TD Iowa. 28-3 Iowa.
Willis, is the Packers back up…although I kinda wish he was the starter. JMHOP.
PUT IN THE BACK UP…….PPPPLLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSSEEE. who is the Badger back up??? PLEASE JUST PUT HIM IN. UGH…….
So…..I feel better now, at least one TD eh?? ❤️ 🤍 ❤️
Lots of Locke's passes go just past the LOS. Then, the receiver gets hit, right away. Next to zero YAC.
It's one thing to get beat by Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, USC, Alabama, or Michigan. Those are powerhouse teams with huge NIL budgets.
You could excuse a hard-fought 14-10 type loss at Iowa, but getting blown out by Iowa is inexcusable, especially since this isn't a particular great Iowa team. This is the first team Wisconsin lost to that wasn't ranked. And it's probably the best barometer of where the program is. And that is it's not in very good shape.
It's not quite as bad as the 80s, but after Oregon blows them out next week, we'll be cheering for the Badgers to beat either Nebraska or Minnesota just so they can be bowl eligible and quality for some crappy third tier bowl.
Well ok then…….i’m done. GET RID OF THAT COACH…..
Iowa has 329 yards rushing. Iowa is not some powerhouse with future NFL lineman and running backs on the field. It would embarrassing to have this happen against Alabama, Ohio State, or Georgia, but at least it would be understandable. This is a program defining type of loss.
This is not Barry Alvarez' Badger program any more.
shit show, especially when you lay an egg in worst fashion than .. i dunno
This game was an unmitigated disaster on so many levels.
Other than Dupree I’m not sure there are any positives to come out of this matchup. The Badgers were outplayed and outcoached which has been a theme under Luke Fickell and I’m tired of hearing how “these types of games will see what we’re made of.”
At some point you have to simply tell it like it is. It’s been a complete failure. It starts with Longo and his idiotic schemes and play calls. The Badgers should have run the ball 40 times. Against a team like Iowa they want you to throw. And as erratic as Locke is, the Badgers were glad to oblige.
Then there’s the defense. Basically zero pass rush and getting gashed in the ground game. I have no idea what Tressel is trying to do and where the fuck are our OLBs?
Something has to change because this current model isn’t working.
Dupree does look good, I wonder what team he will be on next year?
I don’t think Dupree is going anywhere because he will likely be their feature back or 1-2 combo next year with Jones at RB. What’s more likely are some of their juniors bailing to the test the draft or portal. Personally, I’d be fine with that.
No one could have predicted Van Dyke to get hurt in game 3 but we saw it last year with Mordecai. Neither guy was a stud to begin with so your next option is Locke? A guy that has a career 50% completion ratio and turns the ball over at an alarming clip and is limited physically? He literally could have 15+ interceptions this year. As it is he has half of that but every game he puts 4-5 balls in the air that have a chance of being picked. It would be different if he were a decent running threat like Mordecai or a strong armed guy like Van Dyke but he’s neither.
My guess is Fickell gets one more year but if it were me I’d shit can Longo. He’s been atrocious as an OC. Tressel has been slightly better as DC but against Iowa he called a terrible game. Playing your safeties back despite getting gashed on the ground - against a team that literally has no passing threat - was really stupid. On the other sideline, Parker called a brilliant game.
The Badgers need to hit the portal big time this offseason. Maybe pull an SMU and get like 10 defensive lineman/OLBs. They also need a real fucking QB.
I agree with Fick staying. You can't ignore the track record and he should get a chance to see it thru an entire recruiting cycle. I also agree that Longo has to go. I've mentioned it before but I never understood Fick completely moving away from Bucky ball. The offense needed more creativity but it didn't need to go all Texas Tech on the bit. Hate to say it, but what Iowa (finally) did this season is exactly how Fick needed to address the offense.
I don't think it is too late to move back to a form of Bucky ball. Find someone from the past system to can offer their own ideas. I know nothing about Scott Tolzein as a coach but he is the QBs coach in Dallas. Someone like that…
Problems on both sides of the ball doesn't look good for coach Fick
All those years of just hoping Bucky could get a good QB.
Still hoping
Makes for a long day at the office if you can't stop the run. And Bucky was continually gashed against the run. It all started to unravel after the Locke interception. Momentum stayed with Iowa from then on.
Bucky Ball you say. This is the way I recall Bucky Ball, strong OLine, a real deep RB stable, a competent Qb, good to great linebacking, a ball hawking D back, great special teams and very few penalties. And usually an overachieving walk on or two for leadership.
How many of those have been in the mix the last few years?
Throw in suspect coaching and this is what we get.
It’s interesting the Badgers weren’t very disciplined (penalties) or had good special teams under Chryst either.
But going back years under Alvarez and even Bielema those teams played clean, complimentary football. Iowa has sort of taken that torch now.
What gets lost in this day and age of college football is the best team over the last 15-20 years (Alabama) plays a slightly modified version of Barry Ball. They play tough and physical and aren’t throwing the ball all over the yard.
To me, what this boils down to is if you are going to be a pass first offense then you need a decent QB to make it work. Along with really good receivers. Irs far easier for a team like Wisconsin to get players that fit the Barry Ball model. In my lifetime they’ve had 1 elite QB (Wilson) and 1 or 2 elite receivers (Toon and Evans). Yet they’ve had really good OL and RBs almost every year.
This one stings that if for sure because its Iowa. I fully expected a loss but didn't think it would be this bad.
As for Fickell I think we have to give more time to really get his recruiting class on the field and fully get his offense implemented. We all long for the days of big boy Barry ball but this is a new age of CFB where you going to rarely see that anymore. I personally would like to see a hybrid offense where its part running it down your throat and part RPO.
Where I think they need to desperately get better is on the OL and obviously someone who resembles a QB.
@Tschmack posted:It’s interesting the Badgers weren’t very disciplined (penalties) or had good special teams under Chryst either.
But going back years under Alvarez and even Bielema those teams played clean, complimentary football. Iowa has sort of taken that torch now.
What gets lost in this day and age of college football is the best team over the last 15-20 years (Alabama) plays a slightly modified version of Barry Ball. They play tough and physical and aren’t throwing the ball all over the yard.
To me, what this boils down to is if you are going to be a pass first offense then you need a decent QB to make it work. Along with really good receivers. Irs far easier for a team like Wisconsin to get players that fit the Barry Ball model. In my lifetime they’ve had 1 elite QB (Wilson) and 1 or 2 elite receivers (Toon and Evans). Yet they’ve had really good OL and RBs almost every year.
I'd add Abredaris to that list of elite Bucky WRs.
No matter what team we root for, whether it's the Packers, Badgers, Bucks or Brewers, a loss, or just poor play, really hurts. We can get solid players at positions we need improvement at, but developing them takes time and patience is growing thin, for a lot of fans and even for players, when we have to wait for a team to come together. Time will tell if Fickell can bring a winner back to Wisconsin--if we are willing to wait, for however long, it takes.
Now days, how many freshmen that a coach recruits remain on the team for 4 yrs? Thus, waiting til the coach gets his players in place is kinda fruitless.
Its win now baby, win now.
@Tschmack posted:It’s interesting the Badgers weren’t very disciplined (penalties) or had good special teams under Chryst either.
But going back years under Alvarez and even Bielema those teams played clean, complimentary football. Iowa has sort of taken that torch now.
What gets lost in this day and age of college football is the best team over the last 15-20 years (Alabama) plays a slightly modified version of Barry Ball. They play tough and physical and aren’t throwing the ball all over the yard.
To me, what this boils down to is if you are going to be a pass first offense then you need a decent QB to make it work. Along with really good receivers. Irs far easier for a team like Wisconsin to get players that fit the Barry Ball model. In my lifetime they’ve had 1 elite QB (Wilson) and 1 or 2 elite receivers (Toon and Evans). Yet they’ve had really good OL and RBs almost every year.
It's the offensive line. That's what Alabama did under Saban. Sure, they recruited some of the best set of skill position guys in college history, but they prioritized putting them behind the best set of offensive lineman in the last two decades. Most years under Saban there were multiple future excellent NFL lineman up front.
Since the Alvarez years began, the Badgers have probably produced more quality NFL OL than any other team. All of the guys listed below were drafted in the first 4 rounds (except Tauscher) and while not all of them turned out (sometimes due to injuries) some of the best NFL offensive lineman of the last 30 years are in this group. Joe Thomas was a first ballot HOFer. Zeitler, Ramczyk, and Frederick were all multi-time Pro Bowlers.
The problem Wisconsin has now is that these guys aren't going to go to Wisconsin. They'll go to Alabama, Ohio State, etc.
Joe Thomas, Kevin Zeitler, Ryan Ramczyk, Travis Frederick, Rob Havenstein, Tyler Biadasz, Mark Tauscher, Cory Raymer, Casey Rabach, Jerry Wunsch, Chris McIntosh, Ricky Wagner, Aaron Gibson, Gabe Carimi, Logan Bruss, Joe Panos, Peter Konz, Michael Dieter, Joe Tippmann, Al Johnson, Mike Verstagen, John Moffitt, Kraig Urbik, Bill Ferrario, Dan Buenning,
Harbaugh leaving Michigan is a big plus. Not that UW is likely to win many head to head recruiting battles with them, but he prioritized OL and DL and the tough, physical style of play that I still think UW aspires to be.
The issue is over the last 5 years is UW has gotten worse while Illinois, Iowa State, Iowa and to some extent Minnesota and Rutgers have remained decent or gotten better. Indiana emerging won’t help matters either.
It used to be a foregone conclusion that the best OL and DL in the state would go to Madison. Not anymore. The once successful walk on program has all but fizzled out.
I still think the program can be successful but they have to make a decision. If they want to be a pass focused team, they need better QBs and better receivers. In this day and age that means you have to pay and pay big. Wisconsin can certainly do so, I’m just not so sure they want to.
I said this in an earlier post it’s far easier to recruit and develop players that fit the “Barry Ball” model especially in the northern part of the country. Great QBs and WRs aren’t going to want to come to Madison unless you pay them big bucks. This is the fatal flaw with Fickell’s approach. He simply assumed players would commit to Madison but NIL has changed all of that. Even legacy programs now have to worry about keeping their players.
Next up is Oregon I think. How bad are they going to kick our ass?
Fickel should just do a kill the clock strategy
@DurangoDoug posted:Next up is Oregon I think. How bad are they going to kick our ass?
Oregon it is, another Prime time game on NBC.
@skully posted:Oregon it is, another Prime time game on NBC.
NBC execs are updating their resumes