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Taylor named Doak Walker finalist

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Jonathan Taylor

For the second straight season, Wisconsin sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor has been named a finalist for the Doak Walker Award.

The nation’s leading rusher, Taylor has tallied 1,869 rushing yards and scored 15 touchdowns.  His average of 169.9 yards per game is 31.6 higher than any other FBS player and has Taylor on pace to rush for 2,209 yards in 13 games.  Only six players in FBS history have run for 2,200 yards in a season.

Taylor has topped the 100-yard mark in 10 of 11 games this season, including an FBS-leading four 200-yard efforts.  He rushed for a career-high 321 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner in triple overtime, last Saturday at Purdue.

After breaking Adrian Peterson’s FBS freshman record with 1,977 yards last season, Taylor needs just 31 yards to become only the fourth player to record back-to-back seasons of at least 1,900 yards.  he looks to join the likes of Iowa State’s Troy Davis (1995-96), TCU’s LaDanian Tomlinson (1999-2000) and Memphis’ DeAngelo Williams (2004-05).

With 3,846 yards for his career, Taylor has already smashed fellow Badger Ron Dayne’s FBS record for combined rushing yards as a freshman and sophomore.  Taylor, Dayne (3,566 yards, 1996-97) and Herschel Walker (3,507, 1980-81) are the only FBS players to tally 3,500 rushing yards in their first two seasons.

Clemson sophomore Travis Etienne and Memphis junior Darrell Henderson are the other finalists for the Doak Walker Award.

The Doak Walker Award winner bill be announced during The Home Depot College Football Awards, which airs at 6 p.m. (CT) on Dec. 6 from the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta.  The award will be presented at the 2018 Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet in Dallas on Fe. 8.

 

Taylor caps off record rookie campaign for Badgers

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Jonathan Taylor

After being held in check during the Big Ten Championship game loss to Ohio State, Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for 130 yards on 26 carries on Saturday night to help the Badgers knock off the Miami Hurricanes 34-24 in the Orange Bowl.

The final performance of the season gave Taylor 1,977 yards, the number-1 mark all-time among FBS Freshmen.  He passed Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne (1,863 yards – 1996) and Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson (1,925 yards – 2004).

Taylor played in all 14 games for the Badgers, hitting 100 yards in a game 10 times and rushing for at least 200 yards three times.

“It means a lot for me to be mentioned with guys like Adrian Peterson and Ron Dayne,” Taylor said.  “It is humbling.  There won’t ever be any guys like those.  To be mentioned with them, it is a testimony to the offense and to the team.”

Dayne’s rushing total as a freshman doesn’t include his 246-yard performance in the Copper Bowl.  NCAA records didn’t include bowl games before 2002.

 

Former Badger Carlini named semifinalist for 2016 AAU Sullivan Award

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Lauren Carlini

Lauren Carlini, who is the only four-time All-American in Wisconsin volleyball history, is a semifinalist for the 2016 AAU James E. Sullivan Award.

The Sullivan Award has been presented annually since 1930 to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.  Representatives from the AAU created the Sullivan Award with the intent to recognize contributions and achievements across the country of amateur athletes.

Carlini joins Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, who was one of five finalists for the award in 2000, as the only other Badger recognized.

A 6’2 setter, Carlini earned four All-America honors during her career, including three first-team honors. [Read more…]

Gordon named Doak Walker award winner

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Melvin Gordon

Melvin Gordon

Wisconsin Badger running back Melvin Gordon was named winner of the Doak Walker Award as college football’s most outstanding running back during the Home Depot College Football Awards on the Boardwalk at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on Thursday night.

Gordon was also named to the Walter Camp All-America Team, where he joined Indiana’s Tevin Coleman as a first-team running back.

Gordon became the third Wisconsin back to win the Doak Walker award, joining Ron Dayne in 1999 and Montee Ball in 2012.

Gordon rushed for 2,336 yards and 29 touchdowns.  He needs one touchdown to join Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders and UCF’s Kevin Smith as the only players to rush for 2,000 yards and score 30 TDs in a season.

Gordon became the fastest player to reach 2,000 yards in a season by hitting the threshold on his 241st carry of the season.

Gordon now heads to New York City where he’ll join Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota and Alabama WR Amari Cooper for the presentation of the 80th Heisman Trophy.

 

Gordon named Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Week

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Melvin Gordon

Melvin Gordon

After a rough first half, Melvin Gordon exploded in the second half to help lead the Wisconsin Badgers to a 28-24 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday.  Today, Gordon was named the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Week.

Gordon recorded 264 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns to lead Wisconsin to the win.  He rushed for 200 yards on 31 carries, matching the Big Ten and school record for most rushing yards in a season of 2,109 yards set by former Badger Ron Dayne in 1996.

Gordon also became the fastest player to reach 2,000 yards in NCAA history, doing so on his 241st carry of the season.

It’s the fourth Offensive Player of the Week award of his career and third this season.

Gordon loses single game record

Just seven days after Melvin Gordon set the FBS single-game rushing record (408 yards), Oklahoma freshman Samaje Perine bested Gordon with 427 yards on 34 carries as the Sooners racked up a 44-7 win over Kansas.

Gordon earned his 408 yards on just 25 carries, while it took Perine 34 carries for his record performance.

Badgers to welcome seven new members to Hall of Fame

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The University of Wisconsin will welcome seven new members to its Athletic Hall of Fame in September.MotionW_2Color

The class includes baseball standout Steve Bennett, who earned four letters from 1973-1976.  He made an immediate impact, leading the Badgers in doubles and RBI’s as a freshman.  The following season, Bennett earned All-America honors while leading the nation in doubles.  Bennett went on to set school records for hits, doubles and RBI’s and is one of just five two-time All-Big Ten selections in UW history.

Beau Hoopman is a member of the National Rowing Hall of Fame and rowed for the Badgers from 1999-2003.  After graduation, Hoopman won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics and a bronze in the 2008 games in the men’s eight.

Mike Kelley was the face of the Badgers’ 2000 Final Four team.  His outstanding defense and gritty play embodied the character of that historic squad.  Kelley was named the 1999 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and still holds the school record with 275 career steals.  Kelley was a Wooden Award finalist as a senior and earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2001.

Left Tackle Chris McIntosh was instrumental in the success of running back Ron Dayne.  McIntosh was a four-year starter on UW’s offensive line and a team captain on both the 1998 and 1999 teams that won Big Ten and Rose Bowl titles.  Following his career at Wisconsin, McIntosh was chosen in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. [Read more…]

Dayne says his success is due to team work (AUDIO)

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More than 13 years after running to the top of the NCAA career rushing list

Ron Dayne in the 1999 Rose Bowl

Ron Dayne in the 1999 Rose Bowl

and winning the Heisman Trophy, two-time Rose Bowl MVP and former Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne has been chosen to join an elite group.  The National Football Foundation announced yesterday that Dayne has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Dayne will be the 13th Badger inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, joining his former coach and current UW Athletic Director, Barry Alvarez, who was part of this year’s Hall of Fame selection committee.

The other Badgers in the Hall, Wisconsin’s only other Heisman winner, Alan Ameche, Marty Below, Robert Butler, Pat Harder, Elroy Crazylegs” Hirsch, Pat O’Dea, Pat Richter, Dave Schreiner and coaches Phil King, George Little and Harry Stuhldreher. [Read more…]

Dayne headed for College Football HOF

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Former Wisconsin Badger running back Ron Dayne was announced today as a part of the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013.

Dayne finished his career as college football’s all-time leading rusher, finishing with 6,397 career rushing yards.  Counting bowl games, Dayne rushed for 7,125 yards as a Badger.

As a senior, Dayne became the second player in Badgers’ history to win the Heisman Trophy, racking up 2,034 rushing yards and scoring 20 touchdowns.

Dayne becomes the 13th former Badgers’ player or coach to be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Wisconsin runs through Nebraska on the way to Pasadena

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Last week, many were questioning whether the (then) 7-5 Wisconsin Badger Football team deserved a spot in the Big Ten Title Game.  After Saturday’s 70-31 win over Nebraska at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the Badgers validated their appearance and punched their ticket to a third straight Rose Bowl.

Wisconsin will take on #6 Stanford, the Pac-12 Champions, January 1st in Pasadena.   The Badgers will be the first Big Ten team since the 1977 to 1979 Michigan Wolverines to play in three straight Rose Bowls.

Wisconsin did all their damage on the ground.  The Badgers piled up 539 rushing yards, the most ever given up by a Nebraska team.  Melvin Gordon racked up 216 yards on 9 carries, Montee Ball added 202 yards on 21 carriers while James White added 109 yards on 15 carries.  The game marked the 2nd time Wisconsin had 3 players rush for over 100 yards and was the first time 2 players hit the 200 yard plateau.  The Badgers also set a school record with 8 rushing TDs.

[Read more…]