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Over the final days leading up to kickoff, we'll be interviewing college football's top bloggers to give us some insight, wit and predictions for the school they passionately follow.Looking to track the Badgers? Wisconsin Badger Sports is named very appropriately and was kind enough to share some thoughts on the upcoming season ...
What gets you most excited for the upcoming football season?
Other than the fact that we've had to go almost eight months without college football? It's the anticipation of watching a talented group of guys take the field and seeing whether our coach is capable of putting together another season of twelve or more wins.
Madison is one of the best fall football destinations. What's your ideal Gameday itinerary (and if friday night is worked in feel free to share that as well ... the bars are outstanding)?
Oh, Friday night HAS to be included. That's when you get to Madison, drop your bags at your hotel room on Capitol Square, and wander down to the Essen Haus for enormous boots of German beer and a live polka band. If you prefer a less raucous scene, maybe you choose to head to the Great Dane -- brewers of numerous delicious beers -- instead. When it gets later, you can head to State Street -- a 3/4-mile pedestrian mall filled with bars, restaurants, and niche shops connecting campus to the Capitol building.
Next morning you make the walk down to Regent Street and pick a place to tailgate. Unfortunately, Madison doesn't have a lot of open land that's suitable for private tailgates, but the bars of Regent Street more than make up for it, serving up delicious brats and cold beer before the game. You head to Camp Randall and after enjoying the Badger victory, you stick around for the marching band show known as the Fifth Quarter. What you do after is up to you; if you're lucky, you might be able to find a table at Dotty's and enjoy the "Best Burger in the Big Ten." And of course you can't leave Madison without trying deep-fried cheese curds, preferably washed down with a bottle of Spotted Cow.
Let's dive right in -- In brief, your prediction for the Badgers this season (record, bowl, big wins, etc)? What needs to happen for Wisconsin to contend for Big10/NC? Potential areas of weakness that could result in a disappointing season?
Badgers go 10-2 this year with road losses to Ohio State and Penn State. They beat Michigan at home, which makes those two teams tie for the conference title. Wisconsin heads to the Rose Bowl on the tiebreakers and beat ... oh, let's say UCLA.
For Wisconsin to contend for the Big Ten championship, they need to win all their gimme games, beat Michigan in Madison, and establish a dominant running game. They need to offensive line to gel and the secondary to prevent big gains. If Tyler Donovan is a turnover machine or the top three cornerbacks' injuries carry over from fall practice into the season, I reserve my right to abandon the above predictions.
To the Badgers, a great quarterback is a luxury, not a necessity. Donovan filled in capably during the Iowa and Buffalo games last season when John Stocco was hurt. The word out of fall camp seems to be that he's not knocking anyone's socks off, but again, he doesn't really have to. If the offensive line can create a wide berth for P. J. Hill and the defense can shut down the opposition, everything will fall into place. And if Donovan isn't up to the job, Wisconsin picked up a great transfer in the person of ex-Kansas State starting QB Allan Evridge.
Everyone knows about sophomore RB P. J. Hill, who led the Big Ten in rushing last year, and a lot of people know Jack Ikegwuonu, who ran down Darren McFadden in the Capital One Bowl last year. But you might not know about defensive end-turned-tight end Travis Beckum, who quietly led the team in catches, receiving yards, touchdown catches, and receiving yards per game last year. He's a junior and there's a good chance, in my estimation, that he goes pro after the season if he puts up gaudy numbers.
What freshman do you have the highest hopes for?
I think Nick Toon, a WR who's the son of Badger great Al Toon, will be our best receiver since Lee Evans, and might exceed Evans's totals eventually. From what I've seen, he's turning heads in fall camp.
It's 3rd and 3, on the Badgers own 35 with 2:00 to go. What play call are you making -- what's the go-to play this year for Wisconsin?
It's play-action time and after faking the handoff to Hill, Donovan delivers a strike to the sure-handed Beckum. If the opposition has managed to shut down Beckum thus far, I see no problem with giving Hill two chances to pick up three yards. With a full head of steam, he's exactly the type of back who can get that for you.
If you could pick only one game on the schedule to attend -- what would it be?
You mean if I somehow managed to lose my tickets to see the Citadel, Indiana, Michigan State, and Northern Illinois? There are three really appealing choices on the Badgers' schedule, and although I've never made the trip to Columbus or State College to see their 100K+ behemoth arenas, I think I'd prefer to stay home and watch the showdown with Michigan in the middle of November. That one will be HUGE.
Most overrated team in the Big10 ... Most underrated?
If Michigan's defense doesn't reload, they will turn out to be severely overrated indeed. However, I have a policy of not calling the Wolverines or the Buckeyes overrated until they actually prove they are on the field -- do I need to explain why? If PJ Hill or any of our defensive units underperform, the Badgers actually have a good chance to be considered overrated too, much as I hate to say it. But the team that is currently the most overrated has to be Iowa. I know, I know, they're not even ranked, but they ARE receiving votes. I think Kirk Ferentz is perpetually given more credit than he deserves for his work at Iowa; sure, they had that great stretch from 2002-2004, but outside of those years Ferentz has led Iowa to 24-36 record.
The most underrated team is definitely Penn State, no question. They've got a very real shot at winning the conference; they're talented, their quarterback has a ton of game experience, and their sole tough road game is a trip to Michigan. We'll know what kind of team they are after they visit Ann Arbor on September 22, and if they manage to leave the Big House with a win, their home dates with Ohio State and Wisconsin will loom quite large indeed.
Word Association:The most underrated team is definitely Penn State, no question. They've got a very real shot at winning the conference; they're talented, their quarterback has a ton of game experience, and their sole tough road game is a trip to Michigan. We'll know what kind of team they are after they visit Ann Arbor on September 22, and if they manage to leave the Big House with a win, their home dates with Ohio State and Wisconsin will loom quite large indeed.
Jump Around -- Overdone. (Sorry, but we have a great marching band ... we shouldn't need pumped-in Irish rap to get us excited.)
Ron Dayne -- Legendary
Joe Thomas -- My favorite fisherman
P.J. Hill -- The cornerstone
Nov 10th -- Big Ten Title Game
Bret Bielema -- Driven
National Champs -- Someday. Hopefully soon.
Who's your all time favorite Badger?
You might knock me for going recent, but I really admire Jim Leonhard. A 5'8" walk-on from a Wisconsin town of barely 100 people, Leonhard eventually tied the school record for interceptions and set the Big Ten record for career punt return yards (he returned three punts for touchdowns as well.) The guy is the absolute model of hard work and integrity, and he's even collecting an NFL paycheck three years after he graduated. He's way better than Rudy.
Best game you've ever attended?
2005 vs. Michigan. Stocco runs in the winning score? How absurd!
You're a 5-star recruit, you have the choice of any college in the country (besides UW) where are you headed?
If I'm interested in a Wisconsin-like school, I'm looking for (1) great academics, (2) great tradition, and (3) recent success in football (sorry North Carolina, two of three is great but not good enough). My short list is probably topped by Texas, then Michigan. I like Cal, UCLA, Washington (the fake UW), and Notre Dame a fair amount. But the Texas weather probably gets me. Of course if UNC ever has a rebirth I go there to be a part of it. I mean, have you ever been to Chapel Hill? Wow.
Besides Wisconsin Badger sports, best sites for Badgers news?
The top source in the mainstream media is the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Jeff Potrykus writes exceptionally well and does a great job of catching angles that salivating fans want covered. He also interacts with fans on the Wisconsin board at Scout.com pretty frequently. Dave Heller at the Journal-Sentinel runs a fantastic blog ... it's better than mine, check it out, bookmark it, subscribe to its feed.
Who's your least favorite media pundit/expert?
Same as anyone; Mark May, Trev Alberts, Stewart Mandel. I don't count Lou Holtz as either a pundit or an expert so that's the only reason he stays off the list. I have to admit though -- for all the griping people do about ESPN, I truly enjoy the triumvirate they've assembled for Gameday; Fowler, Corso, and Herbstreit have a chemistry that makes the early and the final editions of College Gameday worth watching.
One bold prediction (i.e. longshot for conference title, heisman, NC, etc) for the upcoming season?
I really, REALLY want to say that USC watches the BCS (not just the title game, the whole BCS) from the outside, but I just can't convince myself of that. So I'll say this: Indiana finishes their season by winning a bowl game. And the SEC goes winless in the postseason.
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