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Badgers could be without Mertz

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Graham Mertz – Photo Courtesy of David Stluka / UW Athletics

After completing 20 of 21 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-7 win over Illinois on Friday night, Wisconsin redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus.  The story was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Sunday.

Mertz took over for starter Jack Coan, who suffered a right foot injury earlier this month and underwent surgery on Oct. 7.

According to Big Ten protocols released last month, athletes who test positive through point of contact daily testing will require a polymerase chain reaction test to confirm the first result.  If a second test confirms Mertz has the coronavirus, he will have to sit out at least 21 days.

The Badgers will face the Nebraska Cornhuskers this Saturday in Lincoln.  They’ll host Purdue the following week (Nov. 7) and then face Michigan (Nov. 14) in Ann Arbor.

If Mertz is out, the job would likely go to Chase Wolf with Danny Vanden Boom as his backup.

Mertz, Badgers dominate opener over Illini

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Graham Mertz (Photo by David Stluka/Wisconsin Athletic Communications)

The Wisconsin Badgers kicked off the 2020 college football season with a 45-7 thumping of the Illinois Fighting Illini without fans at Camp Randall Stadium.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz, in his first collegiate start, completed his first 17 passes and ended up completing 20 of 21 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns.

Mertz five touchdown passes tied the highest single-game total in UW history, matching the school record set by Darrell Bevell vs. Nevada in 1993 and Jim Sorgi vs. Michigan State in 2003.

The 14th ranked Badgers won their 25th straight home opener and their eighth straight game over the Illini in Madison.  They avenged a one-point loss to the Illini in Champaign last season.

Illinois scored their only points after forcing a fumble by Badger tight end Jake Ferguson and linebacker Tarique Barnes [Read more…]

Badgers kick off 2020 season tonight

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Graham Mertz – Photo Courtesy of David Stluka / UW Athletics

The college football schedule gets a bit more crowded with the start of Big Ten play this weekend.  The 14th ranked Wisconsin Badgers kick things off Friday night against Illinois (7 p.m. kickoff) at Camp Randall Stadium.

Highly touted quarterback Graham Mertz makes his first collegiate start for the Badgers.  The redshirt freshman from Kansas takes over for Jack Coan, who is out after having foot surgery.

While the Badgers are big favorites, Mertz will be challenged by an Illinois defense that ranked in the top 10 in takeaways last season.  The Illini recovered 16 fumbles and intercepted 12 passes last season, which ranked fourth among FBS teams.  Three of those 28 takeaways came against the Badgers last season, when the Illini came from behind to upset Wisconsin 24-23 in Champaign.

The Badgers have stressed ball security with Mertz during training camp and need that mentality to translate to the field on gameday.  Coan threw just five [Read more…]

Wisconsin awarded NCAA tournament hosting duties

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The NCAA is returning to Tampa, Florida, for the 2023 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four and Wisconsin will play co-host with the Tampa Bay Sports Commission (TBSC) at Amalie Arena.

The two partnered to play host to the 2016 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in Tampa previously.

This will mark the fifth time Wisconsin will serve as host or co-host of the event, including 2006, 1997 and 1993 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.  Wisconsin hoisted the National Championship trophy in 2006.  The 1993 and 1997 Frozen Fours were won by Maine and North Dakota, respectively.

This also marks the third time Amalie Arena will see the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four with the event taking place in the building in 2012, as well.

Regional sites for 2023 are Fargo, North Dakota, Allentown, Pennsylvania, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Manchester, New Hampshire.

Wisconsin to host 2024 Cross Country Championships [Read more…]

Broncos RB Gordon cited for DUI, facing potential league discipline

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Melvin Gordon (25) file photo

Former Wisconsin Badger and current Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon could be facing NFL discipline after he was cited late Tuesday for driving under the influence.

ESPN.com reports Gordon was also cited for speeding, between 25 and 39 mph over the posted limit, in downtown Denver.

Gordon was taking part in meetings on Wednesday morning, when players returned to start preparing for this weeks game at New England.

Gordon signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Broncos during the offseason.  He leads the Broncos with 281 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.  He also leads the team in carries with 65.

Broncos players had the last three days off after their game against the New England Patriots, originally scheduled for this past Sunday, then postponed one day, was moved to this coming Sunday.  Gordon, along with several teammates, voiced their displeasure on social media over losing their bye week after a New England player tested positive for COVID-19.

Gordon played for the Badgers from 2011 through 2014.  He has a November 13th court date set.

U.S. women’s hockey captain Meghan Duggan retiring

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Meghan Duggan – Photo Courtesy of UWBadgers.com

After a 14-year run with the U.S. women’s national team, Captain Meghan Duggan is retiring.  Duggan made the announcement on Tuesday in an essay published by ESPN.

“Hockey literally changed my life,” Duggan wrote.  “I put on a pair of skates as a toddler and grew up through the sport.  It’s been one of the greatest privileges of my life to play for Team USA.  While being an athlete will always be part of my identity, I am ready for the next chapter.”

The 33-year-old Duggan won seven gold medals at the IIHF world championships and was part of three Olympic teams, winning silver in 2010 and 2014 and capturing gold in 2018.  She played in 137 games, scoring 40 goals and adding 35 assists.

Duggan is a native of Danvers, Massachusetts and played collegiately for Mark Johnson at the University of Wisconsin.  She captured the 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award as the best women’s college hockey player in the country.

Duggan is a member of the board of directors at USA Hockey.  She also serves on the board of trustees at the Women in Sports Foundation and was recently named to the NHL’s Player Inclusion Committee.

 

Badger football opener set for Friday, Oct. 23rd

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Camp Randall Stadium (Photo by David Stluka)

The Big Ten’s first football game of the 2020 season will be in Madison.  The Wisconsin Badgers will kick off their campaign against Illinois on Friday night, October 23rd at 7 p.m. on BTN.

The game will be played without any fans at Camp Randall Stadium because COVID-19 numbers continue to rise in the state.  Only personnel deemed essential to play a game will be allowed inside the stadium.

UW officials are also asking fans to avoid gathering and to avoid tailgating outside or near the stadium.

UW was off to a 6-0 start last season, including a 3-0 mark in the Big Ten when the Badgers faced Illinois in Champaign.  The Illini forced three Wisconsin turnovers, overcoming a 13-point deficit in the second half to upset the Badgers 24-23.

 

Coan undergoes successful surgery

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Jack Coan

Wisconsin senior quarterback Jack Coan underwent successful surgery on his right foot Tuesday and will be out indefinitely.

Coan suffered the non-contact injury during practice on Saturday.

In his first full season as the Badgers’ starter in 2019, Coan completed a school-record 236 passes for 2,727 yards, the third-highest single-season total in UW history, with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions.

The Badgers are expected to go with redshirt freshman Graham Mertz as the teams starting quarterback in their Oct. 24th season opener against Illinois at Camp Randall Stadium.

 

Big Ten hockey to return in November

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The Wisconsin men’s hockey team will open its 2020-21 season in November.  The Big Ten Conference announced on Tuesday the season will start as early as Nov. 13, a delay of roughly six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The seven Big Ten teams will play 24 league games and will also play four non-conference games against Arizona State during the season.  That move allows the independent Sun Devils to fill their schedule, but puts that program on the road for the entire season.

The Badgers already had two non-conference games set up for this season against Arizona State.  The teams were also a part of the field for the inaugural Holiday Face-Off in December at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.  That event will be put on hold for a year.

The Big Ten also decided to return to a one-weekend format for its 2021 postseason tournament after splitting the three rounds over three weekends for the last three years.  A site for that championship (March 18-20) hasn’t been determined.

Fans will not be allowed to see games in person, at least to start.  That means scheduling will be even more flexible than [Read more…]

Wisconsin’s Holloway selected in 1st round of NHL Draft

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Dylan Holloway – Photo Courtesy of Greg Anderson / UW Athletics

Eighteen-year-old Wisconsin Badger sophomore forward Dylan Holloway was selected in the first round of the NHL Draft on Tuesday night, taken 14th overall by the Edmonton Oilers.

It was the third straight season that a UW player has been selected in the first round.

Defenseman K’Andre Miller was taken 22nd overall by the New York Rangers in 2018.  Center Alex Turcotte was selected fifth overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2019 and right wing Cole Caufield was selected 15th overall by Montreal in 2019.

Holloway becomes the 16th Badger player picked in the first round.  That total trails only five NCAA schools:  Michigan (25), Minnesota (21), Boston College (21), Boston University (20) and North Dakota (20).

Holloway had eight goals and 17 points in 35 games for the Badgers last season.

Holloway joins his father as an NHL draft pick.  Bruce Holloway was a seventh-round selection of the Vancouver Canucks in 1981.  He played two games with the Canucks during a very brief pro career.