The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Wisconsin – INSIDE SLANT
What would another week be without more intrigue and uncertainty surrounding the Wisconsin program?
As the Badgers (3-2, 0-1) get set for Saturday’s home game against a hapless Illinois squad, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema might have created a quarterback and kicker controversy.
The two positions are unlike most due to the confidence needed to be successful, but Bielema has benched two quarterbacks and two kickers this season. Freshman quarterback Joel Stave was replaced by former starter Danny O’Brien with just less than three minutes left last week at Nebraska. And Kyle French and Jack Russell are battling for the starting kicker duties after Russell was replaced by the previously benched French at Nebraska. Got all that? Yes, that’s how troubling the 2012 Wisconsin season has been through five games, a weekly trip through rocky waters that started with a near-loss to Northern Iowa in the opener.
Bielema defended his decision to insert O’Brien into the game at Nebraska.
“As a coach, you can’t re-think that way, as far as how you handled Saturday,” Bielema said.?”I will point out that Danny came in on 3rd down the prior series, so it wasn’t like that was the first time of going in the ball game — I get it was only for one play — but Joel really got rocked on that play. And as far as how we handle this Saturday, it’s all about what we see this week.”
Stave, in his first career road start, completed 12-of-23 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown at Nebraska. Stave already is building a solid connection with star wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, who caught seven passes for 142 yards and one touchdown last week. Bielema said Stave played well last week.
“Obviously Abby had a nice couple plays in the beginning,” Bielema said. “Obviously the guy throwing it to him was Joel. For the most part I thought Joel, to be on the road and that environment with all the communication factors that went into it, played a really, really good football game. He got whacked a few times and got back up after that. I think that was some upside for a freshman quarterback to be in the scenario.”
As for the muddled kicking game, Bielema has yet to reveal his intentions, but the expected outcome is that freshman Jack Russell will handle only the kickoffs and sophomore Kyle French will handle the field goals and extra point attempts. Russell missed an extra-point attempt and a 41-yard field goal in UW’s 30-27 loss at Nebraska. French started the season as the No. 1 kicker, but Russell took over the duties after a shaky game against Utah State.
Heading into the Illinois game, Wisconsin’s defensive line is finally starting to get healthy. The defensive ends have been ravaged by injuries in the last three weeks, but end Pat Muldoon is having his pins removed from his surgically repaired broken wrist this week. Senior end Brendan Kelly is making progress with his hamstring injury and strong safety Shelton Johnson play this against Illinois after suffering a broken arm in the Oregon State loss.
———————————————–
NCAAF Team Report – Wisconsin – NOTES, QUOTES
–The Badgers have an opportunity to finally even up their all-time series against Illinois. The Illini hold a slight 36-35-7 edge.
–Wisconsin looks to extend its streak this Saturday to 11 straight conference wins at home. Northern Illinois owns the longest streak with 13 straight conference home wins.
–A scary note for Illini fans is that during Wisconsin’s 19-game home winning streak that the Badgers have won by an average of 30.7 points.
–RB Montee Ball enters the Illinois game 12 touchdowns shy of breaking the NCAA career record for touchdowns, held by Miami-Ohio’s Travis Prentice with 78. Ball has scored 57 touchdowns in 23 career starts. Ball is coming off setting career highs of 38 carries for 224 yards in his last meeting against Illinois.
–WR Jared Abbrederis, a junior, leads the Big Ten with 99.0 receiving yards per game and ranks second in the conference in yards per catch at 19.9 yards and touchdown receptions with four.
SERIES HISTORY: Illinois leads Wisconsin 36-35-7 (last meeting, 2011, 28-17 Wisconsin).
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: A week after suffering his second concussion since August, Montee Ball showed no effects of the head injury. Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema worked Ball hard in the Nebraska game, handing the ball off to him 32 times. By comparison, Melvin Gordon and James White combined for three carries. Ball showed his durability with 90 hard-earned yards. Through five games, the offensive line is still having problems developing into a cohesive unit that can overpower opponents and help sustain long drives. Ball is way off his pace from last year and essentially dropped out of the Heisman Trophy running with 125 carries for 450 yards, an average of 3.6 yards per carry. As a team, the Badgers enter the Illini game with 628 yards rushing compared to 582 for their opponents.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: As evidenced in last week’s loss at Nebraska, Wisconsin’s hasn’t shored up its defense in the second half. The Badgers’ defense is allowing opponents to come back in games by allowing 38 points in the third quarter and 27 points in the fourth. Opponents have outscored the Badgers 65-54 after halftime this year. One factor hurting UW’s defense is the lack of big plays. The Badgers have recorded eight sacks and not picked off a pass in five games this year. Linebacker Chris Borland leads the team with three sacks and David Gilbert has two sacks.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I think for Joel Stave to have the ability to watch a guy like Russell Wilson, a guy that is competitive as he is and kind of learn that. Just talking with people around Joel before he came here, I know he’s very competitive and all that goes into it, but you learn a lot by watching players that are in front of you. I think that and seeing the film and being around a little bit of Scott Tolzien that’s really helped him to get to where he is probably at an early age.” — Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema on freshman quarterback Joel Stave’s maturation process.
———————————————–
NCAAF Team Report – Wisconsin – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK’S GAME: Illinois at Wisconsin, Oct. 6 — Talk about perfect timing. The Badgers have been waiting for the right time to build some confidence for a late-season run. Enter Illinois. The Illini have been blown out three times, including in their last two games. This should be over rather quickly.
KEYS TO THE GAME: The Badgers have to play with the right mindset and attack the Illini. The Badgers are the superior team and have to play hard the entire four quarters and not let up. That’s been one of UW’s big issues this season. The inability to close out games has hurt them all season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
–RB Montee Ball was used extensively last week despite suffering a concussion the previous week against UTEP. Ball should receive big workload with the Badgers seeking to build momentum with a blowout win over Illinois. Last year against Illinois, Ball ran for a career-high 224 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns and one receiving.
–QB Joel Stave’s mental and physical state is an area to watch. It will be interesting to see how Stave bounces back from last week’s physical game and getting pulled in the final drive. Several UW coaches have talked about Stave’s ability to handle pressure and play like a veteran.
–DE David Gilbert didn’t start last week due to his critical comments of Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez. Gilbert has two sacks this year, way too low of a number. The time is right for Gilbert to step up with a big performance.
–WR Jared Abbrederis has put together back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since returning from an injury. He leads the conference with 99.0 receiving yards per game.
ROSTER REPORT
–DE Brendan Kelly is slated to return to the field after dealing with a hamstring issue the last two few weeks. Kelly has missed three of the last four games.
–DE Pat Muldoon is expected to play against Illinois after missing the last three games with an injured wrist.
–QB Joel Stave is scheduled to start against Illinois.
———————————————–
