from opposing players. The way this works is I ask players for honest answers under the condition of anonymity. I don't even use my recorder, so mostly it's me jotting down notes on my phone. It's always worked great, but the B10 changed the format on us this year so it was harder than ever to get guys one-on-one. Anyway, I talked to four players about Wisconsin. A few comments:
When I asked them who was the team to beat in the Big Ten West, two said the Badgers. One saying, "Wisconsin is, especially if they get the running game going again. They weren't the same team last year. They had some good games but normally they're a machine and something was definitely broken last year."
Was it as simple as the running back? "They've always had that great back. That absolute stud, but then they've had 2-3 more guys that could come in and it's that wave that never stops. I don't think they had that great back last year and they didn't have the wave."
One guy asked me who the QB was going to be and I don't him I didn't know, and he said, "Yeah, I mean, they don't really have anyone."
Probably the most spot on comment I heard was when I asked someone if Wisconsin was the B10 West favorite (he was an East player) and he said, "I don't know because they really haven't had the stability. They lost their defensive coordinator. It's just kind of surprising because the one thing about Wisconsin for a long time was that everything remained the same. The same coach, the same running game, consistent QB play, a great defense. Seems like the last couple of years, they just have had so much change."
Again, nothing groundbreaking here, but it's hard to A) get them alone and B) get them to totally trust you.
Will try again tomorrow.
When I asked them who was the team to beat in the Big Ten West, two said the Badgers. One saying, "Wisconsin is, especially if they get the running game going again. They weren't the same team last year. They had some good games but normally they're a machine and something was definitely broken last year."
Was it as simple as the running back? "They've always had that great back. That absolute stud, but then they've had 2-3 more guys that could come in and it's that wave that never stops. I don't think they had that great back last year and they didn't have the wave."
One guy asked me who the QB was going to be and I don't him I didn't know, and he said, "Yeah, I mean, they don't really have anyone."
Probably the most spot on comment I heard was when I asked someone if Wisconsin was the B10 West favorite (he was an East player) and he said, "I don't know because they really haven't had the stability. They lost their defensive coordinator. It's just kind of surprising because the one thing about Wisconsin for a long time was that everything remained the same. The same coach, the same running game, consistent QB play, a great defense. Seems like the last couple of years, they just have had so much change."
Again, nothing groundbreaking here, but it's hard to A) get them alone and B) get them to totally trust you.
Will try again tomorrow.
