Graham Mertz

Coan Leaving Wisconsin for Notre Dame

January 5, 2021 By Bill Scott

Jack Coan

Former Wisconsin Badger starting quarterback Jack Coan has decided to transfer Notre Dame to compete for the starting job in South Bend. He will have one season of eligibility remaining.

Coan started 18 games for the Badgers in 2018 and 2019 but missed most of last season with a foot injury in preseason training camp that required surgery. Even when he returned to the sidelines, the Badgers went with Graham Mertz and Chase Wolf at quarterback.

Coan completed 68% of his passes for 3,278 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions during his time at Wisconsin. He helped the Badgers win the Big Ten West Division title in 2019. He completed nearly 70% of his passes and posted the third-highest passing total (2,727 yards) in team history during that season.

Notre Dame has Wisconsin on its schedule next season, a September 25 matchup at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Badgers Come From Behind To Win Duke’s Mayo Bowl

December 30, 2020 By Bill Scott

Paul Chryst

It wasn’t looking good early for the Wisconsin Badgers, who fell behind Wake Forest 14-0 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Wednesday in Charlotte. The Badgers had two empty possessions, while the Demon Deacons put two scores on the board just 7:39 into the game.

The Badgers (4-3) settled down from there and scored 14 points in each of the next three quarters to go on and beat Wake Forest 42-28.

Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman had thrown just one interception coming into the game, but he threw four picks against the Badgers, who finished the season with a two-game winning streak. The Badgers got interceptions from Noah Burks, Scott Nelson, Jack Sanborn and Collin Wilder. Sanborn finished with 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and the pick.

Wisconsin improved to 5-1 in bowl games under coach Paul Chryst. The 42-points scored is the highest scoring output for the Badgers in a bowl game, surpassing the previous record of 38 against Utah in the 1996 Copper Bowl.

The Badgers improved to 17-15 in bowl games overall and have won 6 of their last 7 bowls, dating back to the 2014 season.

Quarterback Graham Mertz finished 11 of 17 for 130 yards and a touchdown. He also scored on a pair of 1-yard runs.

Hartman finished 20 of 37 for 318 yards and three touchdowns for Wake Forest (4-5).

Coan To Transfer From Wisconsin

December 20, 2020 By Bill Scott

Jack Coan

Jack Coan would have been Wisconsin’s starter if not for a foot injury on Oct. 3, which was followed by surgery a few days later. Graham Mertz took over as the starter and stayed there, even after Coan returned in uniform on Dec. 5 against Indiana.

Coan didn’t play against the Hoosiers or the Iowa Hawkeyes the following week. Then Saturday, after Mertz left the game with an injury, Paul Chryst went with Chase Wolf and the Jack Coan era is over with in Madison.

Coan passed for 2,727 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in 14 games last season. His final game came in the 2020 Rose Bowl contest against Oregon, a 28-27 Wisconsin loss. During his time in Madison, Coan started 18 games and played in 25.

Now he’ll look for one final opportunity to lead a football team other than the one in Madison.

Badgers Offense Struggles Again In Loss At Iowa, Minnesota’s Next

December 13, 2020 By Bill Scott

Paul Chryst

Another struggling offensive performance led to another Wisconsin defeat, 28-7 against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes broke open a close game with a pair of long touchdown drives in the third quarter, handing the Badgers their third straight loss. The Badgers failed to reach 10-points for the third straight game.

The Badgers (2-3) fell below the .500 mark for just the second time under head coach Paul Chryst.

The Badgers played again without their top two receivers, Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor due to injury. They also played without their leading rusher, freshman Jalen Berger, who came in averaging 89 yards a game on the ground, but tested positive for the coronavirus.

As a result, the Badgers offense managed just 225 yards and a lone touchdown by running back Nakia Watson. The Badgers finished with 56 rushing yards on 33 carries. Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz finished with 169 yards and an interception.

The Badgers will try to finish the season on a positive note and climb back to .500 when they host rival Minnesota at 3 p.m. on Saturday [Read more…]

Badgers drop home finale to Indiana

December 6, 2020 By Bill Scott

The Wisconsin Badgers managed just two short Collin Larsh field goals (29, 28 yds) on Saturday and fell to the Indiana Hoosiers 14-6 in the final game of the season at Camp Randall Stadium.

The Badgers (2-2) have one game left in the regular season, a road trip to Iowa to face the rival Hawkeyes this Saturday.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz finished 20 of 34 for 202 yards with an interception and a fumble.

Freshman tailback Jalen Berger made his first start and ran for 87 yards on 15 carries.

The difference in this defensive battle was red zone efficiency. Indiana was 2 for 2 with a pair of touchdowns, while the Badgers went 2 for 3, setting for two field goals.

The Badgers had one final chance to score and potentially tie the game, but their last minute drive stalled at the Hoosier 17 yard line when Graham Mertz fourth-down throw to Chimere Dike fell incomplete with 46 seconds left to play.

Wisconsin’s defense held Indiana to 87 yards rushing, marking the third-consecutive game UW has held its opponent below 100 yards.

Big Ten Scoreboard

Penn State 23, Rutgers 7
Ohio State 52, Michigan State 12
Iowa 35, Illinois 21
Nebraska 37, Purdue 27

Mertz, offense struggle in Badger loss at Northwestern (AUDIO)

November 22, 2020 By Bill Scott

Graham Mertz – Photo Courtesy of David Stluka / UW Athletics

Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz committed three first half turnovers and four overall as the Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) fell to the Northwestern Wildcats
(5-0) (17-7 in Evanston, Illinois on Saturday.

The Badgers, who played without injured wide receivers Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor, lost for the fifth time in the last six trips to Evanston.

The Badgers managed just one score on 17 offensive possessions and finished three for 16 on third downs, committing five turnovers for the game. UW has committed 18 turnovers in the last six meetings against the Wildcats.

Graham Mertz, who hadn’t turned the ball over in his first two games, finished 23 of 41 for 230 yards with a touchdown [Read more…]

Badgers crush Wolverines, move to 2-0

November 15, 2020 By Bill Scott

The 14th ranked Wisconsin Badgers took advantage of a couple of Michigan turnovers early and went on to a convincing 49-11 win over the Wolverines on Saturday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Safety Scott Nelson and linebacker Leo Chenal intercepted Joe Milton in the first quarter and the Badgers quickly turned them into touchdowns for a 14-0 lead.

The Badgers (2-0) built a 28-0 halftime lead and were in cruise mode for the rest of the game.

Michigan (1-3) suffered its third straight loss and had no answer for the Badgers, who played without four starters and six additional players. The Badgers also lost defensive ends Matt Henningsen (elbow) and James Thompson (lower body), linebacker Mike Maskalunas (lower body) and safety John Torchio to injuries during the game.

Quarterback Graham Mertz, who tested positive for coronavirus one day after the season opener, got off to a slow start but settled in. He finished 12 for 22 for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Wisconsin’s 38-point win was its largest-ever margin of victory over Michigan and is the 5th win in the last seven meetings against the Wolverines. The Badger win marked the first win by the road team in the series since the Badgers scored a 48-28 win over the Wolverines at the Big House in 2010.

The Badgers face a big road test next Saturday at Northwestern (4-0), a 27-20 winner over Purdue (2-1) on Saturday.

Big Ten Scoreboard

Indiana 24, Michigan State 0
Nebraska 30, Penn State 23
Northwestern 27, Purdue 20
Illinois 23, Rutgers 20

UW Quarterback Jack Coan making progress (AUDIO)

November 13, 2020 By Bill Scott

Paul Chryst

Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan is no longer wearing a protective boot on his broken right foot and is making progress after undergoing surgery on Oct. 7.

“Hopefully sooner than later we can get it to where he can start doing some field work,” said head coach Paul Chryst.

The Badgers return to action Saturday night (6:30 p.m. ABC) in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines. It’s the Badgers first game in three weeks after seeing games against Nebraska and Purdue cancelled due to high COVID numbers in the program.

Starting quarterback Graham Mertz is eligible to return to action for Saturday’s game after testing positive for coronavirus and working his way through the protocol. But Badgers coach Paul Chryst wouldn’t say whether it’ll be Mertz at quarterback on Saturday night against the Wolverines.

AUDIO: Paul Chryst says Jack Coan is still rehabbing but getting closer :16

AUDIO: Paul Chryst said there’s no timeline for Jack Coan returning, but he’s progressing :15

AUDIO: Paul Chryst says they’re preparing all three quarterbacks as if they’ll play :15

Wisconsin’s Mertz is out for 21 days

October 27, 2020 By Bill Scott

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

Wisconsin Badger redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz will miss the next three games after a second COVID-19 positive test was confirmed. The news was first reported by CBS Sports.

Mertz made his starting debut last Friday night against Illinois and threw for 248 yards and five touchdowns in the Badgers season opening 45-7 win over Illinois. He was named the Big Ten’s Co-Offensive Player of the Week as well as the Conference Freshman of the Week.

Big Ten protocol requires any player who tests positive for COVID-19 to miss at least 21 days and undergo cardiac screening before being cleared to return. Mertz will miss Saturday’s game at Nebraska, a home game against Purdue and a road matchup at Michigan against the Wolverines.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mertz’ backup, Chase Wolf also tested positive for coronavirus and are awaiting results of a second test. The Badgers are getting ready for Saturday’s game at Nebraska and prepping fourth stringer Danny Vanden Boom as their starter.

Badgers could be down to fourth string quarterback

October 27, 2020 By Bill Scott

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…]