Wisconsin Football 2022- The Jim Leonhard Show ends, the Luke Fickell era begins

[patrickgpe]

4 hours ago, Samurai Bucky said:

With all of the money and the TV deals, could we have some type of relegation like in Soccer (Football).  Could you imagine bowl games at the end determining if somebody moves up or moves down?

Wouldn’t that be the end of college football as we know it. Win a bowl game or else you lose scholarships and are regulated to D2. I don’t think it would ever go that far. 

[owbc]

ND and Miami are the next two that the Big Ten needs to get. I imagine that ND sees the writing on the wall and any holdup is probably contractual. Miami is more of a cultural fit for the Big Ten than the SEC, especially if the new Big Ten is truly a “national” conference. 

Assuming we’re heading for mega conferences, it makes the most sense for the Big Ten to gobble up the 4 remaining Pac-12 programs of value (Cal, Stanford, Oregon, Washington). One could make a case for Utah and/or Arizona as well but I think the Big Ten is going to want to gobble up some ACC programs as well. What a nightmare for whoever gets left behind, but even with 60 schools there will be a few decent programs left to form a zombie Big 12 and ACC. 

Or, maybe the SEC will make a play for Pac-12 schools. But I imagine all of the Pac-12 schools will prefer to be in the Big Ten and the SEC will continue to poach mostly from the ACC and Big 12. That would be the best case scenario for creating two distinctly different conferences that will make for good rivals. The SEC will likely remain the better football conference once the dust settles assuming they pick up Clemson, Florida State, etc. But the Big Ten will be a true force. 

For non-revenue sports, I have a feeling the two big conferences will come to some agreement that is more reasonable geographically. It will probably be the easiest thing to work out compared with everything else going on. 
 

 

 

 

[madbad2000]

The biggest gem left is obviously Notre Dame.  And in all honesty, they could fit in either the Big Ten or the SEC. How big of a coup would it be for the SEC to pull ND out from under the Big Ten? They have been a Big Ten target for a long time and it would be a let down if they didn't end up there.   Thinking the super conferences through a bit, you quickly get to a point where you get diminishing returns to a conference for the sake of just adding a team.  I am assuming that most schools in a conference do not want to add another mouth to the media rights pool if they are not going to add to it.  So if the Big Ten adds a school like Appalachian State, did you add value to your TV deal or potential revenue stream?  Realizing that football is the main dollar driver, how many more schools would be an attractive target for the BT/SEC to take on?  

I'm going to assume that we end up with one of two options:  The Big Ten and the SEC as super conferences with a championship game/system between them or a merger of the Big Ten and SEC into a College Football NFL system.  The most likely option is two super conferences since it maintains autonomy between the egos of each leadership while still getting the same playoffs setup.  I like the analogy of the AFC/NFC style, but under independent leadership.  Looking at the ACC and Big 12/Pac leftovers, I'm not seeing as much clout to force a 3rd/4th super conference that the big 2 would entertain as an equal unless they had a very quick hail mary where the top ACC, Big 12, Pac 12 schools plus ND quickly formed their own conference.  ND, Oregon, Washington, Stanford, Clemson, FSU, Miami, NC, Duke, Arizona, ASU, Utah, Colorado, etc likely has enough heat to force a seat at the table in a playoff.  Not betting on that one.

The AAU membership means a lot to the Big Ten until it doesn't.  Notre Dame is a huge exception that they will quickly add and tout their individual academic achievements while looking the other way on AAU status.  I also think Oregon, Washington, and Stanford make sense since they are all AAU, big brands and gives the BT 5 schools out west for a pod.  So if we take this action and the Big Ten adds 3 more Western schools plus ND we are at 20 teams.  You now have 4 divisions of 5 teams which makes things easier for scheduling and internal playoffs.  4 pod champions creates an immediate semi-final and then a final from those winners.  That means the SEC would "need" to add 4 teams with some obvious candidates in Clemson, FSU and Miami.  All three have big football brands and geographic fit.  Who would be the 4th team?  I'll go with North Carolina since I think that is probably a bigger football brand over Duke.

Big Ten Pods

USC/UCLA/Stanford/Oregon/Wash

Iowa/Min/Wisconsin/NEB/ILL

MSU/NW/Purdue/ND/Michigan

OSU/PSU/Ind/Rut/MD

SEC Pods

NC/SC/Tenn/Clemson/Ken

FLA/FSU/Miami/GA/Auburn

AL/LSU/MIS/MSU/Vandy

TX/TAMU/Ark/OK/MO

Taking a look at what's left out of these super conferences:  

Pac 12 biggest names
Arizona/ASU/Utah/Colorado/Cal

Big 12
Everyone left out

ACC
Duke, VA, VA Tech, Louisville, GA Tech, Syracuse, Pitt, Wake, BC

I'm not sure you're really missing out on anything that would be considered a perennial playoff contender of the leftovers, which may help justify these two super conferences.

[madbad2000]

For quick reference, if you think AAU membership could be a deciding factor for future Big Ten expansion

Non Big Ten AAU Schools with a football presence

SEC (Likely Non-Poachable)
Florida
Texas
Missouri
Texas A&M
Vanderbilt

ACC
Duke
North Carolina
Virginia
Pittsburgh
GA Tech

Big 12
Kansas

Pac 12
Oregon
Washington
Stanford
Colorado
Utah
Cal-Berkley
Arizona

[nate82]

I don't believe AAU membership is going to be all that important for the future Big Ten expansion.  This is more of a money grab for the Big Ten.  Like I said previously the Big Ten is looking for a $1 billion TV deal as their current one is expiring after 2023 I believe it is.  So adding teams like USC and UCLA gets you into a rather large TV market and adding Notre Dame also gets you a bigger TV deal.  This is the Big Ten's main goal right now is to increase the value of the TV deal.  If they can get Notre Dame then Oregon and others will be added.  If the B10 can't get Notre Dame it will only be a few teams from the Pac 12.  I wouldn't be surprised if the Big Ten tries to poach Virginia and Virginia Tech before the SEC does.  That is another TV market the Big Ten would like to get into.  It also helps that Virginia would be a closer team for Maryland to play against.  

Miami is the real interesting one and if the Big Ten can get them along with Virginia and Virginia Tech that gives the Big Ten some south and southeast coverage.  

It really is about the TV market more so than making the conference a super conference.  Without adding Miami, Notre Dame, USC and UCLA I don't think the Big Ten can get to that $1 billion TV deal well less so Miami but adding Miami would put them over the top.  

[madbad2000]

26 minutes ago, nate82 said:

I don't believe AAU membership is going to be all that important for the future Big Ten expansion.  This is more of a money grab for the Big Ten.  Like I said previously the Big Ten is looking for a $1 billion TV deal as their current one is expiring after 2023 I believe it is.  So adding teams like USC and UCLA gets you into a rather large TV market and adding Notre Dame also gets you a bigger TV deal.  This is the Big Ten's main goal right now is to increase the value of the TV deal.  If they can get Notre Dame then Oregon and others will be added.  If the B10 can't get Notre Dame it will only be a few teams from the Pac 12.  I wouldn't be surprised if the Big Ten tries to poach Virginia and Virginia Tech before the SEC does.  That is another TV market the Big Ten would like to get into.  It also helps that Virginia would be a closer team for Maryland to play against.  

Miami is the real interesting one and if the Big Ten can get them along with Virginia and Virginia Tech that gives the Big Ten some south and southeast coverage.  

It really is about the TV market more so than making the conference a super conference.  Without adding Miami, Notre Dame, USC and UCLA I don't think the Big Ten can get to that $1 billion TV deal well less so Miami but adding Miami would put them over the top.  

I think the AAU affiliation makes expansion a lot easier to sell to univeristy presidents/chancellors while also maintaining their academic reputations.  The B1G is in a unique position to get both good football teams and high academics.  I'm not sure that TV markets are the main driver for the next round of media rights deals.  I would probably bet that streaming plays a big part of it, which opens things up a bit and may put an emphasis on alumni base as well as local TV market.  Notre Dame is a good example of a school that has national appeal outside of their normal tv market.  Looking at the top 25 media markets below, the B1G are not present in the following top markets (top colleges in the area outside of SEC/B1G):

Looking at this list, the SEC has numbers 5, 8, 10 (maybe), 19 (UF?), 21.  But they have a very rabid fan base in the conference that watches nearly every game.  So market size is not always the main target, it's dedicated eye balls.

Rank	Metropolitan Market Regions / Areas
1	New York
2	Los Angeles
3	Chicago
4	Philadelphia
5	Dallas-Ft. Worth  (SMU/TCU/North Texas)
6	San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose  (Stanford/Cal)
7	Boston  (BC)
8	Atlanta  (Georgia Tech)
9	Washington, DC
10	Houston  (Houston)
11	Detroit
12	Phoenix  (Arizona State/Arizona sort of)
13	Tampa-St. Petersburg  (USF, FSU maybe?)
14	Seattle-Tacoma  (Washington)
15	Minneapolis-St. Paul
16	Miami-Ft.Lauderdale  (Miami)
17	Cleveland-Akron
18	Denver  (Colorado sort of)
19	Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne  (UCF)
20	Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto  Stanford/Cal/Fresno State?)
21	St. Louis
22	Portland, OR  (Oregon sort of)
23	Pittsburgh
24	Charlotte, NC  (UNC)
25	Indianapolis

 

https://www.stationindex.com/tv/tv-markets

[owbc]

The Big Ten's strategy with the Pac-12 was clear--negotiate in secret and go for the jugular. Now they have the rest of the Pac-12 begging to join. 

They also gained leverage on Notre Dame, which they can turn into leverage on the ACC once Notre Dame is in.

I agree with madbad2000 and think they will continue to target big TV markets with large numbers of Big Ten alumni. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Arizona added in addition to the Bay Area, Seattle, and Oregon (which is a unique case because of Nike). 

I continue to think that Miami (which has a stellar academic reputation) should be the first poach from the ACC. Remember that Nebraska is not in the AAU anymore. Duke/UNC/UVA would be my other three targets. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like those three will prefer the Big Ten if they have a choice. 

The risk is that state legislatures are panicking and trying to make their schools come as package deals. An Oregon+Oregon State or Washington+Washington State or Arizona+Arizona state combo is not very appealing. 

[nate82]

After looking through the ACC rules there is no way the ACC is breaking up it is just not possible as there is a rather substantial fee that would have to be paid to ESPN for breaking up the ACC.  So the ACC looks to be stuck until that TV deal is over with unless either the SEC or B10 decide to pay the termination fee for each school that they take from the ACC.  

[madbad2000]

3 minutes ago, nate82 said:

After looking through the ACC rules there is no way the ACC is breaking up it is just not possible as there is a rather substantial fee that would have to be paid to ESPN for breaking up the ACC.  So the ACC looks to be stuck until that TV deal is over with unless either the SEC or B10 decide to pay the termination fee for each school that they take from the ACC.  

There is a lot of discussion over the ACC grant of rights deal.  There are some that believe it can be defeated in court.  The big driver is really going to be Notre Dame's agreement with the ACC, which is not subject to the grant of rights.  They have an agreement in place to join the ACC if they do join a conference.  Apparently the buyout from that is not that much relatively speaking.  If ND does not join the ACC, they simply do not have enough power to stay relevant in a playoff discussion.  A super strong SEC and Big Ten will not automatically give them a seat at the table just because they have Clemson or a shell of what was once FSU/Miami.  If the B1G/SEC form their own governing body away from the NCAA, no one is going to claim that the real national champion is Clemson vice an SEC/B1G school that emerges from that gauntlet of games.

At the end of the day, the tv deal for the ACC is going to hamstring them considerably.  They are locked into a deal until 2036.  The Big Ten and SEC will have two separate deals during that time and will be making probably triple or quadruple the ACC per year in just TV, not including payouts from bowls/revenue sharing avenues.  I don't care what school you are in the ACC, you're not going to keep up with even the middlings in the SEC/Big Ten with those figures.  They can outspend you on NIL each and every year without a second thought.

[madbad2000]

42 minutes ago, owbc said:

The Big Ten's strategy with the Pac-12 was clear--negotiate in secret and go for the jugular. Now they have the rest of the Pac-12 begging to join. 

They also gained leverage on Notre Dame, which they can turn into leverage on the ACC once Notre Dame is in.

I agree with madbad2000 and think they will continue to target big TV markets with large numbers of Big Ten alumni. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Arizona added in addition to the Bay Area, Seattle, and Oregon (which is a unique case because of Nike). 

I continue to think that Miami (which has a stellar academic reputation) should be the first poach from the ACC. Remember that Nebraska is not in the AAU anymore. Duke/UNC/UVA would be my other three targets. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like those three will prefer the Big Ten if they have a choice. 

The risk is that state legislatures are panicking and trying to make their schools come as package deals. An Oregon+Oregon State or Washington+Washington State or Arizona+Arizona state combo is not very appealing. 

Legislatures tried doing that before with the Big 12 packaging Oklahoma/Okie State, Kansas/K State, etc.  If a legislator said you can't get Oregon without Oregon State, the Big Ten or SEC would be like have fun playing in the Big Pac and move on to another target.  Same for Wash/Washington State.  Now Arizona/Arizona State may go package deal somewhere.

I think my preference is for the following and from a Big Ten-centric position

20 teams:  Notre Dame, Oregon, Washington, Stanford

22 teams:  FSU/Miami

24 teams:  North Carolina/Clemson

26 teams:  Arizona State/Arizona 

28 teams:  UVA/Duke

30 teams:  Pitt/GA Tech...maybe Boston College instead of Pitt.

I'm not sure I want any Big 12 teams.  Would be nice to open up Texas, but not sure any move the needle for me.  Houston is probably the most intriguing.

[nate82]

I think ideally if you add teams from the BIG 12 you would probably want to bring in Oregon, Stanford, Arizona and ASU.  I could see a case for Washington, Utah and Colorado but the B10 already has teams like them and you could oversaturate the conference with mediocre teams.  Right now the B10 has a problem with only about 5 teams at most being competitive and really only 1 or 2 being nationally competitive talent wise.  

Assuming the B10 is able to add ND and Miami that should be enough from the east and south east but I think a case could be made for Virginia and Virginia Tech.  For the two Virginia schools that would give Maryland a few games where they don't have to travel all that far and somewhat for Rutgers also.  

I think ideally the B10 adds another big market in Miami and then get Oregon, Stanford, Arizona and ASU.  That gives you a rather large TV market which would play in to the B10's TV plan making it more lucrative to be signed.  This would give the B10 TV spots for East, Central, Mountain and Pacific basically covering each viewer base.  This should then get the B10 to their $1 billion+ price tag that they are looking for.  Basically this gives the B10 the ability to sell 3 time slots on Saturday where national TV providers really don't have anything on at those times.  Football still sells and College Football isn't really that far behind the NFL in popularity.  

I still believe this is 100% for TV revenue and will make AAU membership a small selling point.  Getting a piece of that $1 billion+ revenue is what presidents of universities are going to be looking at as it will be a guaranteed revenue stream.  

[igor67]

One thing to think about is how big do you want get from a control stand point? Undoubtedly this landscape is going to keep changing for awhile, so if one gets too big you risk an organization getting too big with less stakeholders who are aligned. To that extent while it is probably the case at this point that AAU is not the be all and end all, there are almost certainly way more schools with good academic profiles as research institutions that you can maintain that commonality. Even Notre Dame is still generally strong academic institution.

Looking at the discussion I'm finding myself thinking we might well end up with 3 super conferences. I'm not sure how much more the SEC really wants to expand either and there are seemingly more options for the Big Ten. Enough so that I could see a 3rd group coalesce that might be competitive enough.

[madbad2000]

39 minutes ago, igor67 said:

One thing to think about is how big do you want get from a control stand point? Undoubtedly this landscape is going to keep changing for awhile, so if one gets too big you risk an organization getting too big with less stakeholders who are aligned. To that extent while it is probably the case at this point that AAU is not the be all and end all, there are almost certainly way more schools with good academic profiles as research institutions that you can maintain that commonality. Even Notre Dame is still generally strong academic institution.

Looking at the discussion I'm finding myself thinking we might well end up with 3 super conferences. I'm not sure how much more the SEC really wants to expand either and there are seemingly more options for the Big Ten. Enough so that I could see a 3rd group coalesce that might be competitive enough.

Growing too fast definitely needs to be considered.  I think the two biggest factors will be based around money: adding valuable programs that increase your media money and limiting the number of bites at that pie.  I think the Big Ten and the SEC have to avoid that 3rd viable super conference.  3 titans trying to work out a deal only complicates things more in terms of decision making and splitting loot.  The best way to do that is to make a 3rd option non-viable which means eliminating the last remaining money pools so the faucet only drips on the remaining conferences.  That likely means finding a home for Oregon, Wash, Stanford, Notre Dame, Clemson, Miami and FSU.  After that, I don't see any viable super conference that can realistically compete and force their way into a title conversation.  That's 7 teams needing a home, toss in one more random for 4 into each conference and you have effectively cornered the football market.  That also means better recruiting since you have to be at one of these 40 schools to play for the ring.  Also makes these places more desirable for transfers. Recruits that miss out can play in the big pack or AAC to gain value and then transfer for the fat NIL. 

[igor67]

The transfer portal definitely opens up the possibility of second tier sort of D1 level developmental teams existing to take on Nick Saban's cast off 5 star recruits and let them rebuild value, which was one potential issue with the pool of have's getting too small. It just strikes me as weird for a whole host of periodic top 25 level programs (Virginia, VA tech, Arizona's. etc.) to suddenly be stuck on the outside looking in. If the ACC has enough of the contract hook they might be the anchor for a 3rd conference. Someone at Notre Dame might get their own crazy idea to start a conference... Or there just seems like a ton of unknowns so the field of outcomes is rather wide. Over the years this expansion discussion has happened I don't ever remember USC and UCLA being mentioned, so it is rather chaotic territory.

[nate82]

2 minutes ago, igor67 said:

The transfer portal definitely opens up the possibility of second tier sort of D1 level developmental teams existing to take on Nick Saban's cast off 5 star recruits and let them rebuild value, which was one potential issue with the pool of have's getting too small. It just strikes me as weird for a whole host of periodic top 25 level programs (Virginia, VA tech, Arizona's. etc.) to suddenly be stuck on the outside looking in. If the ACC has enough of the contract hook they might be the anchor for a 3rd conference. Someone at Notre Dame might get their own crazy idea to start a conference... Or there just seems like a ton of unknowns so the field of outcomes is rather wide. Over the years this expansion discussion has happened I don't ever remember USC and UCLA being mentioned, so it is rather chaotic territory.

All of the good teams have been picked up.  What is left is the left overs and no one wants leftover yams after Thanksgiving.  

There just isn't a team beyond Notre Dame that would qualify as a threat to the teams in the B10 and SEC.  Even if the ACC adds Arizona, Virginia, VA Tech, ASU and others that still is not enough to compete with the B10 and SEC.  The ACC would just be the redheaded step child.  I just don't see the ACC lasting for all that long even with the fines for leaving the ACC.  If Miami decides to leave for the B10 then Clemson and FSU are going to leave for the SEC which then leaves Virginia, VA Tech, GA Tech, Duke, UNC, Syracuse, BCU, Wake Forest, NC State, Pitt and Louisville.  Even if you add Arizona, ASU, Oregon State, Washington and others that is an extremely weak conference.  

Right now Miami, FSU and Clemson are holding the ACC together if all three leave or just two leave that conference is just done for.  Right now with the way things are going you either join the B10 or SEC and that is it if you want to make the playoffs.  Once the B10 gets its new TV deal and during the next discussions about the playoffs the independent teams (ACC, PAC, Notre Dame, etc.) will only get 1 spot while the SEC and B10 get the rest of the bids automatically.  This is how I see the negotiations going once they renew after the bowl games.  The B10 and SEC are going to dominate the negotiations and will be able to set it up so the majority of the playoff spots go to the B10 and SEC teams.

I just don't see the teams outside the SEC and B10 being all that competitive as the majority of the blue chip prospects (4 and 5 star) are going to go to the SEC or B10 teams.  That leaves a lot of 1-star recruits going to the other teams while the B10 and SEC fight over the 2-5 star recruits.  

[Samurai Bucky]

15 hours ago, nate82 said:

There just isn't a team beyond Notre Dame that would qualify as a threat to the teams in the B10 and SEC. 

Perhaps Oregon would be able to provide a threat athletically (see Ohio State last year).  Not only that, but Phil Knight has some DEEEEEEEP pockets and since the primary motivation is about money, I would not be surprised to have Oregon brought in.

[madbad2000]

21 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Perhaps Oregon would be able to provide a threat athletically (see Ohio State last year).  Not only that, but Phil Knight has some DEEEEEEEP pockets and since the primary motivation is about money, I would not be surprised to have Oregon brought in.

I agree that Oregon has a good case.  This study is also interesting in that is has Oregon as the 7th highest fan base.  Notre Dame is second and a great get on so many levels.  Oregon is also AAU and the Nike love can't be overlooked.  Maybe the B1G needs to work out a conference level deal for each school with Nike to help sweeten the entrance of Oregon into the Big Ten. 

[CheezWizHed]

I know it won't happen because of $$, but it would seem the answer to all the conference shuffling and CFB playoffs would be to align like the NFL.  One big "conference" with regional divisions.  Win your region, move to the playoffs. 

But with so many CFB teams, you'd need to have a "major league" and "minor league" conference (or maybe 2 minor leagues?).  Then (like European soccer) the worst team of the major drops down and the championship team of the minors moves up. 

No more dumb bowl matchups...it is all playoff football.  It would be drastically different, but an improvement overall.  But not without a lot of logistical challenges.

[areff91]

On 6/30/2022 at 9:38 PM, madbad2000 said:

Lots of benefits.  Open up LA market for TV, embedded in the hot bed for recruiting now.  My first thought was maybe bring 4 more for 20 which gives you 6 on the coast.  Maybe shake things up big with 24.  4 divisions of 6 teams...have something like usc/UCLA/az/asu/wash/Oregon.....Utah/,colo/neb/Iowa/Iowa state/kan...wis/I'll/nw/min/Purdue/mich....osu/msu/ind/psu/mar/rut.  

I would anticipate this may open the floodgates to a bigger shakeup. 

I'm looking forward to 2023.

[LouisEly]

First team offense and defense so far in fall camp

https://twitter.com/ZachHeilprin/status/1556670243568844800?s=20&t=bVzDwFvGu7xjKyR1dxzp-w

https://twitter.com/ZachHeilprin/status/1556670374032674817?s=20&t=bVzDwFvGu7xjKyR1dxzp-w

Second team OL:

LT - Rucci, LG - Barrett/Benzschawel, C - Bortolini, RG - Wedig, RT - Mahlman

There are some who believe Mahlman will overtake Brown.

There are some who believe Bortolini will take over starting RG once the season starts and is just getting reps at C in camp to be ready as the backup C.

[yourout]

12 hours ago, LouisEly said:

First team offense and defense so far in fall camp

https://twitter.com/ZachHeilprin/status/1556670243568844800?s=20&t=bVzDwFvGu7xjKyR1dxzp-w

https://twitter.com/ZachHeilprin/status/1556670374032674817?s=20&t=bVzDwFvGu7xjKyR1dxzp-w

Second team OL:

LT - Rucci, LG - Barrett/Benzschawel, C - Bortolini, RG - Wedig, RT - Mahlman

There are some who believe Mahlman will overtake Brown.

There are some who believe Bortolini will take over starting RG once the season starts and is just getting reps at C in camp to be ready as the backup C.

I'm most excited about the fact that Bostad is back coaching the online instead of Rudolph.

[nate82]

I am not going to get excited for Wisconsin football until I see the WR actually show some explosiveness.  I don't think the WR's at WI have improved all that much from last year and it is probably more than likely to be worse.  I think it is going to be another long year for Mertz at QB with WR who can't run routes and have no explosiveness to open things up down the field.  With no threats at WR to go down the field it allows the safeties to play up more which also means there are less lanes for the RB to hit.  It also removes throwing lanes for the QB on routes towards the middle of the field.  

It won't matter who is at QB if the Badgers don't improve the WR group.  The improved offensive line should help keep Mertz upright but I don't see much of an improvement at WR to take advantage of this.  

[LouisEly]

Go back and watch film from last year and count the number of times that Mertz missed open receivers.

WRs getting open weren't the issue.

[nate82]

54 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Go back and watch film from last year and count the number of times that Mertz missed open receivers.

WRs getting open weren't the issue.

I doubt there was more than a dozen of those plays.  The Badgers WR group still sucks and doesn’t have anyone that will create separation or are a threat to do so.

Most of the WR’s on the Badgers fall under two categories.  They either are non elite athletes or are poor route runners.  Not to mention the Badgers have a bunch of WR’s that have a hard time catching balls that hit their hands.

Go back and watch some tape where the WR’s cause an interception by the ball bouncing off their hands or off their chest.

Mertz missed some wide open passes but the WR’s also dropped some easy and catchable ones more.  The WR class was so bad last year the Badgers only ran simple 5-yard routes.  If the WR’s have not improved enough we are going to see a bunch of run run 5-yard pass plays punt.

The Badgers really need a good route runner and someone who can be a deep threat to move the safeties back.  Without a deep threat this team won’t be any better than last years regardless of who the QB is.

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, nate82 said:

I doubt there was more than a dozen of those plays.  The Badgers WR group still sucks and doesn’t have anyone that will create separation or are a threat to do so.

 

That's coming from Jeff Potrykus, the MJ-S reporter whose full-time job is to cover the Badgers football team.  It's literally his job to watch all of the game film.  What you're missing are all of the plays where a receiver was open but Mertz didn't even look at him.