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Badgers Come From Behind To Win Duke’s Mayo Bowl

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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

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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.

UW Football Adds 21 On National Signing Day

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Paul Chryst

The Wisconsin Badgers signed 21 players to National Letters of Intent on National Signing Day Wednesday.  The class received the program’s highest ranking nationally, 15th by Rivals and 16th by 247 Sports.

According to UW’s director of player personnel, with the 21 freshmen and seniors that are set to come back next year, the school no longer has any scholarships left.

The Class features one 5-star talent and ten 4-star recruits.  By position, UW adds three running backs, three offensive linemen, three outside linebackers, two inside linebackers, one player that could work inside or outside, two safeties (both in-state), two cornerbacks, two wide receivers, one quarterback, one tight end and one defensive end.

Wisconsin offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph said there’s a good chance that senior wide receivers Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor will return to the program next season.  In the pandemic, the NCAA developed a rule that allows seniors to return in 2021 if they so choose.

The 21 player class follows:  UWBadgers.com/NSD2021

 

 

 

UW Quarterback Jack Coan making progress (AUDIO)

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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

Football Badgers getting ready for Michigan

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The Wisconsin football team is inching closer to a return to Big Ten action against the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Saturday.  The Badgers began their regular game week preparations Monday morning.  The team will practice each day this week and continue to monitor the program’s COVID-19 testing results closely to determine the team’s activities moving forward.

The football program currently has five active COVID-19 cases, two student-athletes and three staff members.  Since Nov. 2, one staff member and one student-athlete have bested positive.  Five of the last six days have yielded no positive cases.

“We had no new positives on Tuesday and Wednesday which was a great sign,” UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said.  “That’s when we started thinking Friday could be a day we could get the team together to start doing things with an eye towards having a regular practice week.  So we were cautious on Friday and Saturday, split guys into groups, and just did conditioning.  The team then got together and held its regular Monday practice this morning.

“We feel confident that we have a handle on the situation and are excited to play this week at Michigan.  As we have done throughout, we will continue to monitor our testing results and base our decision on those results.”

The Badger football team first paused team activities on Oct. 28 and saw games at Nebraska (Oct. 31) and at home against Purdue (Nov. 7) canceled.

Three more added to Wisconsin football COVID-19 list

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The Wisconsin football program has confirmed more positive PCR tests for COVID-19.

The Wisconsin Athletic Department released the additional numbers Thursday afternoon.  One positive result was received late Wednesday, while two others were confirmed on Thursday morning.  All three were the pending results referenced in Wednesday morning’s initial announcement.  There are currently 16 active COVID-19 cases in the program, including 15 positive tests since Oct. 24.

The program was placed in a seven day hold and while there is no definitive timeline for a return to in-person football activities, the earliest return is Wednesday, Nov. 4.  A return to activity depends upon the success of ongoing mitigation efforts.  Head coach Paul Chryst, per CDC and Big Ten guidelines, can return to the team in person following a 10-day isolation period, on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the earliest.  That is the day of the Badgers next scheduled game, at home against Purdue.

Wisconsin Athletics has secured rooms at a local hotel for football players that have not recorded positive tests in an effort to further separate those who live together and mitigate the spread of the virus.  Each of the players in the hotel has his own room and the rooms are located in the same area of the hotel so as to limit exposure to other hotel guests.

Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, who referenced taking a PCR test on Wednesday, received his results Thursday and tested negative for COVID-19.

Members of the football program continue to take part in daily testing.

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…]

Wisconsin’s Coan out indefinitely with foot injury

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Jack Coan

The Wisconsin Badgers expect to be without senior quarterback Jack Coan for their October 24th opener against Illinois and likely beyond.

Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported that Coan injured his right foot during practice Saturday and is expected to be out at least several weeks.

Coan took over as the Badgers full-time starter last season after starting four games in 2018.  He started all 14 games last season, completing 69.6% of his passes, finishing with 2,802 yards.

With Coan sidelined, UW’s top three quarterbacks likely are Graham Mertz, Chase Wolf and Danny Vanden Boom.

Mertz played in two games as a freshman last season and completed 9 of 10 passes for 73 yards.  He had offers from Ohio [Read more…]

Dietzen returns to Badgers

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Offensive lineman Jon Dietzen started 32 games for the Wisconsin Badgers, but stepped away from the program after the 2018 season because of a number of injuries.  The time away has given Dietzen new life.  He’s returned to the program and is one of 113 players on the Badgers preseason training camp roster with practice kicking off on Wednesday.

Dietzen was prepared to return to the program last spring but the NCAA closed down all on-campus workouts because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Dietzen (Seymour, Wisconsin) started 20 games at left guard and 12 at left tackle before leaving the program after a number of lower-body injuries.

UW has to replace center Tyler Biadasz, David Moorman and Jason Erdmann from last season and Dietzen’s return gives the Badgers more depth as well as a veteran presence on the offensive line.

Not on the training camp roster is starting safety Reggie Pearson.  He started 13 of 14 games last season as a redshirt freshman and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 60.

Head coach Paul Chryst told reporters on Wednesday that Pearson is dealing with a medical condition that was discovered in the off-season.  He remains enrolled in school but hasn’t been cleared to practice or play.

Pearson took over as a starter in week two last season, replacing Scott Nelson who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener against South Florida.

The Badgers will open the Big Ten season Oct. 24 against Illinois at Camp Randall Stadium.

Big Ten set to return to football

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Camp Randall Stadium (Photo by David Stluka)

The Big Ten Conference is going to have football after all.

Less than five weeks after pushing fall sports into the spring with player safety concerns in the middle of a pandemic, the conference changed its mind with University Presidents and Chancellors voting unanimously to open its football season the weekend of Oct. 23-24.

All 14 teams will play eight games over eight weeks before Big Ten Championship weekend December 19th.  At that time, the first place team in the West will play the first place team in the East for the Big Ten title.  The second place teams will face each other, the third place teams will square off and so on, giving each team a ninth game.  The new schedule is expected to be released by the end of the week.

The emergence of daily rapid-response testing that wasn’t available last month helped trigger the re-vote, as did recent [Read more…]