Thanks to a road sweep of Minnesota State, the Badgers are now off to the best start in program history and have etched their names in the WCHA record books. No. 3 Wisconsin (8-0-0 WCHA, 10-0-0 overall) proved too much for the Minnesota State Mavericks (0-8-0, 2-9-1) as the undefeated Badgers took away a pair of victories from Mankato, Minnesota.
Wisconsin (8-4 Big Ten, 16-6 overall) extended its conference winning streak to four straight games by beating No. 17 Purdue (8-3, 17-5) in four sets and sweeping Indiana (3-9, 13-11) this weekend at home. The Badgers took on Purdue on Friday night and won 25-18, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22 in front of a soldout UW Field House. Sophomore outside hitter Kelli Bates led the Badgers offense, tying her career high of 17 kills.
The Badgers’ postseason dreams of winning back-to-back Big Ten tournament titles came to an abrupt and harsh end in the tournament’s first round this Sunday, in which underdog No. 7 seed Ohio State beat the favorite No. 2 seed Wisconsin at McClimon Sports complex. A two-goal lead for the Buckeyes in the first half proved sufficient to beat the Badgers, who were able to only find the back of the net once in the second half, despite a blitzkrieg of heartbreakingly close offensive attempts as the final minutes of the match quickly ticked away. Wisconsin (8-2-1 Big Ten, 11-6-3 overall) clocked in 22 shots over the course of the game to Ohio State’s (5-4-2, 11-5-3) 10 shots.
The Badgers entered Saturday’s road contest with recent success away from home, going 4-1-1 in their last six road games, but were unable to get anything going in a 1-0 loss to Indiana (3-3-1 Big Ten, 10-4-2). Wisconsin (1-3-3, 4-10-3) was outshot 17-5 on the day, including a 7-1 deficit in shots on goal, as its two-game point streak was snapped.
The rain may have kept away the fans, but it didn’t keep away the Badgers (4-1 Big Ten, 7-2 overall) offense as they rolled over Rutgers (1-4, 3-5) 48-10. Getting a win is something the team wanted, but junior running back Corey Clement’s return after missing eight games was much more important.
Wisconsin (6-4 Big Ten, 14-6 overall) returns home this week to take on No. 17 Purdue (17-4, 8-2) and Indiana (13-10, 3-8). Purdue’s scouting report has already caught the attention of the Badgers’ coaching staff.
When defensive backs coach Daronte Jones suffered a season-ending injury his sophomore year at Morgan State, he didn’t know it would be the last time he played football. After receiving too many stingers, Jones learned he had cervical nerve damage, which occurs in the neck.
The Big Ten is two years into its experiment and it’s clearly not working. The addition of Maryland and Rutgers in 2014 has had its time to steep, and it’s become evident that their fit isn’t perfect.
Ohio State has been a bit of a disappointment this year. Sure, they’re still undefeated and No. 1 in both rankings, but a worrying number of games in which they failed to pull away early has created a sense that they are this year’s Florida State, a defending champ sleepwalking through the regular season and waiting to get exposed by a plucky upstart in the College Football Playoff. The most visible reason for this iffy play is at quarterback, the position considered the Buckeyes’ greatest asset in preseason.
It wasn’t that long ago that Alex Erickson was leaning toward playing basketball at UW-Stevens Point.
Bret Bielema, Arkansas
If it seems like there’s a logjam at the top of the AP rankings this year, it’s because there is. A remarkable 12 teams have made it through the first eight weeks of play without a blemish on their record. That’s the most undefeated ranked teams in college football since the AP Poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989.
Oregon
Rutgers football does not have a long history with the Big Ten, having joined the conference for its first season last year.
It was a rather uneventful Week 8 for the Big Ten. Ohio State and Michigan State both kept their undefeated records intact, Penn State edged past Maryland and Bart Houston laid the foundation for his 2016 Heisman campaign by helping Wisconsin best Illinois.
1. Houston to the rescue
Desperately searching for its first win of the season, Wisconsin (0-3-3) will welcome the Arizona State Sun Devils (4-4-0) to the Kohl Center this Friday and Saturday. Despite an offensive outburst last weekend at Ferris State, the Badgers were unable to earn their first victory of the season after tying the Bulldogs 5-5 and losing 2-1 in consecutive games. Although the Badgers are still winless, head coach Mike Eaves has remained upbeat noting several positives that have resulted from his young team’s play. “One of the good things was the fact we scored five goals.
Despite what appeared to be a lost year at the beginning of the season, the Badgers enter their final two contests with a considerable amount still on the line.
In a stunning end to what was a dominating eight-game win streak and miracle season turnaround, the Badgers fell to Northwestern in a heartbreaking double-overtime defeat at the at the McClimon Sports Complex Wednesday night. While having clinched a share of the Big Ten title last weekend with its victory on the road against a struggling Maryland, Wisconsin lost the distinction of being the only holder of the conference title. The Badgers (8-2-1 Big Ten, 10-5-3 overall) needed a win or a draw against the Wildcats (7-3-1, 13-4-2) to claim sole ownership of the Big Ten title.
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