Official Love Those Badgers Thread!

[Packer Fan in SD]

Nice win. Bucky did it.

 

[Poppa San]

Looks good on offense for next season. Of course they'll start the rankings about 12 and not get a top 5 until November.

 

[Zartan]

Good job you played well tonight to shut them up about that stupid Turnover Chain.

 

[Poppa San]

Good job you played well tonight to shut them up about that stupid Turnover Chain.

And the one TO Miami did get was handed to them by the SEC officials. Badgers got enough calls and non-calls to compensate though.

 

[Poppa San]

How many teams get to play a home game for their bowl game? Would have been more entertaining for the Miami players to play Wisconsin in the Cotton bowl instead of staying at home for the Orange bowl.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

How many teams get to play a home game for their bowl game? Would have been more entertaining for the Miami players to play Wisconsin in the Cotton bowl instead of staying at home for the Orange bowl.

That has happened on a few occasions for the Badgers and it kind of sucks, but also makes a win much sweeter. I imagine Bowl Officials want to fill the stadiums and what better way to do it then to invite teams that are "close to home".

Bucky won that in typical fashion. Start slow, figure out your opponent, calm down and then get it done. To me that says a lot about the players but also a lot about the coaching staff. I thought I heard last night that the Badgers were #1 in the FBS for margin of points scored in the second half?

Badgers are going to have one hell of an offense next year, especially if some of the OL doesn't declare eligible. Hornibrook will only be a Junior, RB Jonathan Taylor a Soph. and this group of WR's: Cephus (Junior), Davis (Soph), Taylor (Junior) Pryor (Soph) are going to be a force.

Some pieces to rebuild on defense, but with the depth they showed this year, not too concerned. Tougher schedule next year, having to travel to both Ann Arbor and Happy Valley.

I will be watching the Packers today, but the Badger game last night capped the Football season for me with great pleasure!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

This is great news coming out of Madison!

"Offensive lineman Michael Deiter followed inside linebacker T.J. Edwards and right guard Beau Benzschawel by opting against the NFL, leaving UW with 14 returning starters in 2018, including 10 on offense and every offensive lineman."

That means except for Troy Fumagalli, the offense will pretty much all be returning and should be really good. Hornibrook will be a Junior, Taylor a sophmore and 4 WR's that can flat out run and catch the ball.

They are losing some key guys on the defense, but have some good depth at linebacker and the DL. I think the secondary is going to be the big question mark going into the 2018 season for Bucky.

 

[longtimefan]

Hornibrook HAS to take a huge step... I believe he has the tools to be good.. And that is what the badgers need from him..

He has good games, thrn flops like he did vs Ohio in champ game

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I think Horni is going to be a lot better next year. He started to put it together late in the season. Making fewer mistakes, maintaining his poise and making some really good throws and decisions. His group of WR's all returning, along with that O-line and Jonathan Taylor running the ball will really help. I can honestly say, this is the most excited about a Badger offense than I have ever been.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I know this may not appeal to many people, but the Lady Badgers will be trying to win their 5th NCAA crown in Hockey. Final Four starts tonight for them at 7 pm on The Big Ten Network.

Go Bucky!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I said this at the end of last season, but I am super excited about the Badger WR group in 2018. Cephus is back sooner than expected practicing after breaking his leg last year. The 4 WR's (Cephus, Taylor, Davis and Pryor) could all probably be #1 starters, so it will be interesting to see how they spread the workload around. I also think QB Hornibrook and RB Jonathan Taylor are going to make this one tough offense to stop.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Just when I am singing the praises of the 4 Badger WR's, true Freshman Aron Cruickshank is tearing it up at practices and the scrimmages, all 5'9" 152#'s of him! Aron chose the Badgers over Ohio State and Michigan!

I am so pumped to see this offense!

http://host.madison.com/wsj/sports/...cle_37dc6615-f432-5761-b88f-48915cbdc09f.html

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Here I have been talking about how good the Badger offense is going to be this year based on their running back J. Taylor, Hornibrook stepping his game up and 4-5 really good WR's, but it will be 3 guys on the OL that will be making this all possible.

4 potential Badgers being drafted in the 2019 Draft in the first round!

https://www.landof10.com/wisconsin/...mock-draft-four-wisconsin-badgers-first-round

 

[RepStar15]

Here I have been talking about how good the Badger offense is going to be this year based on their running back J. Taylor, Hornibrook stepping his game up and 4-5 really good WR's, but it will be 3 guys on the OL that will be making this all possible.

4 potential Badgers being drafted in the 2019 Draft in the first round!

https://www.landof10.com/wisconsin/...mock-draft-four-wisconsin-badgers-first-round

I do not know the numbers on this, but the Badgers have to be up there as far as teams producing the most offensive lineman in the NFL.
As for Hornibrook, I do not know if he will step up his game. What I do know is that if he does, we are in for another awesome season. I am worried about how many guys we lost on defense the past two years. Though I do believe Leonard is the best DC in college football and can make a defense with what he is given.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

You are right, over the years the Badgers have put a lot of talented offensive lineman into the NFL. Just in the previous 10 drafts, 10 Badger OL were selected.

Word from the Badgers, Hornibrook had a good offseason and has been looking sharp in practices. I think we saw his improvement towards the end of last season and he will be even better in 2018.

 

[TEXPAC]

I don't understand how they can keep winning and keep moving down the rankings??????

 

[Mondio]

I don't understand how they can keep winning and keep moving down the rankings??????

because they've been playing teams they should wipe up on and taking late charges to get it done. Our RB still has a fumbling problem and that isn't going to help against good teams. The defense is still a ? Sure they look ok now, but they're playing teams they "should" completely dominate. We're down at least 1 of our WR due to stepping away because of legal troubles and another is just coming back from suspension. I think one got injured too, not sure on that status. I don't think Hornibrook is any different than last year either. Saw some questionable throws and then of course his good ones. Thankfully nobody has taken advantage of those bad ones.

Until we beat someone decent and look good doing it, people are using last years cupcake schedule and the loss of a lot of defense as a reason to doubt this team. I don't blame them. They're starting high enough, that if they do as well as everyone is hyping them too, they'll be in good position. But they need to earn it, and i'm ok with it because that's the way it should be. I wish they wouldn't even have rankings until the first 5 weeks of college football are over anyway.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I agree with Mondio and I would add: That Game against New Mexico State was going poorly for the Badgers until their QB Tevaka Tuioti had to leave the game and the Lobos were forced into playing their #3 QB who looked like a much worse version of the 2017 Brent Hundley we saw. Up until that point, the defense was having a hard time stopping the Lobos. Now the Badgers are notorious for being slow out of the gate, but you can't be a top team doing that consistently.

I'm fine with where the Badgers are. That offensive line is probably the best in the country. Their running attack is deadly and the defense is starting to jell after loosing a lot of starters from last year.

I doubt starting WR Quintez Cephus will be back, the allegations against him are pretty strong . Innocent until proven guilty, but if the charges are even only "partially" true, I don't want to see him back. Dumb decisions.

The silver lining for the Badgers, they have phenomenal depth at WR and loosing Cephus won't really change that. I am a bit puzzled that Danny Davis, who was suspended for his part in the Cephus incident is back on the team, but again...innocent until proven guilty.

Are the Badgers the #1 team in the country? Nope, not by a long shot. Could they be? Sure, with some breaks and some rapid growth by Hornibrook and the defense.

Strength of schedule always is a factor with the Badgers, they aren't known for taking on many powerhouses in the non big ten portion of the schedule. Beating BYU this Saturday is a must, but doing so won't change their rankings much, if at all.

 

[Mondio]

I think they believed their own hype, it's never a good look. No wondering about why they're dropping this week. and they're going to drop a long ways

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Flat as a pancake for both offense and defense, goes to show you that you have to come to play every Saturday. If BYU's Corbin Kaufusi could put some muscle mass on, at 6' 10" he would be scary!

Bucky drops into the 20 and above rankings and will have to claw their way back. Would rather have this wake-up call now, then during a Big10 Game.

 

[Mondio]

Flat as a pancake for both offense and defense, goes to show you that you have to come to play every Saturday. If BYU's Corbin Kaufusi could put some muscle mass on, at 6' 10" he would be scary!

Bucky drops into the 20 and above rankings and will have to claw their way back. Would rather have this wake-up call now, then during a Big10 Game.

They are what they are. Oline is ok, RB is good, but it's all we have. Hornibrook is not good. He can never be relied upon. He's up, he's down, he'll make plays and he'll lose you the game on the next. You never know when it's coming, just that it is. The defense was ok, they lost a lot, but were ok. They had a couple break downs and gave up the big chunkers. It happens. They should have been able to run right over them for more than 24. That's on the Oline and the inablility to do what's necessary by the QB. He had some nice passes, and some bad ones and an INT I could see before he even started to throw it. He doesn't do his pass catchers many favors when he does throw one they can catch either.

 

[Starr To Dowler]

I think whatever chance they may have had at a Final Four bowl game is done. They may be able to salvage a finish in the top 10, but I don't see this team making the cut to get a championship shot.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I think whatever chance they may have had at a Final Four bowl game is done. They may be able to salvage a finish in the top 10, but I don't see this team making the cut to get a championship shot.

Yup, that is a dagger already for the idea that they are top 4 material, unless they vastly improve, lose no more games AND other teams lose. With that OL, I am shocked that the offense sputtered so bad, but Hornibrook was less sharp then his normal not so sharp.

 

[weeds]

Yeah, my Badgers just can't have nice things. I've tried staying away from criticizing kids but Hornibrook just ain't the answer. I seem to pre-judge lefty QB's...maybe because I couldn't coach planting your right foot versus your left .... I don't know. I'll say one thing though, BYU definitely scouted and schemed for this game for a long time. They had our number to be sure.

 

[Mondio]

I don't like to criticize the kids too much either, and I'm sure Hornibrook is a nice guy and works hard, but he's the same as he was when he took his first snap in college. He's capable of good, and very bad. He makes terrible decisions just for fun sometimes it seems. and late in the game when they were down inside the 10 I think, he absolutely rifles a 2 yard pass to the RB on a dump off requiring a 38.5 inch vertical to even attempt to come down with the ball, giving him absolutely zero chance to catch and run, when he had room. A short pass with potential turns into a great play just to make the short catch and get tackled without it being tipped and a turnover or something. He'll go on a little streak and look great and then the complete opposite and you can never rely on it to NOT happen. It always does