University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Wisconsin vs. Michigan
ILLUSTRATION BY NATHAN DENZIN/THE DAILY CARDINAL PHOTO BY BRANDON MOE/THE DAILY CARDINAL
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”
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X’s and O’s
Wisconsin’s defensive discipline key against a sloppy Michigan offense By Sam Shiffman THE DAILY CARDINAL
If the Badgers want to avenge their embarrasing 38-13 blowout loss to Michigan last year, they’ll have to do two things perfectly: maintain possession for a large majority of the game and get stops on early downs. In Michigan’s previous game against Army, the Wolverine offense was stagnant for most of the game as they couldn’t run the ball effectively on early downs. As the game wore on, Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson found himself having to convert a boatload of thirdand-long situations all game. On most third downs, Army simply sat back in a deeper zone and allowed Michigan throws underneath. They then rallied to the ball, made the tackle and got their offense back on the field. Army’s defense also did a superb job covering Patterson’s first or second read, which forced Patterson to stay in the pocket for much longer than he would have liked. Since Patterson had to sit in the pocket longer, it gave more time for Army’s pass-rush to get to the quarterback. Patterson was under duress all game, and fumble twice because of the constant pressure. This set up the Army offense with amazing field position all afternoon, and they promptly
scored a touchdown after one of Patterson’s fumbles. The Badgers don’t have to replicate this defensive performance, but they do have to watch the tape to understand Michigan’s offensive vulnerabilities. With two weeks since the Badgers last game, expect defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard to design a more complex gameplan to confuse and attack the Michigan offense. Players like linebackers Zach Baun and Jaylan Franklin will have to play well for the Badgers to win Saturday. Patterson has been prone to losing the ball early in the season, which should be a point of emphasis for Wisconsin. In the game agianst Army, Patterson was strip-sacked twice, which set up the Golden Knights with great field position. The Badgers have to control possession for a majority of the game as well if they hope to have any chance of winning Saturday. If they can slow the game down and tire Michigan’s defensive line with long drives, the Badgers should dominate this game. And with a running back like Jonathan Taylor Wisconsin shouldn’t have a problem controlling the pace of the game. However, it’s just as important that the Badgers take playaction shots downfield early in the game to senior wide reciever
Quintez Cephus, or anyone else in the recieving corps. In his first two games back, Cephus has already added a whole new element to the Badger offense, a deep threat. Last year, the Badgers didn’t have a true deep threat, or even a quarterback who could deliver an accurate deep pass. This meant teams could simply stack the box to stop Jonathan Taylor and dare former UW quarterback Alex Hornibrook to pass. While Jack Coan is yet to have a true test this year, he’s been efficient and accurate in his first two games. But, the Badgers don’t need Coan to win them games; they have Jonathan Taylor for that, they just need him to protect the ball. Coan has zero interceptions in his first two games, and has looked more than competent in those games. If he can prove himself in this game and complete a few downfield throws to keep Michigan’s linebackers and secondary honest the Badger offense should fly high like they did against Central Michigan. But if Coan can’t, the offense will struggle mightily. Ultimately, the Badgers have a massive opportunity Saturday against the Wolverines. If they win, they’d be an instant top 10 team with a great chance of returning to the Big Ten Championship game.
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The Badger defense has to stay disciplined against a potentially dangerous Michigan offense if the Badgers want to win this game.
Matchup to Watch
Zach Baun, Shea Patterson set to battle By Jacob Lebowitz THE DAILY CARDINAL
Following another dominant performance for Wisconsin, a 61-0 win over Central Michigan followed by a bye week, the Badgers now face their first true test of the 2019 season. It will be a revenge game for them with the No. 10 ranked Michigan Wolverines (2-0). Last season, when the Badgers visited Ann Arbor, the Wolverines put on a show at home and gave Wisconsin their second loss of the season in a 38-13 blowout, essentially destroying all hopes for a return to the Big Ten Championship game. This year’s game should be different. Both teams have lost key players from a season ago, but have also gained talented freshmen and transfers that have already performed well. Wisconsin’s defense has gotten a lot stronger and healthier, while Michigan’s offense has solidified around senior quarterback Shea Patterson. In last year’s matchup, Wisconsin struggled on both sides of the ball, but the key for Michigan was how easily they ran the ball through Wisconsin’s defense.
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Zach Baun already has two sacks and a forced fumble, and is looking to stay hot against Michigan Michigan rushed for 320 yards and three touchdowns. 134 of those yards and two of those touchdowns from their quarterbacks – Patterson and Dylan McCaffrey. Wisconsin’s defense will need to shut down the Michigan run game and prevent Patterson
from scrambling. Badger linebacker Zack Baun will play a key role in stopping Patterson and the rest of the Wolverines offense, which is why the matchup of the week is Zack Baun vs. Shea Patterson. The Wisconsin defense has
been on a tear to start the season – they are the only team in the country to not allow a single point thus far, and have added four fumble recoveries, three interceptions and five sacks through two games this season. Baun has had an impres-
sive season as well, forcing one fumble and tallying six tackles, including two sacks. A senior linebacker from Brown Deer, Wisconsin, Baun is finally ready to take control of the defense after an inconsistent season last year. Likewise, Patterson has enjoyed a strong start to his senior campaign, throwing for 410 yards and three touchdowns. Army put up a fight against Michigan in Week 2 by shutting down their rushers and pressuring Patterson en route to four sacks. Baun must be able to help slow down Michigan’s rushheavy offense while providing an adequate pass rush to help out his secondary on passing plays. Baun will additionally need to help cover Michigan’s dependable tight ends that Patterson heavily relies on. There’s a lot on the line for both teams – a loss this early in the season greatly harms each teams chances for the College Football Playoff. This game should be close and will likely depend on how well the Badgers defense performs against the Michigan offense, with Baun and Patterson right in the middle of the battle.
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Player to Watch
Jack Coan could lead Badgers to greatness
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Jack Coan and Quintez Cephus have connected for deep bombs in both of the Badgers games to start the year, with the offense showing signs of its breakout potential By Peyton Kadlecek THE DAILY CARDINAL
With the departure of Wisconsin’s quarterback Alex Hornibrook, a new leader has emerged early in the 2019-20’ season, and surprisingly it is not star running back Jonathan Taylor. After much anticipation over who would fill the vacant starting spot Hornibrook left behind, junior quarterback Jack Coan proved his worth after a long, competitive training camp and was awarded the starting position.
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Jack Coan’s completion percentage through two games, outpacing his own 2018 season
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Touchdowns Coan has thrown this year, matching his output from 2018
Despite having only played in a handful of games last season, Coan has already made a significant impression in the few games thus far. Coan beat out true freshman Graham Mertz and redshirt freshman Chase Wolf in spring practices, and hasn’t looked back since. In Wisconsin’s home opener on the road against South Florida, Coan threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the Badger’s 49-0 win. In the next week at Camp Randall,
the Badgers took down Central Michigan in another shutout victory where Coan had a huge performance with 363 yards and three touchdowns, recording the fifth highest passing yardage total in Wisconsin football history. However, this week the competition for the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers picks up as it faces the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines at home after a bye. Un l i ke Wi s c o n s i n , Michigan’s last victory was not met with the same ease. They barely escaped with a 24-21 double overtime win, after Army kicker Cole Talley just missed a field goal at the end of regulation that would
have given Army the win. Senior quarterback for the Wolverines Shea Patterson produced decent yardage with 19 of 29 with a total of 207 yards with no touchdowns. On the bright side for the Wolverines, Patterson threw a combined 16 interceptions in his sophomore and junior seasons, but has yet to throw one this season. The Wolverines have been playing below average teams, but Patterson has looked more polished. Looking at the matchup between these two Big Ten teams, Coan’s passing performance will be a key component for the Badgers in a win over Michigan. In each game of the season
so far, Coan has shown new components in his game that weren’t there last season. Of course, much of Coan’s recent success must also be attributed to Taylor and the return of junior wide receiver Quintez Cephus, both of whom have been able to convert Coan’s passes into yards and touchdowns. But, there are still plenty of games left to be played this season, and all eyes will be on Coan to see if he can continue his recent success, or if he puts up more mediocre numbers for the rest of the year. Michigan is a key game for Coan to prove that he’s more than a game manager, and that his stats so far this season isn’t a fluke.
Michigan Outlook
From five lost fumbles to failed fourth down conversions: Michigan’s offense disappoints early on in the season By Ryan Cody THE DAILY CARDINAL
Michigan has had one of the more interesting schedules in the Big Ten this so far this year, beating both an easy opponent in Middle Tennessee and an underrated but manageable Army squad. This weekend they will put their mettle to the test against the Badgers at Camp Randall in Madison. Coming into the season, Michigan dealt with the loss of several key defensive players, but they had plenty of things to be optimistic about as well.
Head Coach Jim Harabugh hired offensive coordinator Josh Gattis who has full control over play-calling this year and looks to unlock the full potential of Michigan’s offense, including its talented receiving corps and quarterback Shea Patterson. However, Shea Patterson hasn’t looked up to the part of star quarterback so far this season. Along with Patterson, Michigan’s offense has not performed to the caliber that many had expected. They were not able to pick up convincing wins like many of the other teams at the top
of the Big Ten, like Wisconsin and Ohio State. Coming into the season, Michigan fans were very excited about having Patterson for another year, but his play so far has left much to be desired. Patterson has not been nearly as efficient as he was in previous seasons, seeing a drop in performance against teams that aren’t nearly on the level that Michigan is. Patterson also fumbled on the first possession against both Army and Middle Tennessee. It’s not too late for Patterson — he is still an incredibly
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Jonathan Taylor is the key to Wisconsin winning at home, after Michigan’s offense has failed to show life
talented quarterback, but he needs to step up. Michigan’s ability to win big games this season rides on him. However, Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet has been a bright spot. The fourstar recruit has rushed for nearly 100 yards in each game. However, these numbers came after a large amount of carries, including over 30 in the Army game. The biggest questions facing Michigan this season are its defense and running backs. The Wolverines tried to plug holes using their incredibly good recruiting class, including fivestar safety Daxton Hill, who has helped to bolster the secondary. Michigan’s defense has looked fine so far, not yet surrendering more than 21 points in either of their first two games, albeit it came against pedestrian offenses. The Wolverines will face their toughest challenge so far at Camp Randall this Saturday. Whether or not they are able to come off the road and win against a top team, something they have failed to do frequently, will prove just how good of a team they are. Following Wisconsin,
Michigan faces a favorable schedule in the weeks after the game in Madison. They first face Rutgers at the Big House in Michigan and should win easily, which could help provide confidence if they are unable to come out of Madison with a win. However after the game against Rutgers, Michigan then faces one of the toughest schedules in college football for the rest of the season. As always, they have to face the gauntlet called the Big Ten East, and will additionally face currently ranked teams Notre Dame and Iowa. Michigan’s hopes for the College Football Playoff look much shakier than at the start of the season. There are still several areas that need to see improvement if they want to get up to that level: defense, running back, and quarterback. If Michigan can solidify those positions, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them in the Big Ten Championship game with their Playoff hopes still alive. The Badgers will serve as one of their toughest tests this season and will gauge whether or not this team is top-four material.
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National Outlook
National top six reamin unchanged through three weeks, while Big Ten and SEC flop By Nathan Denzin THE DAILY CARDINAL
As the season draws on, the Badgers are beginning to look more and more like a top 10 team in the country. Since its our duty to cover the Badgers, it’s now our duty to cover the other top teams in the country. The top six teams look unbeatable. Clemson, Bama, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, and Ohio state haven’t moved a bit this year. They outscored their opponents by 134 points last week, 215 points in Week 2 and 177 points in Week 3. It’s been so, so boring to watch. The closest game any of them played was Clemson’s Week 2 victory, when the Tigers won by 14. Don’t expect that to change this week either, as the best team any of them will face is Vanderbilt. Each team is solid, with few weaknesses and at least one Heisman hopeful on every roster. None of the top six will even face a ranked opponent until Week 7, when Alabama faces Texas A&M and Oklahoma plays Texas. So, barring a major upset, expect these top teams to remain on top of the college football world for quite a while. Until then, cross your fingers and hope for upsets galore or we’re in for a boring regular season. The Big Ten has underperformed woefully through three weeks. I think we all knew that ranking Maryland was a crazy move by the AP voters, but the Big Ten hasn’t made a great name for itself early on either. Penn State barely escaped Pitt with a victory, while Michigan State put up a complete dud against Arizona State and lost. Combine Michigan State losing with Maryland’s embarrassing loss to Temple, and two
Big Ten teams already have dropped out of the top 25. However, Ohio State has been dominant, as has Wisconsin. Penn State and Michigan both haven’t lost yet either, despite poor Week 2 performances. Minnesota has yet to lose as well, which gives the Big Ten a respectable five teams who are unbeaten. But the eye test tells a different story about the conference, with Purdue and Northwestern looking putrid, while the middle of the Big Ten has looked mediocre at best. The conference still has time to turn itself around, but early results are poor. The SEC is top heavy The Southeastern Conference has five unbeaten teams, it also boasts five teams in the latest AP top 10. Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Auburn and Florida all own a space in the top 10, however only one other SEC team, Texas A&M, has cracked the rankings since Week 2. The other eight teams in the conference have combined for only 16 combined wins through week three. Eight of those 16 wins were against traditional “cupcake” teams, where it would have been extremely shocking if the SEC team didn’t win. Tennessee has been extremely disappointing after starting the year with a loss to FCS Georgia State, as has Vanderbilt after starting the year 0-2. Normally the SEC beats up on itself, since the quality of football across the conference is usually world class. However, this year seems to be different, there is a clear top of the pack and a clear group of bottom feeders in the conference. The top six teams, as noted earlier, are already stagnant enough. With the SEC seemingly top heavy, the entire top 10 could stay
the same deep into the season. The real fireworks in the SEC should be set to go off in Week 7, when all six of the ranked teams in the conference play each other. But until then, don’t expect much to change. Heisman voters like quarterback’s way too much I know its way too early to be talking Heisman, but I’m going to do it anyway. Current odds are that Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts wins the Heisman, with quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence close behind. Jonathan Taylor sits far behind the field with the seventh highest chances, and he is also the top non-quarterback on the list. Don’t get me wrong, quarterbacks are important to a team’s success, but what Taylor has done early in the season is otherworldly. Taylor has played essentially just four quarters in the Badgers first two games, and he’s already racked up eight touchdowns, leading all nonquarterbacks in the nation. Taylor has been an equal threat as a rusher and as a receiver, which keeps defenses guessing all game long. Badger fans have already seen the difference a steady passing game makes for a football team, and Taylor has been a key part of that attack. If the Badgers win against Michigan on Saturday, and Taylor has another big game, I hope the Heisman voters and odd makers give him more credit. If they continue to ingore the stats Taylor is putting up after this week, then we may as well just kill the running back position for good because it has the same effect. The Taylor for Heisman campaign has officially kicked off in the DC office.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS
Clemson looks strong so far this season, and won’t face a top team until the Playoff in early January.
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The Badgers are in better shape than most of the Big Ten — and SEC.
1. Clemson 1,545 2. Alabama 1,488 3. Georga 1,386 4. LSU 1,339 5. Oklahoma 1,310 6. Ohio State 1,292 7. Notre Dame 1,099 8. Auburn 1,079 9. Florida 959 10. Utah 929 11. Michigan 917 12. Texas 888 13. Penn State 726 13. Wisconsin 726 15. UCF 703 16. Oregon 670 17. Texas A&M 665 18. Iowa 539 19. Washington State 452 20. Boise State 277 21. Virginia 252 22. Washington 183 23. Cal 164 24. Arizona State 156 25. TCU 104
1. Clemson (62) 1,622 2. Alabama (3) 1,560 3. Georgia 1,463 4. Oklahoma 1,409 5. LSU 1,361 6. Ohio State 1,342 7. Notre Dame 1,182 8. Florida 1,095 9. Auburn 1,093 10. Michigan 928 11. Utah 915 12. Penn State 864 13. Texas 847 14. Wisconsin 806 15. Texas A&M 702 16. UCF 697 17. Oregon 586 18. Iowa 553 19. Washington State 518 20. Boise State 322 21. Washington 277 22. Virginia 223 23. Cal 124 24. Arizona State 110 25. Kansas State 106
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Big 10 Outlook
Week 3 brings plenty of surprises and upsets to Big Ten: Penn State and Iowa survive early-season scares By Jared Schwartz THE DAILY CARDINAL
The Big 10 enjoyed a largely convincing Week 2 outside of Nebraska’s 34-31 loss to Colorado and Michigan’s close 24-21 win over a resilient Army squad. Maryland thwarted Syracuse, who was ranked No. 21 at the time, 63-20 and saw themselves jump into the top-25 as a result. The rest of the conference took care of business, and the rankings changed little as a result. Then came Week 3. Penn State hosted in-state rival Pitt in an annual, and often chippy, rivalry game, with just 139 miles separating the two schools. Penn State entered the game having won two of the last three contests since the two sides agreed to bring back the tradition in 2016, and did so in convincing fashion. They made it three of the last four in Week 3, but it was anything but convincing. Down 17-10 with under five minutes to play, Pitt had the ball on the Nittany Lion oneyard line. Two incomplete passes (why were they throwing?) and a stuffed run later, and the
Panthers found themselves with a fourth and goal from the oneyard line. Trailing by one touchdown, most people watching expected coach Pat Narduzzi to leave his offense on the field and go for it. Instead, Narduzzi sent in his kicking unit, citing the need for two scores to win the game. Alex Kessman promptly missed a 19-yard kick, and Pitt’s offense could muster little when they got the ball back with 1:39 left in the game, giving Penn State a 17-10 win in the 2019 edition of the 126year rivalry. The Nittany Lions struggled to pull away all afternoon, with a Noah Cain rushing touchdown in the third quarter representing the last points for either side. Penn State was 4-13 on third down, and were outgained in total yards and passing yards. The only advantage the Nittany Lions enjoyed was on the ground, as they outrushed Pitt 167 to 24. Quarterback Sean Clifford was 14-30 through the air, with his inaccuracy hindering any chance of putting the game away. The Penn State offense looked lethargic all afternoon, making
for the looks of a team susceptible to an upset. On the bright side, Jordan Stout kicked a schoolrecord 57-yard field goal. Herm Edwards and the Arizona State Sun Devils travelled across the country to East Lansing, where they handed the Michigan State Spartans their first loss of the season in perhaps the wackiest finish of the 2019 season so far. ASU’s Eno Benjamin reached the ball across the goal line with 50 seconds remaining to give the Sun Devils a 10-7 lead with 50 seconds remaining. Quarterback Brian Lewerke responded by marching the Spartans down to the 24-yard line with 11 seconds remaining after they stopped the clock with a spike. With no timeouts remaining, head coach Mark Dantonio elected to send out his field goal unit after a ton of hesitation and indecision. That indecision likely cost him the game. The field goal unit rushed on the field, and after barely snapping the ball before the play clock expired, Matt Coghlin’s 42-yard kick was good, albeit one small problem – MSU had 12 men on
the field. Coghlin was forced to take the kick again from further back, where he promptly hooked it wide left for his third miss of the afternoon. Much like Penn State, Iowa survived their own upset-scare from an in-state rival, escaping Jack Trice Stadium with a narrow 18-17 win over Iowa State. The game was twice delayed nearly three hours due to lightning, but there was little lightning on the field, as both sides traded punts and turnovers all game. However, it’s usually the little things that decide this matchup, and on Saturday it was a Hawkeye fourth down stop late in the fourth quarter that handed them their fifth straight victory in the head-to-head matchup. Voters perhaps jumped the gun on ranking Maryland No. 21 in the country, and they showed why with a 20-17 loss to Temple. Maryland looked like the goodold Maryland Big Ten fans have grown accustom to, and their one-week joy ride in the top-25 will likely come to an end. Ohio State thwarted Indiana, Northwestern beat UNLV, and Nebraska rebounded a Week
2 loss with a 44-8 win over Northern Illinois – no surprises there, and Ohio State remains the team to beat in the conference. Illinois and Purdue lost to Eastern Michigan and TCU, respectively. Those shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, either, because they are, well, Illinois and Purdue. Both will likely hover around the Big 10 cellar all season. Minnesota beat Georgia Southern with a last-second touchdown, seconds away from an embarrassing upset. This marks the second week in a row the Gophers have pulled a miracle to avoid an upset – in Week 2 they beat Fresno State 38-35. Somehow, Minnesota is 3-0, but they look far from the team that came into Camp Randall and handed the Badgers a 37-15 smacking a season ago. Michigan and Wisconsin spent the weekend watching all the action unfold from home, as both teams enjoyed an early-season bye. They will face off in a top15 showdown at Camp Randall in Week 4 in what could very likely be a Big Ten Championship Game Preview.
Games to watch No. 10 Utah at USC Sept. 20, 8:00 p.m. Tennessee at No. 9 Florida Sept. 21, 11:00 a.m. No. 23 California at Ole Miss Sept. 21, 11:00 a.m. No. 8 Auburn at No. 17 Texas A&M Sept. 21, 2:30 p.m. No. 22 Washington at BYU Sept. 21, 2:30 p.m. OK State at No. 12 Texas Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m. No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 3 Georgia Sept. 21, 7:00 p.m. UCLA at No. 19 Wash. State Sept. 21, 9:30 p.m. CAMERON LANE-FLEHINGER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
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3 Keys to the Game
Badgers need to run ball with success, take advantage of miscues By Dexter McCann THE DAILY CARDINAL
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Establish the run
Force Jack Coan to beat you
In last year’s MichiganWisconsin clash, Michigan’s running back diced the Badgers defense for 105 yards on 19 attempts Michigan as a whole rushed 48 times for 320 yards, averaging 6.7 yards a carry in a dominant win over the Badgers. They must replicate their rushing dominance on Saturday if they want to win. Against Army last week, freshman running back Zach Charbonnet rushed 33 times for just 100 yards. The team averaged 2.4 yards per attempt on the ground, and nearly fell victim to a shocking upset at home. Michigan returns four of five offensive line starters from last year’s team, but will be facing a vastly different Badgers front. Nose tackle Bryson Williams, defensive end Garrett Rand, and end Isaiah Loudermilk didn’t play in last year’s contest, but if the Wolverines can find success against that group, they’ll have a huge leg up on Wisconsin from the get go.
Jack Coan hype reached unprecedented heights last Saturday, as the quarterback threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns in a resounding 61-0 victory. Still, Coan is relatively unproven, and was ineffective in a loss against Penn State last year, throwing for 60 yards and two interceptions. Wisconsin has one of the best players in college football in Jonathan Taylor, and the Wolverines must devote their initial defensive efforts to stopping the run. The Wolverines boast excellent run disruptors on their defensive line, and can send additional pressure with their linebackers to get to Taylor. You should expect Don Brown to get creative with his blitzes to force Jack Coan to recognize more complicated coverage looks and to release the ball quicker. We’ll see from the get go whether the real Jack Coan is the quarterback we saw against Central Michigan or the one we saw play Penn State last year.
2 Strike early In both of its opening two contests, Michigan has started slow, and they nearly lost when Army came to Michigan in Week 2. Army led 14-7 entering the second half, and were a 50 yard field goal away from coming away with the shocking upset. Wisconsin did not play well playing from behind last year, and trailed early on in three of their losses. Wisconsin has a revamped offense this year, but they have yet to trail in a game this season. If the Wolverines can establish an early lead, the Badgers will be forced to lean on the passing game, which would make defensive coordinator Don Brown’s job significantly easier.
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Win the battle in the trenches
Win the turnover battle
The highly touted 2018 Badgers offensive line entered Ann Arbor with playoff hopes still intact, but left knowing they didn’t do enough to keep Wisconsin’s chances alive. Alex Hornibrook was sacked twice and was under constant pressure. The badgers offense failed to run the ball with any kind of consistency, and Hornibook never established a rhythym. The 2019 Badgers offensive line returns just one starter, but has played extremely well so far this season. Left tackle Cole Van Lanen, has been the anchor in pass protection, allowing Jack Coan a lot of time in the pocket. If Wisconsin is to have any kind of success on offense, they must keep a clean pocket for Coan to work with. In addition, they have to establish dominance in the run game from the opening kick off. That all starts with the offensive line, and if the Badgers can win up front, it could be a very long day for the Michigan defense.
2 Play clean on special teams Last year, the Badgers struggled on special teams, with kicker Rafeal Gaglianone making just 10 of 17 field goals and punter Anthony Lotti averaging a mere 38.8 yards per punt. Redshirt sophomore kicker Colin Larsh is just one of three to start the year, including a 30-yard missed field goal against South Florida. Opportunities like that cant be missed in a tight game against the Wolverines. In last year’s defeat in Ann Arbor, the Badgers found themselves consistently losing the field position battle, punting from deep within their own territory and allowing the Wolverines to start near midfield on several key drives. Anthony Lotti shanked one punt last year, and the Badgers cannot afford to be giving away the field position battle to the Michigan this time around.
Michigan won the turnover battle 2-0 in last year’s contest, but has struggled with ball security to begin the year. The Wolverines fumbled the football four times against Army and lost three of those loose balls. But the Black Knights failed to capitalize, turning the ball over three times themselves. Wisconsin forced three turnovers against South Florida and forced another against Central Michigan last week. Linebacker Zach Baun has been one of the most disruptive players this year, and his strip sack against South Florida resulted in a Badgers touchdown from defensive end Matt Henningson. The Badgers lost the turnover battle in four of five defeats last season, so it’s imperative that they play mistake free football against an unforgiving Michigan defense. In a game where points will likely be at a premium, a single turnover could turn the entire game on its head.
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If Jack Coan has a big game against Michigan the Badgers could pull off the upset, and vault themselves into the top three of the Big Ten.
Michigan State falls, Iowa jumps in Big Ten Power Rankings As we all know, every single week we need some way to figure out what’s going on in college football. It’s how we create content, baby. With that in mind, here is the Daily Cardinal’s super serious and ironclad power rankings after week three. 1. Ohio State Buckeyes They beat Indiana by a whole bunch because of course they did. At least the word “the” will never be trademarked by a Buckeye. 2. Penn State Nittany Lions It really seemed like they wanted to lose to Pitt, but they pulled out the victory over their “rival,” rival in quotes of course because PSU is allegedly “#Unrivaled.” 3. Michigan Wolverines Michigan didn’t have to play this weekend and Penn State looked shaky. However, Michigan hasn’t finished higher than third in the Big Ten East, so they’ll feel comfortable here. 4. Wisconsin Badgers Paul Chryst definitely has a brand new perfect offensive scheme for Michigan. Hopefully.
7. Nebraska Cornhuskers Let’s see if Scott Frost can figure out how to win against the 10th best team in the Big Ten. Husker fans are going to be in for another long year, we’re calling it. 8. Rutgers Scarlet Knights We dropped them a spot after a bye week. Life isn’t fair folks. At least they didn’t lose? 9. Michigan State Spartans A loss to Arizona State stings, but hey now we don’t have to worry about Michigan State being good this year. 10. Illinois Illini They beat UConn in Week 2, which will probably be the high point for the Illini this season. We like that Lovie Smith is the coach though. 11. Indiana Hoosiers Indiana is always a sleeper pick in the Big Ten that stays asleep all year, every year. 12. Maryland Terrapins They know what they did. Nice loss Terps.
5. Iowa Hawkeyes Way to squeak by Iowa State. That loss would have looked ugly when the Hawkeyes are up for consideration for the Quicklane bowl.
13. Northwestern Wildcats The Wildcats picked up their first win of the season against the UNLV Rebels. That’s all we’re gonna say.
6. Minnesota Gophers We still don’t like Gophers, but their football team keeps finding ways to escape with wins. We wonder where PJ Fleck stores his pixie dust.
14. Purdue Boilermakers Google results for ‘Does Drew Brees still have college eligibility’ hit a high in West Lafayette on Saturday, and unfortunately the answer is no.
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Rosters
Wisconsin Badgers 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 9 10 11 11 12 13 14 15 15 16 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 24 24 25 25 26 27 28 28 29 29 30 30 31 32 32 34 36 36 37 38 39 39 41
Cruickshank, Aron Hicks, Faion Pearson, Reggie Wolf, Chase Pryor, Kendric Burton, Donte Taylor, A.J. Mertz, Graham Wildgoose, Rachad Davis III, Danny Engram, Dean Lytle, Spencer Shaw, Bradrick Harrell, Deron Nelson, Scott Currens, Seth Bracey, Stephan Smith, Alexander Toler, Titus Gregoire, Mike DiBenedetto, Jordan Lotti, Anthony Vanden Boom, Danny Dunn, Jack Coan, Jack Phillips, Cam Wilder, Collin Larsh, Collin Torchio, John Guerendo, Isaac Melvin, Semar Nelson, Cooper Williams, Caesar Green. Cade Heyroth, Jacob Taylor, Jonathan Krumholz, Adam Williams, James Burrell, Eric Watson, Nakia Blaylock, Travian Volpentesta, Christian Easterling, Quan Wilcox, Blake Kollath, Jackson Schipper, Brady Mais, Tyler Wanner, Coy Cone, Madison Davis, Julius Strey, Marty Stokke, Mason Johnson, Hunter Knaak, Kobe Groshek, Garrett Caputo, Dante Grass, Tatum Hintze, Zach Burls, Noah
WR CB S QB WR CB WR QB CB WR CB OLB RB CB S ILB WR CB S WR WR P QB WR QB WR S K S RB CB WR CB WR ILB RB WR CB S RB CB CB FB K ILB RB S TE S RB ILB FB RB CB RB S ILB K OLB
5-9 5-10 5-10 6-1 5-11 5-10 5-11 6-3 5-11 6-0 5-9 6-2 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-3 5-10 5-11 5-11 5-10 6-0 6-0 6-5 5-7 6-3 6-0 5-10 5-10 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-4 6-0 5-11 6-0 5-11 6-1 5-10 6-0 5-11 5-11 5-9 6-3 6-4 6-1 5-11 6-1 6-3 5-9 5-10 6-2 6-2 6-0 5-9 5-11 5-11 6-2 6-0 6-2
161 185 197 196 180 180 200 215 197 194 164 223 216 182 204 224 172 182 192 171 190 187 207 174 221 176 194 184 205 213 166 187 188 185 218 219 193 182 195 229 200 185 238 228 252 206 196 236 182 189 219 239 220 189 220 181 222 190 240
SO SO FR FR JR FR SR FR SO JR FR FR SR SO SO JR FR FR FR FR FR SR SO JR JR FR JR SO FR FR FR FR JR SO FR JR JR FR JR FR FR JR FR FR FR FR SO SO JR FR FR JR SO JR JR FR FR SR JR
41 42 43 44 45 46 46 47 48 49 50 50 51 51 52 52 54 55 56 56 57 57 58 59 59 60 61 62 63 65 67 68 69 70 71 73 74 74 75 76 77 78 81 82 84 85 86 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
Eschenbach, Jack Franklin, Jaylan Rucci, Hayden Chenal, John Chenal. Leo Lloyd, Gabe Tiedt, Hegeman Cundiff, Clay Wiltjer, Travis Bell, Christian Brown, Logan Green-May, Izayah Bay, Adam Paez, Gio Bernhagen, Josh Pfaff, David Orr, Chris Njongmeta, Maema Baun, Zack Johnson, Rodas Balistreri, Michael Sanborn, Jack Maskalunas, Mike Johnson, Tyler Lyons, Andrew Bruss, Logan Biadasz, Tyler O’Brien, Logan Bowden, Peter Beach, Tyler Sampson, Cormac Moorman, David Vopal. Aaron Seltzner, Josh Van Lanen, Cole Fenton, Alex Furtney, Michael Roberge, Gunnar Tippmann, Joe Lyles, Kayden Smithback, Blake Erdmann, Jason Mustapha, Taj Perry, Emmet Ferguson, Jake Neuville, Zander Benzschawel, Luke Cephus, Quintez Abbott, A.J. Allen, Connor Williams, Bryson Henningsen, Matt Rand. Garrett Dietzen, Boyd Benton, Keeanu Schlichting, Conor Loudermilk, Isaiahh Goetz, C.J. Mullens, Isaiah
TE OLB TE FB ILB TE OLB TE ILB OLB OL OLB LS DE LS DE ILB ILB OLB DE DE ILB ILB OLB OL OL OL OL LS OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL NT OL OL OL OL WR WR TE TE TE WR WR P NT DE DE DE NT P DE DE DE
Michigan Wolverines 6-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 6-2 6-4 6-4 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-6 6-6 6-0 6-3 6-2 6-2 6-0 6-0 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-2 6-3 6-3 6-5 6-5 6-3 6-4 6-2 6-6 6-4 6-5 6-6 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-6 6-3 6-2 6-6 6-0 6-2 6-5 6-5 6-6 6-1 6-2 6-0 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-2 6-4 6-2 6-7 6-3 6-4
224 222 250 252 250 231 243 251 225 249 311 221 229 305 241 288 224 220 235 293 288 232 231 241 311 310 321 265 217 309 280 307 312 327 312 308 307 292 312 321 305 328 190 186 246 252 276 207 192 168 300 286 279 264 315 222 293 241 283
Game Information Kickoff: 11:00 a.m. Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI TV: FOX Radio: Badger Sports Network
FR FR FR FR SO FR JR JR FR SR JR FR SO JR FR JR SR SR FR JR FR SO SO JR SR FR SO JR FR FR SO FR SR SO SO JR SO FR SR FR SO SO SR FR SO SR JR JR FR SR SO SO JR FR FR SO JR FR FR
1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 12 12 13 13 13 14 15 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 19 19 20 20 22 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30 31 31 32 33 33 33 34 35 36 36 37 37 38 38
Thomas, Ambry DB Kemp, Carlo DL Moody, Jake K Patterson, Shea QB Nordin, Quinn K Perry, Jalen DB Robbins, Brad P Turner, Christian RB Collins, Nico WR Danna, Michael DL Milton, Joe QB Turner, DJ DB Johnson, Cornelius WR Sessa, Michael QB Uche, Josh LB Black, Tarik WR Hudson, Khaleke LB Bell, Ronnie WR Gil, Devin LB Green, Gemon DB Maddox, Andy QB Peoples-Jones, Donovan WR Velazquez, Joey LB McCaffrey, Dylan QB Solomon, Anthony LB McNamara, Cade QB Ross, Josh LB Green, German DB Thomas, Charles LB Wilson, Tru RB Metellus, Josh DB Hinton, Christopher DL Jackson, Giles WR West, Jacob WR Hefley, Ren QB Kelly-Powell, Jaylen DB Faustin, Sammy DB Hart, Will P Caratan, George P Vilian, Luiji DL White, Brendan WR Paye, Kwity DL Sainristil, Mike WR Capatina, Nicholas RB Hawkins, Brad DB Johnson, George WR Barrett, Michael LB Castleberry, Jordan RB Davis, Jared DB Johnson, Quinten DB Charbonnet, Zach RB Hill, Lavert DB Martin, Jake WR Haskins, Hassan RB Woods, J’Marick DB Reynolds, Hunter DB Hughes, Danny RB Glasgow, Jordan LB Cochran, Tyler DB Hill, Daxton DB Gray, Vincent DB Young, Jack WR Knight, Nolan LB Cheeseman, Cameron LS Franklin, Leon RB Grodman, Louis DB Anthony, Jordan LB Buckman, Luke TE Baty, Ramsey TE Gerkis, Izaak P Drobocky, Dane DL Lampani, Jonathan LB Files, Joseph TE Reeves, Geoffrey LB
6-0 6-3 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-0 6-1 5-11 6-4 6-2 6-5 6-0 6-3 6-8 6-2 6-3 6-0 6-0 6-1 6-2 6-4 6-2 6-0 6-5 6-1 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-0 5-10 6-0 6-4 5-9 6-1 6-0 6-0 6-2 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-1 6-4 5-10 5-9 6-1 6-0 6-0 5-7 5-11 5-10 6-1 5-11 5-11 6-1 6-3 6-0 6-0 6-1 6-1 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-4 5-8 5-11 6-0 6-5 6-5 5-9 6-3 6-1 6-4 6-0
182 286 198 202 196 190 199 200 222 261 245 180 209 215 250 215 220 184 236 180 212 208 213 220 205 205 232 180 233 200 218 303 188 212 177 180 195 206 221 244 197 277 183 192 218 193 227 185 202 198 220 182 197 220 213 198 192 226 206 190 185 196 197 230 193 196 245 235 225 190 245 234 253 217
JR SR SO SR SR FR JR SO JR GR SO FR FR SR SR JR SR SO SR SO FR JR FR JR FR FR JR SO FR SR SR FR FR GR FR JR SO SR SO JR 5TH JR FR JR JR SO FR FR SJ FR FR SR SR SO JR JR FR GR SR FR SO JR FR SR FR 5TH JR SO SO FR SR SR 5TH SR
39 39 39 40 40 40 41 41 41 41 42 43 43 43 44 44 44 45 45 46 49 49 49 50 50 51 52 53 54 54 55 57 58 58 59 60 61 62 64 66 67 68 70 71 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 80 81 81 82 82 83 84 85 86 88 89 91 92 92 95 96 97 99 99
Reeves, Lawrence Selzer, Alan Torey, Matt Kolesar, Caden Nelson, Ryan VanSumeren, Ben Bay, John Fakih, Adam Jaafar, Abe Rothman, Quinn Mason, Ben Grosz, Tyler McCurry, Jake Russell, Andrew Baldeck, Matt Char, Jared McGrone, Cameron Bush, Peter Shibley, Adam Brown, Matt Andrighetto, Lucas Harris, Keshaun Wagner, William Dwumfor, Michael Onwenu, Michael Ruiz, Cesar Barnhart, Karsen Jones, Trente Correll, Kraig Myers, Carl Rumler, Nolan George, Joey Carpenter, Zach Smith, Mazi Honigford, Joel Fisher, Luke Jokisch, Dan Gelb, Mica Hazime, Mahdi Filiaga, Chuck Speight, Jess Vastardis, Adnrew Stewart, Jack Ojabo, David Stueber, Andrew Spanellis, Stephen Mayfield, Jalen Bredeson, Ben Runyan, Jon Hayes, Ryan Keegan, Trevor Korican, Griffin Robinson, Greg Morris, Mike Neff, Hunter Schoenle, Nate Sessa, Will Eubanks, Nick Nicholas, Desmond All, Erick McKeon, Sean Muhammad, Mustapha Schoonmaker, Luke Harrison, Matthew Selzer, Carter Upshaw, Taylor Kerska, Karl Paea, Phillip Jeter, Donovan Welschof, Julius Hutcinson, Aidan Harper, Trey Newburg, Gabe
LB K WR DB LB RB DB LB RB DB DL WR WR DB LS RB LB RB LB RB RB DB LS DL OL OL OL OL OL DL OL DL OL DL OL OL OL OL OL OL DL OL OL DL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL DL WR WR TE TE WR TE TE TE TE WR TE DL K/P DL DL DL DL LS DL
6-0 6-3 5-10 5-10 5-10 6-2 5-11 6-2 5-8 5-11 6-3 6-1 6-0 6-2 6-0 5-11 6-1 6-2 6-1 6-0 5-11 5-11 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-2 6-3 6-0 6-5 6-3 6-6 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-2 6-6 6-5 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-7 6-5 6-5 6-5 6-5 6-7 6-6 6-6 6-6 6-6 6-2 6-2 6-6 6-5 5-11 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-6 6-2 6-8 6-4 6-2 6-4 6-3 6-6 6-6 6-5 6-5
200 178 178 196 198 244 170 228 174 180 270 203 192 190 227 200 232 220 225 225 202 176 236 282 350 319 301 294 296 286 321 283 320 305 284 270 296 299 319 341 288 319 291 245 334 295 319 325 321 299 316 305 306 262 219 206 203 256 182 229 246 261 242 204 248 240 213 302 290 278 278 240 250
FR SR SO FR JR SO SR JR FR SO JR SR JR FR JR SR SO SR JR JR SO FR FR SR SR JR FR FR SO SR FR SO FR FR JR FR SR FR FR JR JR SR FR FR JR SR SO SR GR SO FR SO SR FR FR SR FR SR SR FR SR SO SO FR JR SO FR JR JR SO SO GR FR
gameday 8
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Wisconsin vs. Central Michigan
dailycardinal.com
What We Learned
Overreactability: Head coaches don’t know how to count to seven anymore By Bremen Keasey THE DAILEY CARDINAL
Editor’s note: College football is nothing without its fans, and its fans are nothing without their passion. In an attempt to capture that unique intensity and Overreactability, we’ve asked washed-up sports editor and Southerner Bremen Keasey to give us a weekly breakdown of college football happenings around the country like only a true fan could. Believe it or not, college football still happened despite the fact that the Badgers didn’t play. So while most of my colleagues had lives and did other things, I was on my couch all day watching college football. Let’s recap an odd afternoon! Counting Still Matters! I am not a mathematician by any means. Most times when I try and add a tip to a bill, I get the wrong percentages and the sheer thought of doing simple math puts me in a panic. So I guess I am slightly sympathetic to a few of the teams this weekend where basic math led to bad things. Head coaches up and down the country were shuttering in their shoes, making fans scratch their heads on why they have multi-million dollar contracts. First we take a trip to East Lansing, where the Michigan State Spartans lost to the Herm Edwards-led Arizona State Sun Devils in a humiliating 10-7 home loss. While the 10-7 scoreline already sounds like a snoozefest on first glance, the actual box score reads even worse. ASU was winning 3-0 for most of the game until halfway through the fourth quarter — I repeat: the FOURTH QUARTER — then Michigan State finally scored a touchdown thanks to a 9-yard run by Elijah Collins to put Sparty ahead. But ASU started to get the ball moving after the Spartans punted with a little over three minutes left in the fourth. After a 40-yard catch by Devils wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk put ASU in the red zone, the drive was stopping and starting — literally because Herm Edwards seemed to use five timeouts on one down, and figuratively because they couldn’t get much going. But after a conversion on a QB keeper on 4th and 13, the Devils knocked it in from the one yard line to get it to 10-7. The Spartan offense somehow woke up and drove down into field goal range. Their kicker Matt Coghlin sunk a clutch 42-yard field goal to tie the game up and force overtime. And then, the officials looked at a replay, did some counting, and saw 12 players on the field for Michigan State. For folks keeping score at home, that’s one (1) more than allowed in the game of football. So, after a five yard penalty for the extra man, Coghlin took another kick, which shanked to
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Michigan State lost an ugly game to Arizona State last week, and have had a terrible start to the year the left, leaving the Spartans miserable as former longtime ESPN pundit and washed-up NFL head coach Herm Edwards and his Sun Devils upset the Spartans for the second straight year. Sparty was not the only team who had some strange arithmetic last week. No, some bad math for the Pitt Panthers also featured a missed field goal with logic that might baffle the minds for years to come. Pitt was down to hated rival Penn State 10-17 in the fourth quarter, as the Panthers somehow marched the ball down to the Nittany Lions’ one-yard line. This was a rarity for the Panthers, as their running game did next to nothing — 24 yards on 25 rushes is literally less than one yard a carry, and I didn’t even have to use a calculator for that one. Luckily, paradoxically named quarterback Kenny Pickett played pretty well, and his receivers seemed to be catching any ball thrown to them. So with that in mind, it’s fourth and goal from the one, there’s just under five minutes left in the game and Pitt is down by seven points. Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi then sends out his kicker to try for three points. Wait what? Even I know that three points is less than seven points, which would mean that the game wouldn’t even be tied after this chip shot field goal. And considering there is little time left, it might be possible Pitt wouldn’t get the chance to get another score, especially considering the offensive struggles. So why kick a field goal? Well, in the post game presser, Narduzzi said “You need two scores to win the football game.” Sure coach, but college football also has this crazy thing called overtime, where you still play more when the score is still tied. Also, his quarterback said afterwards that the team wanted to go for it on fourth. Might as well go down swinging, and then hey, if you can’t score,
Penn State starts in the shadow of their own end zone. But what do I know about football though? I’ve only watched for years as a lunatic fan, and Narduzzi is a highly paid coach. I do believe in fate and signs in life though, and I think that Pat Narduzzi was thunderously laughed at by the football gods as the field goal kick from the one-yard line — literally the closest you can get for a field
goal — smacked the post and did not go in. See, this is why the coaches get paid the big bucks: to screw up simple math. “Amesday” lives its best life I don’t know when exactly the phrase “living my best life” was first uttered and brought into the world, but I hear it, or some variation of it, nearly every day. It’s clearly everyone’s goal to live life to the maximum and be the
best version of yourself. Folks, Iowa vs. Iowa State, a game that has been affectionately called ¡El Assico! because of the general nature of the ugly games that have been played by the two schools truly peaked last Saturday. This game was deemed worthy enough for College Gameday to visit Ames to kick off last Saturday, and then the game had two lightning delays and ended with an incredible scoreline of 18-17 as Iowa escaped with the win. And while the amount of field goals and punts alone would make it another wonderful addition to the Kirk Fernetz canon of special teams love, the end is really what needs to be talked about. Specifically, the rear end that sealed the win for Iowa. Yes, after Iowa was forced to punt with about 90 seconds left in the game, Iowa State’s punt returner waved away his teammates to make a fair catch. One of those teammates failed to notice the signal and ran into the returner, causing both to clatter to the turf as the ball bounced off the blocker’s backside and into the loving arms of the Iowa Hawkeyes. While that might’ve sucked for the Cyclones, at least now we know definitively which version of ¡El Assico! Was truly the most ¡El Assico!