he will be deemed to have used his eligibility for the season. One only has to think back two years when current junior center Greg Stiemsma decided to not redshirt but barely played, thus wasting a year of eligibility.

With UW returning starting center Jason Chappell, starting power forward Brian Butch as well as junior center Greg Stiemsma and sophomore forwards Marcus Landry, Kevin Gullikson and Joe Krabbenhoft, I think the decision would be easy to make. There simply isn't going to be any playing time for Gavinski. There is only 80 minutes of playing time per game available between the power forward and center positions and there are already 6 players ahead of Gavinski for playing time at those positions.


Gavinski should spend the year getting stronger and getting better working against the Badgers' big men in practice. However, Gavinski will have to swallow his pride and admit he is not ready to play this year, which is tough to do for any top recruit.

Update from the WSJ on 11/10/06: J.P. Gavinski maintained that playing time was going to be the determining factor in his decision to redshirt for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team. And with little in sight, the freshman forward/ center said Thursday he would sit out the Badgers' upcoming season and begin his four seasons of eligibility beginning in 2007-08.

Two Hand Touch?

While Barry Alvarez applauded BB's clock-killing scheme at the end of the first half, espn.com's Rod Gilmore (a third rate play-by-play analyst) declared Bielema's strategy "unsportsmanlike and totally indifferent to unnecessarily exposing Wisconsin and Penn State players to additional harm."

I understand football is a violent game, but I think Gilmore is a little over the top with his comments. PSU could have declined the first penalty and the officials could have given the Badgers an unsportsmanlike conduct. In addition, an injury could happen on any play, so under Gilmore's reasoning maybe the rules should be changed so that all penalties do not result in a replay of down.

Bucky in the Final Four?

Two of three SI experts place Wisconsin in the Final Four, though none has us winning our first national championship since the start of WWII. Ohio State's preseason ranking is also scrutinized given their relative youth.

Stocco Likely Out for Saturday

A JS source reports that Stocco has been in a sling since Sunday, will not practice this week, and is likely out for Saturday's Big Ten finale against Iowa. Ouch! The question is, can UW rely on its defense, running game, and special teams to prevail in an unfriendly environment against hated rivals? Donovan adds a wrinkle of mobility to the mix, but he'll need to connect at least occassionally with his TE's and WR's for a chance to chose out a stellar Big Ten campaign, 7-1.

Let the Speculation Begin

Barring a major disaster or a minor miracle, the Badgers are set to play in the Capital One Bowl vs. an SEC opponent.

Stewart Mandel believes the SEC representative will be Tennessee. Other possible opponents are Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and Florida.

TV Time for Buffalo Game

According to UW Athletics:

"The University of Wisconsin football team’s contest against Buffalo on Nov. 18 at Camp Randall Stadium will begin at 11 a.m. and be televised live on ESPNU, the Big Ten Conference announced."

Stocco's Status Unknown

The Badger QB on the verge of passing Brooks Bollinger in career victories may be sidelined for Saturday's game and this denied a shot at the record. If he can't play against Iowa it's hard to imagine seeing him suit up the following week against Buffalo, meaning even with a bowl victory he would finish one shy of Brooks with 29 wins. Granted, Stocco has compiled this record in three years to Bollinger's four. I hope he does give it a go in IC if only for the morale boost it would provide the team. The upside of Donovan starting is his mobility in the pocket against an Iowa front four that continually lives in the UW backfield. PJ Hill becomes a bigger factor regardless as he'll need to take the heat off the QB position as he did against Penn St.

Paterno Poops His Pants

According to the AP:

"Penn State coach Joe Paterno broke his left leg and damaged a knee ligament when a player ran into him during the Nittany Lions' loss to Wisconsin, and team officials said Sunday that surgery was being considered.

The injury Saturday to the top of Paterno's tibia, or shinbone, typically heals on its own with rehabilitation, said Guido D'Elia, director of communications for football. Doctors and team officials were considering whether surgery would help the leg heal faster, D'Elia said."

Sunday Observations - Penn. St.

1. Wisconsin is 17-1 (should be 18-1 after Buffalo) at home since 2004. After a few down years (2001-2003), the homefield advantage is back.

2. The running backs had problems picking up blitzing linebackers. They really got Stocco drilled on a couple of plays.

3. P.J. Hill dropped two passes where he had the blocking set up. While I don't expect him to catch as many balls as Calhoun, that part of his game needs to improve.

4. Crooks had some excellent blocks when he lined up in the backfield. While Beckum gets attention because of his great catches, Crooks is a great jack of all trades.

5. Mehlhaff had made 8 straight before his miss from 47, which he was two yards wide right.

6. As the MJS stated, Hampton's muff was caused by Ike's failure to get out of the way. The communication needs to be better between Hampton and the jammers.

7. There was no TV replay on the fourth and one conversion at the end of the first half, but the spot looked to be less than generous. Paul McGuire (the former ESPN Sunday night football announcer) was sure that the Badgers were short. He has a history of being correct on SNF, but in this case he was not.

8. Paul McGuire realized right away what Bielema was doing with the kickoffs at the end of the first half. JoePa was pissed, but knowing the new rules was very smart by Bielema. On the third kick, the time keeper didn't start the clock until a PSU player touched the ball, which was a mistake. JoePa angrily brushed away the halftime interview. The announcers said the way to fix the quirk in the system is for the officials to call the kicking team for unsportsmanlike conduct and assess a 15 yard penalty.

9. As the saying goes, "to add insult to injury," the PSU player did not control the ball going out of bounds in the play where JoePa was injured. The play should have been reviewed.

10. Hampton did a great job staying engaged with two jammers on the muffed punt. He was able to quickly find the ball, probably because he has been a part of so many muffed punts during punt return duties.

11. The Stocco "fumble" was a bad call. He was not trying to tuck the ball back in, as the replay official claimed. The announcers strongly disagreed with the call. There was no evidence of a tuck by Stocco. Stocco was in obvious pain on the sideline.

12. Why run a toss on fourth and one when Wisconsin's LBs are so fast? Had the PSU OC not seen the tape?

13. Decent flights to Orlando are running $450 (Fri to Tues).