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Badgers could be down to fourth string quarterback

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Danny Vanden Boom: PHOTO Courtesy of Kelli Steffes / UW Athletics

The Wisconsin Badgers are busy preparing for Saturday’s Big Ten matchup at Nebraska and they could be down to their fourth quarterback for the matchup.

Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this week that quarterbacks Graham Mertz and Chase Wolf have both tested positive for coronavirus.  Wolf wasn’t at the teams workout on Monday.

Both quarterbacks will require a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to confirm the first positive result.  If that test turns up negative for either player, then they could be available for Saturday’s game.  A second positive test would mean they would have to miss 21 days, according to the Big Ten Conference’s protocol.

Starter Jack Coan is already sidelined after foot surgery and Mertz replaced him with a five touchdown performance against Illinois last Friday.  If Mertz and Wolf are not available, then the next in line is redshirt junior Danny Vanden Boom.

Vanden Boom is the son of former Badger defensive back Matt Vanden Boom, who was an All-American back in 1981. [Read more…]

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…]

Badgers kickoff season with convincing win (Audio)

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Jake Ferguson

The Wisconsin Badger defense got off to a good start, holding Western Kentucky to just three points in a 34-3 victory over the Hilltoppers in the season opener on Friday  night at Camp Randall.

Wisconsin replaced seven starters on defense from 2017 but the Badgers looked comfortable from the start.  The Badgers held the Hilltoppers to just three points on four trips inside the UW 20-yard line.

Overall, 12 players made their Badger debut and nine players made their first starts as a Badger.

The Badgers led 24-0 at halftime, thanks in part to a pair of Jonathan Taylor touchdown runs.  Taylor finished with 145 yards on 18 carries to go along with the two scores.  Taylor topped the 100-yard mark for the 11th time in his 15-career games.  He now ranks No. 2 at UW in career rushing average, at 6.69 yards per carry.

Taylor also became the 17th player in UW history to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing for his career.  Taylor reached the 2,000-yard plateau in just 15 career games, the second-fastest in UW history.  Ron Dayne went over 2,000 yards rushing in only 13 games in 1996. [Read more…]

Badgers knock off Illinois, but far from perfect

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The Wisconsin Badger football team moved a step closer to the Big Ten West Division title, knocking off Illinois 24-10 on Saturday.  While the Badgers improved to 8-0 on the season and remain the only unbeaten team in the Big Ten, they once again gave no impression that they are ready to compete against other top teams in the conference (Ohio State & Penn State), or nationally for that matter either.

Wisconsin freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor  left in the first half with a left leg injury.  He had carried 12 times for 73 yards before heading to the sidelines for the rest of the game.

Without Taylor, the Badgers finished with 168 rushing yards on 45 carries, their second lowest total of the season.  Taylor himself, averages 168.5 yards a game.

Without Taylor, walk-on Garrett Groshek rushed 12 times for 51 yards and a touchdown and Bradrick Shaw added 40 yards on 12 carries.

One of the Badgers scores came on left tackle Michael Deiter’s four-yard touchdown reception. [Read more…]

Amherst rolls to D-5 title

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WIAA logoThe Wisconsin High School Football offensive player of the year didn’t disappoint on Thursday as the Amherst Falcons captured the WIAA Division 5 State Championship by blanking Spencer/Columbus Catholic 42-0 at Camp Randall Stadium.

Quarterback Garrett Groshek combined for 333 yards in total offense and six touchdowns as the Falcons won their second state title and finished 14-0 on the season.

Groshek completed 11 of 14 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns.  He ran for another 161 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries.

Spencer/Columbus Catholic (13-1) committed two turnovers in the end zone in the first half.