Four games to watch this semester
By Ryan Reszel | Sep. 1, 2014The rest of the Badger sports schedule is full of even more intriguing matchups. Here are four you need to attend in Madison.
The rest of the Badger sports schedule is full of even more intriguing matchups. Here are four you need to attend in Madison.
HOUSTON - When sophomore running back Corey Clement scored a two-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to put Wisconsin up 24-7, it seemed as if the Badgers were well on their way to picking up a monumental win for not only their football program, but for the Big Ten as a whole.
If reports from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel are correct, redshirt junior Tanner McEvoy will be the starting quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers when their season opens in Houston. McEvoy and the incumbent redshirt junior Joel Stave have been locked into a heated quarterback battle for the past month now, but it appears that McEvoy has emerged as the winner. If it is true, head coach Gary Andersen will be taking a huge risk, but one that is right for the Badgers.
Two games have resulted in two wins for the Badgers already this season, and if they can replicate those results again this weekend, they will be on their best start to a season since 2004.
After a physical home win over the Oregon Ducks, the Badgers (2-0) took down the Tennessee Lady Volunteers (1-1) on Sunday in another Madison scorcher. The heat had a visible effect on the players, and it quickly became a battle of strength and stamina. Tennessee was the more physically daunting team, with four girls standing at 5 feet 11 inches, and had a clear mindset to use that to their advantage.
Following the highly anticipated tilt against LSU to open the season, the remainder of the Badgers’ schedule gets a little bit easier. Here’s a breakdown of the other 11 games.
Can Wisconsin successfully replace its front seven?
Does Tanner McEvoy have a short leash if he struggles early?
With a top-heavy schedule and a Heisman hopeful among their ranks, the Badgers are in prime position to be a part of NCAA football’s first year of post-BCS playoffs.
Chance The Rapper once said, “And we back! And we back! And we back!” and the glorious return of college football is no different. The annual fall drama returns better than ever with all your favorite characters and a plot twist like no other, the College Football Playoff. Here are five regular season games to keep an eye on as the magnificent wave rolls its way into bracket form.
It’s not exactly a secret that the Southeastern Conference has been dominant in the last decade.
In recent memory, Wisconsin always seems to kick off its season against some inferior school that nobody really has any desire to watch. There was Akron in 2008 and UMass last year, along with a host of other dreadful teams in-between.
A sweltering Friday night season opener saw a 7 p.m. kickoff temperature of 85 degrees. Still, fans turned out by the hundreds to support their Badgers as they took on the Oregon Ducks, who were coming off of a 3-0 win in an exhibition game earlier this month. Looking to build off last year’s successful season, the Badgers wanted to start the season off on a high note, and they were able to do just that, with a 54th minute goal by senior forward Cara Walls.
Statement 1: Félix Hernández is the most valuable player in the American League. Statement 2: Félix Hernández is a pitcher. It has become a prevailing wisdom in the baseball fandom and media that Statement 2 makes Statement 1 somewhere between unlikely and virtually impossible. This wisdom was widely discussed when Justin Verlander was humiliating batters in 2011 and some saw fit to lower him on their MVP ballots or drop him altogether. Verlander almost certainly would have lost the award if his team hadn’t made the playoffs.
With just over a month until Wisconsin takes on Louisiana State to open its 2014 season, head coach Gary Andersen met with press at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago to discuss his team's future. Andersen, entering his second season as head coach, will oversee key changes throughout the Badgers’ roster. He emphasized that his team’s success rests on the younger players’ ability to gel with the veterans and push one another. “There’s a lot of new faces that our seniors are challenging to get involved in the offense, the defense and the special teams and be involved in our team,” Andersen said. “And as those young guys go, in certain positions, our season will definitely follow.” Andersen designed Wisconsin’s first few practices to change up the roster and place the younger players among, but also against, the veterans. “They’ll get reps, they’ll put it out there, and it will allow the youth to be able to mix in a very competitive situation with the veterans on the team,” Andersen said. “And hopefully that will allow the cream to rise to the top quicker.” Redshirt junior running back Melvin Gordon, the undisputed leader of Wisconsin’s offense, told reporter Mike Lucas that he has enjoyed working with the new players in a more vocal way than he is used to. “To break out of that role and be more vocal has made me a better player,” Gordon said. While Gordon has a stronghold on the carries at running back, Andersen will pay close attention to the developments at wide receiver, where Wisconsin must fill the void left by graduated wideout Jared Abbrederis. Senior wide receiver Kenzel Doe and redshirt junior Jordan Fredrick will anchor the revamped receiving corps, but the depth chart is muddled after them. Andersen listed redshirt sophomore Alex Erickson, redshirt freshman Jazz Peavy and sophomore Robert Wheelwright as candidates that will vie for playing time. “We’re not going to have Jared out there at this point,” Andersen said. “Somebody’s going to have to catch a lot of balls and do a lot of special things to be put (on) that pedestal.” Andersen did not set a definite time for when he will choose a starting quarterback, a spot that redshirt juniors Tanner McEvoy and Joel Stave have been vying for all offseason. McEvoy and Stave will split snaps during the first few practices, while freshman D.J. Gillins will also be given reps, according to Andersen “The kids on the team will understand it, the coaches will understand it and at that time we’ll make a statement and have a starting quarterback,” Andersen said of the competition. “It may not be until we jog off the sidelines for the first snap at the LSU game, though.”
Our writers all have their favorite Badger moments since we enrolled. Throughout the years, it’s been pretty good to be a Badger fan. Now, the question is what lies in store for you.
The rosters for the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Minnesota were released Sunday night, so now it's time to wade through the rosters and separate the wheat from the chaff and the Jeter from the young baseball players.
Early on a summer Saturday morning, it might be difficult to find 450 children ages 9-17 out and about in the entire city of Madison.