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Badgers fall from top 25

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Joel Stave

Joel Stave

The Wisconsin Badgers dropped out of the top 25 in both National polls, following Saturday’s 20-14 loss to Northwestern in the Big Ten opener in Evanston, Ill.

Wisconsin (3-2, 0-1) was intercepted four times and missed several chances in the red zone in the loss.

Joel Stave took over for Tanner McEvoy at quarterback late in the first half.  Neither one of them got adequate protection from the Badgers offensive line.  McEvoy was hit as he threw his only interception and Stave’s arm was hit on the first of his three picks.

The receivers struggled to get open and make plays, but the quarterbacks certainly are not void from blame.  Neither performed well enough and Stave had first and goal at the three in the second half.  Instead of throwing the ball away when he couldn’t find an open receiver, he forced it and threw one of his three interceptions.

Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon rushed for a career high 259 yards, but that wasn’t enough to turn the fortunes of the Badgers on this day.  Gordon became the 12th UW runner to break the 3,000-yard mark.

Stave finished 8 of 19 and tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kenzel Doe with 4-minutes and 14-seconds left in the first half.  McEvoy was ineffective through four series, finishing 4 of 10 passing for 24 yards, which is why Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen made the quarterback switch. [Read more…]

Stave to backup McEvoy on Saturday

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Joel Stave will be Wisconsin’s No. 2 quarterback when the Badgers open Big Ten play on Saturday at Northwestern.

Stave struggled with accuracy in training camp and fell down the depth chart for the first four games of the season.  Now, if the situation is right, Stave could play Saturday against the Wildcats in Evanston.

Redshirt sophomore Bart Houston held the backup spot for the first four games after Stave wasn’t ready to play.

Coach Gary Andersen said Stave has definitely progressed and is throwing the ball much better.

 

Stave says he’s feeling much better about his throwing

By

Joel Stave

Joel Stave

Former Wisconsin Badger starter Joel Stave says he hasn’t had any mental blocks in weeks and said he’ll be prepared to take the field is necessary.

Stave had issues during training camp that led to him not being able to complete even the most routine passes.  It was one month ago that Stave detailed to a large group of reporters, just exactly what the issues were with regards to his throwing and his dropped down the depth chart.

Yesterday, Stave told reporters that he feels a lot better than he did a month ago.

AUDIO: Stave said he feels much better now :13

AUDIO: Stave on the most difficult time over the past month :13

Stave hasn’t played this season and there’s no guarantee he’ll move into the backup spot behind Tanner McEvoy just because he said he’s ready to go if needed.

Badgers coach Gary Andersen said offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig will have to decide if they can count on Stave to perform under pressure. [Read more…]

Badgers pick up lackluster win over South Florida

By

Gary Andersen

Gary Andersen

The 17/19 ranked Wisconsin Badgers pulled away in the second half to knock off the South Florida Bulls 27-10 in the final non-conference game at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday.

The game was ugly early and the Bulls managed to take a 3-3 tie into the lockerroom at halftime against the Badgers.  Wisconsin managed just 139 yards of total offense in the first half.

Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon and Rob Havenstein both felt the need to address the team at halftime.  “We were walking in and we said we’ve got to talk to these guys,” Gordon said.  “I was having flashbacks of Week 2, and we went in that game and I didn’t say anything and big Rob didn’t say anything.

“This time we felt like we needed to rally our offense together and speak up.  We motivated those guys and obviously we were a different team.” [Read more…]

Badgers rout Bowling Green

By

Melvin Gordon

Melvin Gordon

The 17th ranked Wisconsin Badgers got off to a slow start in the first quarter, turning the ball over twice and allowing a 35-yard touchdown run.  But Wisconsin’s offense picked up the pace after that and the Badgers pulled away for a 68-17 win over Bowling Green at Camp Randall Stadium.

The Badgers set program records for rushing yards and total yards in the victory.  The Badgers scored 27 second quarter points and led 41-10 at halftime.

Two weeks after being held to 167 rushing yards by Western Illinois, Wisconsin racked up a program record 644 yards on 60 carries (10.7 avg.) against the Falcons.  The Badgers previous high was 564 yards in a 2012  (62-14) win over Indiana.

Melvin Gordon, who was held to 38 yards on 17 carries against Western Illinois, finished with 253 yards and a program record-tying five touchdowns on just 13 carries.  He averaged 19.5 yards per carry. [Read more…]

Badgers short on tailbacks

By

Gary Andersen

Gary Andersen

Wisconsin Badger freshman tailback Taiwan Deal is expected to be out until the second or third Big Ten Conference game with a hand injury.  Another Wisconsin freshman tailback, Caleb Kinlaw, will redshirt this season.  He’s been dealing with shoulder and hip issues.

To help with the lack of depth, coach Gary Andersen said sophomore cornerback Dare Ogunbowale was moved to tailback during this bye week.  The Badgers could also move sophomore free safety Leo Musso on a part-time basis.

The Badgers are off this weekend.  They’ll return to Camp Randall Stadium a week from Saturday against Bowling Green.

 

Passing game turns the corner against Western Illinois (Audio)

By

Alex Erickson

Alex Erickson

When Western Illinois loaded the box to try to stop the Wisconsin Badgers running game, the passing game had the perfect opportunity to show they could do better than the 50-yard performance the week before in a loss to LSU.

Tanner McEvoy and his receivers answered the bell.

Western Illinois held Melvin Gordon to 38 yards on 17 carries, but McEvoy completed 23 of 28 for 283 yards and three touchdowns to lead Wisconsin to a 37-3 win over the Leathernecks.  Those numbers could have been better had Reggie Love held onto a deep pass that should have resulted in a 67-yard touchdown.

McEvoy’s top target was redshirt sophomore wide receiver Alex Erickson, who caught 10 passes for 122 yards.

Senior tight end Sam Arneson added four catches for 87 yards.

Western Illinois did move the ball early against the Badgers, but committed two turnovers.  They finished with 162 yards in all.

The Badgers improved to 1-1 with the victory and get a bye week off.  They’ll face Bowling Green next, on September 20th at Camp Randall Stadium.

AUDIO: Alex Erickson on UW’s success in the passing game :12

AUDIO: Gary Andersen on Tanner McEvoy’s performance :19

Stave not hurt afterall

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Joel Stave - Photo by David Stluka

Joel Stave – Photo by David Stluka

On Tuesday, Wisconsin officials said quarterback Joel Stave would be out indefinitely because of persistent issues with his right shoulder.

Later the same day, Badger coach Gary Andersen and Stave told reporters that the redshirt junior had no physical problems, but remains out because of recent poor practice performances.

Stave insisted that he is not experiencing shoulder pain like he did in April when he missed the final week of spring practices.  That pain was the result of the injury that Stave suffered in Wisconsin’s 34-24 loss to South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl.

Stave said he just hasn’t thrown the ball the way he’d like to.

According to coach Gary Andersen, when the Badgers host Western Illinois on Saturday at Camp Randall, Tanner McEvoy will remain the starter and Bart Houston will move up to number two.

Houston played in two games last season.

Badgers falter in second half, lose to LSU

By

Gary Andersen

Gary Andersen

The first 35 minutes on Saturday night was looking like the Wisconsin Badgers would leave Houston with a season opening upset victory over LSU.  Unfortunately, the last 25 minutes was all LSU and the Tigers pulled away for a 28-24 victory.

The 13th ranked Tigers came from 17 points down to stun the Badgers.  They scored 21 straight points after Corey Clement’s TD run gave Wisconsin a 24-7 victory.  Just prior to that score, Melvin Gordon’s 63-yard run gave the Badgers 1st and 10 at the 12.

It was not a good night for Tanner McEvoy and the Badger passing game.  McEvoy finished 8 of 24 for 50 yards and two interceptions.  He rushed six more times for 40 yards.

Badger fans were wondering why coach Gary Andersen didn’t make the switch to last years starter Joel Stave.

AUDIO: Gary Andersen asked if he thought to put Joel Stave into the game :05

Andersen had little explanation for the lack of carries for Melvin Gordon.  He finished with 16 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown, but only three carries in the second half [Read more…]

Badgers kick off season tonight

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Melvin Gordon - Photo: David Stluka

Melvin Gordon – Photo: David Stluka

The Wisconsin Badgers can make a major statement tonight when they open the college football season against LSU at NRG Stadium in Houston tonight (8pm).

Redshirt junior Tanner McEvoy is set to make his first start at quarterback for the Badgers.  The last time he started a game at quarterback came during his only season at Arizona Western College in the 2012 El Toro Bowl.  He started three games for the Badgers last season at safety.

Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen wants a quarterback that is a dual threat, being able to run as well as pass.  McEvoy has the running part down, but how will he do throwing the football.  The Badgers success tonight may greatly depend on it.

But Wisconsin’s bread and butter is still their running game and they feature an offensive line with plenty of experience.  That line will be blocking for Heisman Trophy candidate Melvin Gordon, and Corey Clement, who will share time with Gordon this season.

While the quarterback position is going through some change, the biggest change comes on defense where the Badgers feature a new front seven.  That unit will be tested by LSU’s veteran offensive line and talented running backs.  LSU hasn’t settled on a quarterback.  Freshman Brandon Harris and sophomore Anthony Jennings will both play against the Badgers tonight.

LSU’s lack of experience at quarterback could be the difference for the Badgers, who are trying to pull off the upset.  Wisconsin enters the game as a 5 1/2 point underdog.