UW-Long Beach State thoughts

Good test to open the season, nice to see the kids put through a tight game right off the bat. Long Beach was more competitive than just about any Minnesota team Dan Monson ever brought to the Kohl Center.

Thought the defense could have been much tighter -- they shot 48% -- but Long Beach had some pretty athletic players and we stiffened up down the stretch. We'll see more, of course. Perhaps the lack of a seven-foot shot blocker will be a liability for us against teams like that, even if they don't have bona fide post players.

-Like Marcus Landry's shaved head look (this picture is from last year). His old haircut was kind of dorky. His game looked as good as ever, though, as he scored in a variety of ways and at clutch times. Three blocks, too. He played with a lot of emotion and looked like a senior eager to make this team his.


-Because Long Beach wasn't that tall we went with a lineup of four perimeter players quite a bit, with Landry as the only true post. It didn't go all that well. There wasn't sufficient movement, just a lot of truncated drives, and the spacing made the guys easy to guard. Too many possessions ending with rushed shots at the end of the shot clock.


-Krabby's shot looks different, at least that first 3-pointer he hit looked different.


-Jon Leuer does look like he's filled out in a good way. Early on he showed a nice shot fake and penetration, with a good pass to Nankivil, who had it stripped. He also showed a good crossover early in the second half, leading to a layup.


-Jordan Taylor's first 3-point attempt came from way beyond the arc. Not an inappropriate shot, though. He's got a solid build, sort of reminds me of Pop. His second shot, a runner off the backboard, was sort of lucky but he made a really nice move to split the defense and get open. His alley-oop to Landry was just beautiful. Judging from his play Sunday, we shouldn't be nervous when he comes in to spell Pop.



-The Big Ten Network's sideline reporter noted early on that Bo was getting on the team for not fouling enough. The Badgers ended with nine fouls. It's an interesting point; my dad used to tell me that when I'd end a game with one foul that I wasn't playing aggressively enough, and that's what Bo was getting at here.



-Rob Wilson sure wasn't shy about shooting when he got in the game, I like that out of a freshman. Very athletic. Can't see him getting a ton of playing time once Big Ten play starts, though.

-Tim Jarmusz played 19 quiet minutes but seemed to be around the ball on the offensive glass a lot.

-The five on the floor for the finish: Krabby, Landry, Jarmusz, J-Bo, and Pop.

-Andy and I sat a few rows in front of Howard Moore and Greg Gard at the football game Saturday. Didn't seem like there were any recruits with them.



-This new business of the college game having two 3-point lines, one for the dudes and one for the chicks, could potentially be confusing. And imagine what an NBA arena might look like. J-Bo hit a long shot that would have been a 3-pointer last year but was worth one point less Sunday, and took a dribble back to get to the spot. I wonder if that was where he wanted that shot, or if he mistakenly thought it was a 3-pointer. Long Beach's last points came on a shot that would have counted for three points last year

UW-Minnesota thoughts

Well, it's been a day since our big win over Minnesota. I just got done telling Will the story of the game; as was my intention, he was most interested in the part about Paul Bunyan's Axe. Specifically, he wanted to know how Paul Bunyan died, because he didn't think giants died. Will also thought it would be nice if the Badgers kept the Axe forever.

I agree. Just rallying to keep it this year was an unexpected joy.

So proud of everyone yesterday, from the coaches who didn't bail on what looked like a lost cause, to the players who forgot all the mistakes they'd made and put forth an inspired effort, to the fans who willed them on.

Can't remember when I've been part of a crowd like that. So emotional. So intense. Part of it was the gut-wrenching disgust at watching Gopher fans gloat over their team's first-half dominance. Part of it was desperation to get bowl eligible. Part of it was just natural excitement over the action on the field (two safeties in a row?). Part of it was watching the Gophers try to co-opt Jump Around as their own (how dare they?).

At the end, everyone was watching the crowd of players with the Axe, but I couldn't take my eyes off John Clay, who had grabbed a giant Wisconsin flag and was parading it around Camp Randall. Here was a redshirt freshman who represents the future of our program showing genuine enthusiasm over the moment. He was enjoying it as much as the rest of us, which is awesome.

On to the game.

-Can you ever remember a receiver having a career game that included three drops, including one for a sure-fire touchdown? Good for Isaac Anderson for shaking off the dropsies to be the playmaker at wide receiver that we desperately need. Nick Toon is showing promise too.

-P.J. Hill had a deceptively good game, aside from the fumble. He's had a solid stretch these last several weeks, and is in position to crack that 1,000-yard mark.

-When Niles Brinkley intercepted that pass on Minnesota's last possession and started running around, did anyone not think that, given the way this season has gone, he was going to fumble and the Gophers were going to drive down the field and either tie it or win it?

-Philip Welch's field goal to start the second half just barely made it over the crossbar. Had he not made that kick, I don't think the rest of that second half happens.

-Good time for Mike Newkirk to have the game of his career, wasn't it?

-How about a rundown of some of the head-scratching mistakes we made? Clay's fumble. Shane Carter's offside penalty on the Gophers' two-point conversion (come on man, think!). Dustin Sherer taking that sack when he was out of the pocket with a clear lane to throw the ball into the stands! The blown coverages that led to Minnesota's second and third touchdowns. Allowing that fourth-and-18 conversion. Blowing more third-and-shorts. The botched field goal attempt that would have put us up 10-0. And yet ...

We're in position to play in a decent bowl, maybe even win eight games this year.

And we keep the Axe.

We'll keep that Axe, thank you

Pretty happy right now. I'll tell you more about it later. Hopefully much later!

Nightmare

Only word to describe this latest fiasco. The lowlight is the Minnesota fan two rows behind us, in section R, row 40, seat 2, celebrating wildly Kyle Jefferson's injury. Here comes the ambulance ... Metaphor for the season.

Hope at least Kyle is OK, Will always asks about him ...

UW-Minnesota thoughts ...

... will be coming later than usual today, as I'll be at the game and plan on reveling afterward, win or lose. It's looking like a cool, windy day in Madison, but everyone's excited about keeping the Axe.

Woke up this morning feeling like Eric Decker's going to play today. The nice thing is we're playing outside in authentic Midwest November weather, not inside a sterile dome, so it's going to be tough for his ankle to feel good. I don't want him to play. The PC thing is to say you want to beat them at their best, and he is probably their best player. But at this point we just needs wins, and if Decker sitting on the sideline, not catching passes and punching our defensive backs in the crotch, helps us win, I'm all for it.

UW-Minnesota preview

It would be easy to look at this game, if you're a Badger fan, and be really confident. After all, UW ran for over 400 yards Saturday, and Minnesota has looked pretty mediocre the past few weeks while threatening to squander its 7-1 start and end up in a familiar bowl destination -- Detroit. What's more, their best player, Eric Decker, is out, which means Badger DBs don't necessarily have to wear cups.

Maybe it's the Bob Bummer in me, but I don't see this being a one-sided game. Here's why:

-Our success came against a severely depleted Indiana team. The confidence the offense took away from that game is big, but executing the same basic plays probably won't yield the same boffo results against Minnesota. I sure as hell don't expect David Gilreath to carry the ball eight times again.

-Much of Minnesota's early success this season came from forcing turnovers. We have been, to put it politely, turnover-prone this season. I'm penciling Dustin Sherer in for two interceptions, which may or may not be costly.

-As Clint Brewster was quick to remind Taylor Mehlhaff, last year the Gophers played us much closer than they should have, given how rotten they were. This leads me to believe that Tim Brewster, for as much crap I throw his way for being something of a used-car salesmen in football coach's gear, is an above-average motivator who isn't going to let his team's recent skid spiral out of control. Especially in what is arguably the biggest rivalry game for both schools.

-Decker's out, but they get Ralph Spry back.

-Their running game is showing life with this Eskridge guy. I'm worried about Jae McFadden, who said he's ready to play Indiana tomorrow. Dude, check that concussion again. The defense ain't the same with Culmer St. Jean in the middle.

Still think we're going to win, but unlike previous Wisconsin-Minnesota games at Camp Randall, think it's going to be close. Unlike last year, we seem to have an idea of what to do against the Spread, which is nice. I don't see it being the high-scoring affair common in this series this century.

Wisconsin 20, Minnesota 16

How good are the Gophers?

I ask not sarcastically but seriously. Because Minnesota's turnaround from last year's one-year disaster has been a popular talking point around college football, and Tim Brewster has been mentioned as a coach of the year candidate.

Looking closer, it appears:

-The Gophers were probably better last year than their one win indicated, although not by much.

-The Gophers are the beneficiary of a favorable non-conference schedule and Big Ten schedule that is missing two of the conference's three best teams. The non-conference wins came against Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Montana State, and Florida Atlantic. Northern and MSU are the Gophers' only two victims with winning records.

In the Big Ten, Minnesota has beaten Indiana, which is awful; Purdue, which is almost as bad; and Illinois, which just lost to Western Michigan. (Granted, Wisconsin's resume is similarly skimpy, but that's not the point of this discussion.)

-The Gophers are adding more talent and should return to being the formidable border rival they were during the best Glen Mason years.

-Adam Weber has progressed nicely from his freshman season, cutting his interception down to five thus far after 19 last year. The good thing is we're looking far better against the Spread this season than we have in the past. Weber did a lot of good things against us in the Dome last year.

-The Gophers have been getting attention for forcing a lot of turnovers on defense, but their performance against a thoroughly mediocre Michigan offense shows that they are far from impenetrable. Their defense actually yields 27 yards per game more than their offense gains.

(Like us in Ann Arbor, Minnesota has to have a "will we ever?" outlook on its series with Michigan right about now.)

I'm guessing that we'll be able to run on them, not like we did last year or last week against Indiana, but still, run effectively. Given that Minnesota's DBs seem opportunistic and I still get scared every time Dustin Sherer drops back, running the ball about 60 times is my prescription for success.

-Minnesota changes its uniforms as often as West Bend East High School, with similar results. You're not Oregon, guys, pick a combination and go with it.

Badger classic: Wisconsin 38, Minnesota 34

Here's an anecdote anyone with multiple children can relate to: On June 21 I recorded the 2005 Minnesota-Wisconsin game on the Big Ten Network. On November 11 I was able to devote two hours to watching it.

Very fun to watch it again. Actually, it was the first time I'd seen the television broadcast, having attended the epic with most of the same friends I'll be with at Camp Randall this Saturday.

The thing I couldn't shake was that Minnesota seemed to play much like we've been playing this year. They seemed to have the better players and the better game plan, but kept making mistakes that let the other team escape with a win.

Just think about the last sequence of events. Soft defense allows a John Stocco-to-Brandon Williams touchdown. Stupid facemask penalty lets the Badgers kick off from the 50. Inability to handle the onside kick leads to a weird bounce that Maroney recovers inside the Gopher 10. The Gophers, who had been running at will all day, couldn't convert on third-and-short. Kucek fumbles a perfectly good snap. Their returner fumbles the kickoff.

That's six things that had to go wrong for Minnesota, and right for Wisconsin, for that outcome to take place. And they all did.

What a day!

-It occurred to me during the game that 2008 isn't the first time Wisconsin fans have been skeptical of Bret Bielema. Think back to 2005. In 2004 he came in and completely reinvigorated the Badger defense. Then, in 2005, the defense he coordinated was porous, leading UW fans everywhere to question Barry Alvarez's decision to promote him to head coach. Bielema had a tremendous rookie year in 2006, before a so-so 2007 and a borderline disastrous 2008.

The point is, Coach B has rebounded from tough seasons before, and I have faith he will again. But I think we'd all rather avoid the tough seasons altogether. Maybe this is part of the inescapable maturation process of a young coach thrust into prominence early on.

-The thing is, Bielema's 2005 defense was so decimated by injuries it's hard to tell if he could have done anything to make that unit a plus. Brandon Kelly, who barely saw the field at all last year as a senior, played a lot. Hell, Gino Cruse played a lot.

-A ton of guys who will lace up their spikes for Wisconsin on Saturday played in that game. Kraig Urbik. Chris Pressley. Matt Shaughnessy (who looked so thin and fast). Jason Chapman. Allen Langford. Mike Newkirk. DeAndre Levy (who I never realized recovered the fumble on the last kickoff). Jonathan Casillas, the one everyone remembers for blocking Kucek's punt. Aubrey Pleasant. Shane Carter.

Perhaps that paragraph illustrates why this year has been so frustrating. We've got a lot of guys who have been through a lot of wars, so to consistently lose games because of mental errors defies reason.

-Williams and Stocco had awesome games. Brian Calhoun was an incredible back.

-This has been a high-scoring rivalry this century. Look at the winners' point total since 2000: 41, 42, 49, 37, 38, 38, 48, 41.

-Bryan Cupito missed the game for Minnesota, and you've got to think that if he'd started at quarterback instead of Tony Mortensen they would have hit on a big pass play or two that could have sealed the deal for the Gophers.

-As exciting as the end of the game was, the first half was really boring.

It's going to be tougher to get tickets to see this game in Minneapolis in the future, which is too bad, it's always been fun. Then again, it's seemed to get nastier and nastier over the years, which is good for the rivalry but not the blood pressure.

But even if I never see another Wisconsin-Minnesota game out of state again, we'll always remember that day in the Dome when Kucek dropped the snap.

Badgers shouldn't dance

Got a link to this video in the daily men's basketball update last week, and got around to watching it several days later. It's from the proceedings at Night of the Grateful Red, the basketball team's annual kickoff practice open to the public. All I can say is oh ... my ... god.

When I got done watching the Brett Valentyn dance number, I turned around to look at Charlie, who until then had been hopping away in his Jumperoo but had gone quiet. He had a look of stunned silence on his face, as if he had seen a ghost. Or a bunch of basketball players trying to dance. The look continued through that ridiculous group number at the end.

After that I couldn't stop laughing. Give it a view and your reaction will be the same.

It seems like the fellas had fun with it, and that's all that count. But it ain't gonna get YouTube play like Bo Ryan's Soulja Boy did last year.

Sunday morning thoughts

Still happy that the boys played a good game yesterday, but can't shake just how down Indiana is, I feel bad for them. After an emotional bowl qualifying year in 2007 they get this. Look at all the guys who are hurt or who have been hurt: Kellen Lewis, Nick Polk, Will Patterson, Marcus Thigpen, Ben Chappell, Roger Saffold, Bryan Payton ... all pretty good players that would have made this team more competitive this year had they remained healthy.

Their quarterback situation was especially troubling. They had four guys attempt at least four passes against us, don't think I've ever seen that before. If I were them I would have started Lewis and played him until he couldn't walk any more, he's the only one who gave them a chance to win.

Looking at our defensive stats, it was apparent Niles Brinkley recovered from his rough trip to East Lansing -- four pass breakups and tied for second on the team with five tackles. He played well. Allen Langford was solid two with two pass breakups and no horribly blown coverages. He has quietly had a good year, not all-conference good, but solid. His leadership has meant a lot to the youngsters' development.

Jay Valai had 10 tackles and was around the ball a lot. Jonathan Casillas had two tackles for 14 yards of negative yardage. Hopefully Jae McFadden's injury isn't too bad.

My Big Ten rankings:

1. Penn State. Still the best, even with the loss. Hopefully this doesn't negatively impact our chances of making a bowl game. Haven't put too much thought into that, will if we beat Minnesota. I was kind of hoping PSU would win the national title; they're a good check against Ohio State and Michigan, and they don't typically compete with us for recruits.

2. Ohio State. Terrelle Pryor appears to be throwing the ball better. Too bad Beanie and those wideouts won't be around next year.

3. Michigan State. Unimpressive in beating Purdue. They're having a season similar to our 2006, just winning. I'd take that in a heartbeat.

4-9. Everyone except the teams from Indiana. If forced, I'd say:

4. Iowa. OK, their win today ought to set them above the rest of this mediocre lot.

5. Minnesota. The Gophers' most "impressive" win this season came against ...

6. Illinois, which lost to Western Michigan. Yeah, they're on a Journey all right.

7. Michigan. Now that they're not bowl-eligible, I'm kind of hoping they win a couple games here at the end of the season.

8. Wisconsin. The Badgers' most "impressive" win this season came against ... see Minnesota. Anybody still think beating Fresno was impressive? Anybody see them get hammered at home against Nevada the other night? Looks like their season has paralleled ours.

9. Northwestern. They were doing it with smoke and mirrors. They and Minnesota are threatening to lose out and quell all the good vibes they'd built up.

10. Purdue. Showing a little fight.

11. Indiana. Almost as bad as Tom Crean's basketball team will be. At least he has Kelvin Sampson to blame.