I went to UW in the early to mid 90’s so I spent many an hour in the Shell lifting weights or playing basketball.

It will be missed.

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In a 22 year stretch between 1995 and 2017 Wisconsin had 16 first round picks, and 10 second round picks. In the following 7 drafts the Badgers have had 1 second round pick (JT). Other than Ramcyzk and TJ Watt all of the 1st and second rounders from 1995-2017 were recruited by Barry Alverez and Bielema…tough guys…who resonated with tough kids. Neither guy was known for being a super recruiter according to the dumb star system we all take as the gospel. But they brought in really tough kids. I always thought both Anderson and Chryst couldn’t connect with tough kids and/or identify tough kids the way Barry and Bielema did.
Which is why I was excited about the Fickell hire. Ex Defensive tackle, ex wrestler…we would be back to finding and landing tough kids. And playing a tough brand of football with the creativeness of the 21st century. Yet what does Fickell do??? Hires an air raid o coordinator, and a 2 down linemen front defensive coordinator. Finesse on both sides of the ball. This is a giant mismatch with who Fickell is, as well as a mismatch of the high school talent that is close to Wisconsin.
None of us are college football coaches but even us novices intuitively know
1. You need some plays under center for short yardage
2. You need to play more than 2 down linemen on short yardage defensive possessions
3. A great running game is complemented by play action
4. You need to run plays both inside and outside
5. It is hard for LBs to make plays at or behind the line of scrimmage if there are not defensive linemen occupying blockers
6. TEs should be a huge part of the passing game.
7. If you insist on running RPO, then your qb MUST run some of the time to keep the defense honest.

I watched the Packers run the ball 60 times against the Colts in a myriad of formations, and a myriad of motions. Playing running football does not have to be boring and predictable. It just takes good coaching.
I am not being an alarmist but I feel Fickell needs to do what Harbaugh did at Michigan. The coordinators are not fits for this school. He has to find better. And he has to instill the toughness back to this program.

ROSEMONT, Ill. (Oct. 1, 2024) – Purdue junior guard Braden Smith has been named the 2024-25 Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, as chosen by a select media panel, the conference office announced on Tuesday.
Smith is coming off a record-breaking season for the Boilermakers, setting school and Big Ten records with 292 assists, while leading the Boilermakers to their first NCAA championship game appearance since 1969. Smith was the only player in the country to average at least 12.0 points, 7.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game and became just the second player in NCAA history to amass at least 450 points, 275 assists and 225 rebounds in a season.
The media panel also selected a 10-member Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Nine of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are represented on the team, with Smith the lone unanimous selection.
The Purdue guard is joined by Indiana’s Oumar Ballo, Iowa’s Payton Sandfort, Minnesota’s Dawson Garcia, Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton, Northwestern’s Brooks Barnhizer, Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad, Penn State’s Ace Baldwin Jr., Rutgers’ Dylan Harper, and Washington’s Great Osobor.
Six members of the 2024-25 Preseason All-Big Ten Team garnered All-Big Ten honors last season. The league’s coaches named Smith to the First Team, while Baldwin, Barnhizer, Garcia, and Sandfort earned Third Team honors. Thornton received Honorable Mention.
The 2024-25 preseason All-Big Ten team can be found below.
2024-25 Preseason All-Big Ten Team
Oumar Ballo, R-Sr.+, C, Indiana
Payton Sandfort, Sr., F, Iowa
Dawson Garcia, Sr., F, Minnesota
Brooks Barnhizer, Sr., G, Northwestern
Bruce Thornton, Jr., G, Ohio State
Jackson Shelstad, So., G, Oregon
Ace Baldwin Jr., Sr+, G, Penn State
BRADEN SMITH, Jr., G, Purdue*
Dylan Harper, Fr., G, Rutgers
Great Osobor, Sr., F, Washington

2024-25 Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
Braden Smith, Purdue

Unanimous selection listed in ALL CAPS

The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The Big Ten Conference sponsors 28 official sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, and the broad-based programs of the 18 Big Ten institutions provide direct financial support for more than 14,000 student-athletes. For more information, visit BigTen.org.

The list of elite coaches who struggled for their first two years - before striking it big in Year 3 - is compelling when looking at Fickell and others:

Does anyone know what happened to Jeff Potrykus, beat reporter for Milwaukee Sentinel. He did a good job reporting on Badger sports for the paper. Noticed Mark
Stewart has taken over the beat for the past couple of months. Advise. Thanks.

Wisconsin likely leads here. Will be interesting to see if Notre Dame jumps in the mix this fall.

Badgers likely looking for three linemen in this cycle. Novak, S. Simpson and J. Thomas are all options at guard. If you're an offensive lineman and want a spot in this class, you will likely have to act early.

Predictions for today's game against USC?

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