I have been writing my sports column off and on for five years now on this website. In those five years, I have NEVER experienced a sports weekend like this as a Wisconsin sports fan. It’s one of those weekends that I will look back on years from now and think to myself, did I truly enjoy it!
Let’s start the recap of the weekend with the unlikeliest of teams to be talked about in the month of October, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are making their fourth playoff appearance not this decade, but in my lifetime (or another words four decades). In my opinion, they are one of the worst professional sports franchises in the history of American professional sports.
So here are the Brewers in the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and the second time since 1982. And unlike three years ago, they are actually winning. Saturday they got an incredible outing from Yovanni Gallardo in a 4-1 win. And then Sunday, the offense took over in a 9-4 victory. And suddenly the Brewers are one win away from their first trip to the League Championship Series in 29 years.
But as we all know, football is the #1 sport in this country now. So even though the Brewer post-season victories are nice and refreshing, we are mainly concerned with our football teams. And boy, did they come through this past weekend.
The Wisconsin Badgers were 4-0 and playing incredible football but even I would admit that they hadn’t really played anyone yet. That all changed Saturday night when Nebraska came to town in the Huskers‘ first ever Big Ten game. With Wisconsin #7 and Nebraska #8, the nation was awaiting which team was the real deal. After toying with the Huskers for most of the first half, Heisman Trophy candidate Russell Wilson and the rest of the Badgers took control and demolished Nebraska 48-17.
The Badgers rose to #4 in the poll on Sunday placing them in National Championship contention. That same day, the world champion Packers took the field and did to Denver the same thing Wisconsin did to Nebraska. After a slow start, the Packers completely dominated the second half in a 49-23 victory. Aaron Rodgers threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more. The other touchdown was just your standard Charles Woodson pick six. The Packers remained one of two undefeated teams in the NFL.
All in all, an incredible weekend. And although the Brewers, Badgers and Packers still have a ways to go this season, this will be a weekend we will never forget as Wisconsin sports fans.
Showing posts with label Badgers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Badgers. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Here We Come Rose Bowl
Going to the Rose Bowl isn’t anything new for us Badger fans, but this team that is going may be the best one we’ve seen in the last few trips. If you remember back to our last two appearances, the Badgers were all about Ron Dayne and a huge offensive line. The passing game was limited and the defense was average.
I’m not saying that running the ball behind a huge line isn’t still our bread and butter, but this time it comes in a little different flavor. It’s not just John Clay exploding out of the backfield. In fact, the past three weeks, Clay wasn’t the featured back at all. It’s Clay, Monte Ball and James White as a triple threat. And especially White isn’t your typical Badger running back that runs over people. He’s shifty and fast which presents defenses an entire different problem.
But this Badger team has another dynamic: their passing game. Scott Tolzien may be the best Badger quarterback of the past two decades. He is very accurate on any type of pass. He is patient and is even willing to take off and run. The receivers and tight ends are huge dependable targets which don’t allow defenses to load eight or nine in the box.
As for the defense, they might not be a whole lot better than those 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowl squads, but they have JJ Watt who is going to be make some NFL team very happy next year. And they are solid against the run. They also don’t have to worry about giving up a couple scores because this Badger offense is capable of digging itself out of a hole if need be. Maybe the most impressive stat is that this Badger team scored 70 or more points three times this year. They averaged 45 points a game. That is dominance.
I think the draw really favors UW too. We’re going to see what TCU is made of in this game. I have gone back and forth on what kind of value I place on these non AQ schools. The Frogs are obviously a very good football team. I am fairly certain that they would have lost at least a game or two had they played in the Big Ten, SEC, Big Twelve or Pac 10 this year. Wisconsin to me is clearly the better team, but TCU is not Indiana or Austin Peay. They can win this game especially when you throw into the mix the long break before the Bowl games, the festive atmosphere and the face that TCU arguably has more to prove than Wisconsin does.
With that said, I like our chance. Go Bucky!
For more, visit my website at www.songerstudio.com
I’m not saying that running the ball behind a huge line isn’t still our bread and butter, but this time it comes in a little different flavor. It’s not just John Clay exploding out of the backfield. In fact, the past three weeks, Clay wasn’t the featured back at all. It’s Clay, Monte Ball and James White as a triple threat. And especially White isn’t your typical Badger running back that runs over people. He’s shifty and fast which presents defenses an entire different problem.
But this Badger team has another dynamic: their passing game. Scott Tolzien may be the best Badger quarterback of the past two decades. He is very accurate on any type of pass. He is patient and is even willing to take off and run. The receivers and tight ends are huge dependable targets which don’t allow defenses to load eight or nine in the box.
As for the defense, they might not be a whole lot better than those 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowl squads, but they have JJ Watt who is going to be make some NFL team very happy next year. And they are solid against the run. They also don’t have to worry about giving up a couple scores because this Badger offense is capable of digging itself out of a hole if need be. Maybe the most impressive stat is that this Badger team scored 70 or more points three times this year. They averaged 45 points a game. That is dominance.
I think the draw really favors UW too. We’re going to see what TCU is made of in this game. I have gone back and forth on what kind of value I place on these non AQ schools. The Frogs are obviously a very good football team. I am fairly certain that they would have lost at least a game or two had they played in the Big Ten, SEC, Big Twelve or Pac 10 this year. Wisconsin to me is clearly the better team, but TCU is not Indiana or Austin Peay. They can win this game especially when you throw into the mix the long break before the Bowl games, the festive atmosphere and the face that TCU arguably has more to prove than Wisconsin does.
With that said, I like our chance. Go Bucky!
For more, visit my website at www.songerstudio.com
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