Football
The Badgers’ (4-1 Big Ten, 7-2 overall) landslide victory over Brigham Young University exceeded head coach Gary Andersen’s expectations.
Before they get back to the Big Ten, the Badgers had an opportunity to put together a sound performance that could fuel Wisconsin against Indiana next Saturday.
One strategy Andersen used against Brigham Young University was to, “cause some confusion in the timing between the quarterback and the wide receiver,” which he said could be a possibility in next Saturday’s game.
“[The strategy has] definite carryover from the scheme from BYU to Indiana, without question,” Andersen said.
Chris Borland continues to impress Anderson every day. After bouncing back from a two-game hiatus due to injury, Borland was able to put together 13 tackles and two sacks.
Other players who put together big performances were the receivers and sophomore redshirt safety Michael Caputo, who even scored the praise of their rivals.
“The biggest was the big receivers,” Andersen said. “That was the biggest part of it, the fact that we wanted to try to get hands-on on the line of scrimmage.”
Men’s Soccer
Snow flurries mean one thing for head coach John Trask: crunch time.
The bye week Wisconsin has the opportunity to clinch at the beginning of the NCAA tournament would give it much needed recuperation time to propel them through the tournament.
“Having a bye in the first round of the NCAA Tournament is huge in men’s soccer,” Trask said. “To not play that first-round game and get a little bit more time to get healthy and rested up for a tournament run is very important.”
Currently the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament, the Badgers (4-2-0, 13-3-2) will face off against Northwestern this week, who is the No. 7 seed in the tournament.
Trask, however, seems confident against a team who in the past has caused him some problems. According to Trask, the history between these two teams won’t stop the Badgers from furthering their 13-game win streak at home, which extends back to last season.
“I wouldn’t have told you two years ago that I thought they could do it,” Trask said. “A big part of it is we’ve been healthy. We’ve had a lot of good training days this year. We haven’t missed a lot of man hours other than a couple guys having surgery, and that’s helped as well in this process.”
Men’s Hockey
After their second bye week this season, Wisconsin (3-2-1) is chomping at the bit to get back on the ice against the University of Miami (OH). In Miami’s small rink, the Badgers will be competing against a high-tempo team likely to give them a run for their money.
Head coach Mike Eaves thinks Miami’s unyielding goalkeepers and relentless tempo will a good test early in the season to evaluate the standing of their performance.
“We’re going to see a team that will play at a high tempo, has lots of skill,” Eaves said. “[Miami] has two good goaltenders, both freshmen last year and sophomores this year.”
Eaves has been leading practices catered to the upcoming Big Ten games.
“At this point we have to do more scrimmages, more game-like situations in order to help them prepare for what we’re going to see in Miami,” Eaves said.
Because of their recent playing schedule, the offense is struggling to grasp the rhythm they need to stay engaged and maintain a competitive edge.
Junior goaltender Joel Rumpel is also expected to be back for at least one game next week after suffering an ankle injury in practice a few weeks ago.
Volleyball
Head coach Kelly Sheffield is eager to improve upon last weekend’s split performance, as the Badgers look forward to their last two games at home before heading the NCAA tournament.
Wisconsin’s (8-6, 19-7) loss to Nebraska was not to be blamed on the defensive strategy, according to Sheffield.
Both teams put up a solid performance, but the Cornuskers came out with a victory attributable to All-American senior outside hitter Kelsey Robinson.
“One team had Kelsey Robinson and one team didn’t,” Sheffield said. “I thought that was probably the difference in the match.”
Sunday’s game strategy proved more fruitful, leading the Badgers to a 3-0 win against Iowa.
In anticipation of Friday’s game against Penn State, Sheffield acknowledged that Nittany Lion head coach Russ Rose deserved mention for his hard work, recruiting talent and for coaching talent.
“[Rose] does it in a way that nobody else can,” Sheffield said. “He’s the guy I’ve got an unbelievable amount of respect for because he does it his way and he gets his kids to play really, really hard.”
Despite Penn State’s remarkable success, the progress made by junior outside hitter Ellen Chapman, sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Morey and the lone senior, libero Annemarie Hickey, gives Sheffield room for optimism.
