Wisconsin Football 2024

[yourout]

1 hour ago, homer said:

I think buying out Fickell would be worse than giving him a other year  I'd let it ride one more season.

I'll give him another year on 2 conditions. 

#1. They beat the gophs. 

#2. He rolls a semi sized barbeque grill to the 50 yard line at the camp. Soaks that damn vest with 50 gallons of napalm and has a funeral pyre that can be seen in Wausau. Then promises to never try that high school level psycho babble ever again.

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, yourout said:

#2. He rolls a semi sized barbeque grill to the 50 yard line at the camp

Johnsonville has one of those.  Do they sponsor UW athletics?

[LouisEly]

4 hours ago, nate82 said:

I think the Badgers have a lot of player problems on the OL and that is why the running game comes in spurts every once in awhile there are holes and other times the OL forgets what they are even doing.

I believe they are on their 4th OL coach in four years.  When every year they are told to do something different, it's somewhat understandable.

They also only have 14 scholarship OL, with five of them true freshmen and at least one of the 9 non-true-freshment out for the season.  Not a whole lot to choose from as far as their starting five.

[yourout]

4 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Johnsonville has one of those.  Do they sponsor UW athletics?

I was thinking the same but I wasn't sure if they still had that thing.

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 hours ago, adambr2 said:

Remember when we hired Fickell and the whole culture of Badger football was going to change, the recruits were going to flock to UW and we were going to start be a playoff caliber team in a couple seasons?

That was a pretty fun couple months of thinking all that.

Well, the culture certainly HAS changed🤔.

The recruiting emphasis has also changed, and the quality of the people they've gone after has been an upgrade. Now the focus should be on that emphasis, and is it correct. For starters AJ Blazek should be given whatever he needs to build his unit.                                

.

[Jim French Stepstool]

21 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

I believe they are on their 4th OL coach in four years.  When every year they are told to do something different, it's somewhat understandable.

They also only have 14 scholarship OL, with five of them true freshmen and at least one of the 9 non-true-freshment out for the season.  Not a whole lot to choose from as far as their starting five.

 Trey Wedig leaving to go to Indiana, where he's having a very nice season for a top ten team, wasn't a headline grabber at the time but should've been. And one of the guys in that OL coach revolving-door, Bob Bostad, is his position coach there.

[AKCheesehead]

3 hours ago, yourout said:

I was thinking the same but I wasn't sure if they still had that thing.

Evidently the grill is on hiatus.  

So Fickell's clearly got his work cut out for him.  

[nate82]

10 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

 Trey Wedig leaving to go to Indiana, where he's having a very nice season for a top ten team, wasn't a headline grabber at the time but should've been. And one of the guys in that OL coach revolving-door, Bob Bostad, is his position coach there.

Yet they were completely dominated by Ohio State in every aspect on the OL.  Indiana is not a top 10 team and they are a bit overrated as they have played two teams Michigan in a down year and Ohio State.  They just barely beat Michigan and got absolutely rocked and dominated by Ohio State.  If you gave Indiana Wisconsin's schedule they may have one or two more wins than Wisconsin has.  That doesn't scream a top 10 team to me.  The OL also looked very similar to the Badgers in that Ohio State game.   I don't see Bostad being all that much better than Blazek. 

Bostad is also in his second year at IU compared to Blazek only being in his first.  Bostad didn't look all that great last year at IU. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

Yet they were completely dominated by Ohio State in every aspect on the OL.  Indiana is not a top 10 team and they are a bit overrated as they have played two teams Michigan in a down year and Ohio State.  They just barely beat Michigan and got absolutely rocked and dominated by Ohio State.  If you gave Indiana Wisconsin's schedule they may have one or two more wins than Wisconsin has.  That doesn't scream a top 10 team to me.  The OL also looked very similar to the Badgers in that Ohio State game.   I don't see Bostad being all that much better than Blazek. 

Bostad is also in his second year at IU compared to Blazek only being in his first.  Bostad didn't look all that great last year at IU. 

Yeah, OSU ate their lunch yesterday for sure. But if you judged an offensive line on their play vs Ohio States' defense I think almost every O-Line would be considered pretty poor. Indianas' offensive line has been more consistent than UWs this year. They may or may not legitimately be a top 10 team, but beating the teams you're "supposed" to beat is a large part of the recipe to a successful season.

Yet I agree re Blazek. I'm not sure he isn't a better coach than Bostad right now, and Blazek seems like a much more effective recruiter. But a big part of the Badgers' OL struggles can be traced to the constant moving from one position coach to another, as @LouisElypointed out. Even if it's a move to a 'better' coach, changing things constantly is poison to consistency. Lots of reasons to want Blazek kept happy in Madison.

[nate82]

Carter Smith commits to the Badgers.

 

[RedStickBrew]

Smith could quite possibly be the starter as a true freshman next year IMO. Depends on the new OC, but another reason why I can live with a couple of bad seasons during a CLF rebuild

[yourout]

Winning the axe this year might have the most importance to the program in a long long long time.

By far the most important game in Fickell's tenure.

If they win and get to a bowl with the extra practices it quiets the mob for 5 minutes.

If they get trucked Fickell's seat will be hotter than a west texas parking lot in August until they actually show sustained improvement..

I will always hope for a win but right now the Gophs are the better program and as much as he is a douche canoe PJ is not idiot and I fully expect them to follow the Iowa and Nebraska game plans and expose the run defense.

[LouisEly]

Not hearing anything from any credible sources at this point about OC candidates.  There has been lots of speculation about Gino Guidugli, the QB coach at ND who was Cincinnati's OC in 2022.  The interesting thing about him is that Notre Dame's QB room is loaded.  The backup this year has been Steve Angeli, but they also have CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey, and Tyler Buchner (who was their starting QB as a soph in 2022, but then got hurt and is backup WR/special teams this year). 

Carr had some interest in WI, and if he's stuck behind Angeli and Minchey maybe he might come with Guidugli.  Or, maybe Buchner wants one last shot at QB for his last season of eligibility. 

[Playing Catch]

After some reflection, I no longer want Fickell fired this season. It's really hard, but I have to remember how bare the cupboard was when he arrived, I have to remember that their starting QB blew his ACL, and their best defensive lineman, too. I have to remember how brutal the schedule was. I have to recognize that the recruiting is markedly improved. They've shown flashes of progress, but have been really inconsistent.

Losing on the road to Iowa and Nebraska isn't weird. Losing to the other teams they've lost to isn't weird. And losing next week to the Gophers probably wouldn't be weird, either.

We all knew that even becoming bowl eligible wouldn't be easy, and that Fickell coming in would be a project.

He hasn't done anything to earn my trust as a fan, and firing Longo when he did really put the program under the microscope. He does himself no favors with poor pressers, or by wearing that ridiculous vest (honestly, even if he ditched the vest, I think we'd all breathe a little easier).

As much as I fear the program losing its mojo, there's simply too many years of identity and consistency for a third season of Fickell to ruin it.

[yfinn6]

10 hours ago, LouisEly said:

Not hearing anything from any credible sources at this point about OC candidates.  There has been lots of speculation about Gino Guidugli, the QB coach at ND who was Cincinnati's OC in 2022.  The interesting thing about him is that Notre Dame's QB room is loaded.  The backup this year has been Steve Angeli, but they also have CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey, and Tyler Buchner (who was their starting QB as a soph in 2022, but then got hurt and is backup WR/special teams this year). 

Carr had some interest in WI, and if he's stuck behind Angeli and Minchey maybe he might come with Guidugli.  Or, maybe Buchner wants one last shot at QB for his last season of eligibility. 

Will be curious where he goes with OC, and likely (IMO) DC. 

Guidugli would make some sense, unless ND gives him a big raise to keep him around but I have no idea how likely that is.

Another thing to think about is other head coaches who have been shown the door and need the work to re-establish their reputations. Tom Herman might be an interesting candidate at OC. 

[Samurai Bucky]

5 hours ago, Playing Catch said:

After some reflection, I no longer want Fickell fired this season. It's really hard, but I have to remember how bare the cupboard was when he arrived, I have to remember that their starting QB blew his ACL, and their best defensive lineman, too. I have to remember how brutal the schedule was. I have to recognize that the recruiting is markedly improved. They've shown flashes of progress, but have been really inconsistent.

Look at Michigan -- they won the Natty last year, bring in Wink Martindale, then their defense doesn't get the job done.  Is Martindale a bad coach, or is the cupboard bare?

It seems like the Badgers are getting in more talent.  They just need somebody to bring it together.  I still think Fickell is the guy for the next few years.

[CheezWizHed]

I think there has been visible improvement on the defense in Year 2 over Year 1.  Offense hasn't changed that much.  A couple players have broken out (Walker, Kekahuna, Anthony) because of opportunity this year, but I've not seen anyone that played much last year significantly improve on offense.

I tend to think we are on the right track, but not as quick of a "rebuild" as we hoped.

[tmwiese55]

I also struggle too get too worked up or optimistic about all the recruiting hype when there is so much decommitting and transferring.  We'll see how many guys actually play for us.   At some point, actually coaching the players up and coaching football has to be done.      But like I said in my other longer post, its only year two and next year is a lost cause so he should still have plenty of time to show he can do it though.   But week after week of fumbles, botched kick catching, personal fouls, brutal pics, bad coaching mistakes. (this week stupid coaching directly gave Neb 3 pts at end of half).  But overall, there just seems to be no basic discipline and focus like was the staple of the previous 30 years. That is the most basic thing of being a good coach and its not being done, at all

[jay87shot]

Do we have any indications if we will be going back to an offense with the QB under the center? I don't mind the spread offense in college but feel that you really need a running qb to make it work. We haven't had a running qb and it has shown that we haven't had many long runs and the short yard running game has suffered because it is easy to predict what is going to happen if the qb can't run.

I really would like a more pro-style 3 WR with the qb under center so we can still use the power run game but spread the defense out with our solid WR core.

[yourout]

3 hours ago, jay87shot said:

Do we have any indications if we will be going back to an offense with the QB under the center? I don't mind the spread offense in college but feel that you really need a running qb to make it work. We haven't had a running qb and it has shown that we haven't had many long runs and the short yard running game has suffered because it is easy to predict what is going to happen if the qb can't run.

I really would like a more pro-style 3 WR with the qb under center so we can still use the power run game but spread the defense out with our solid WR core.

I agree. 

One of the problems with running the spread is everybody else runs it as well so defenses are very acclimated to defending it. 

If you run something somewhat different that means defenses have to prepare for it in a short window.

[nate82]

If you have a QB that can play under center sure run that but majority of HS QB’s will be running some kind of spread offense.  Nearly all of Carter Smith’s snaps at HS came from the shotgun.  Majority of your top recruits are going to be used to that than being under center.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Lots of thoughtful comments on here. It's an "interesting" time for the program, to be sure. I'll just add:

I'm glad we were Carter Smiths' "2nd" commitment. Not to be cynical, but in this day & age if you're the first school to get a commit from a kid it almost seems like you have to fight that much harder a battle to keep him. So I guess getting him to renege & commit here ups the chances he'll actually show up. Hopefully there's competition from someone else for the job. You don't want all your eggs in a FR QBs' basket regardless of how good he is. Make him compete.

If I had a gun put to my head & was told "guess", I'd go with Guidugli as the next OC, but who knows? QB coach to OC is a natural progression among coaches, and there's the Fickell connection. Also, the ND OC (Mike Denbrock) is 60 & has never been a head coach so I don't see him leaving & creating a chance for Guidugli to move up. 

Fickell is here 2 more years at minimum. Say what you want (and I've been saying my share) but the recruiting seems to be much better, rating-star wise. That obviously guarantees nothing but the commitment to the guy has been made. Regardless of the rankings though, if people come here & don't improve as we were used to seeing from previous regimes it'll cost him dearly. And don't be fooled into thinking that's no longer important b/c of the portal. How he puts together this staff is going to be critical. I go back & forth re my feelings towards Tressel. I think they hit paydirt with Blazek. The others.......?

[Jim French Stepstool]

17 hours ago, Playing Catch said:

 

Losing on the road to Iowa and Nebraska isn't weird. Losing to the other teams they've lost to isn't weird. And losing next week to the Gophers probably wouldn't be weird, either.

 

None of the losses in & of itself is weird. But the way they were manhandled by Iowa, at times vs Nebraska, & in the 2nd half vs Penn State is strange to me when compared to the way they performed vs Oregon, & the 1st half vs PSU. The thin DL wearing down over the course of the year is a large part of that I guess. They've missed James Thompson badly. And I sure as hell hope Wohler can make it on the field Friday, because that is one rudderless defense w/o him.

I just don't know how much of this is the lack of D-linemen, how much is scheme------I'm about 55%--45% in favor of Tressel staying. Before last week, I feel the LBs & secondary HAS gotten better over the course of the year. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

11 hours ago, tmwiese55 said:

I also struggle too get too worked up or optimistic about all the recruiting hype when there is so much decommitting and transferring.  We'll see how many guys actually play for us.   At some point, actually coaching the players up and coaching football has to be done.     

Amen. All the commits, decommits, re-commits, soft commits & portal-picking in the world won't replace development. THAT'S what concerns me the most about this staff.

[nate82]

5 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Amen. All the commits, decommits, re-commits, soft commits & portal-picking in the world won't replace development. THAT'S what concerns me the most about this staff.

But this has been a problem before Fickell got here at least on the offensive side of the ball.  With PC there was very little to no improvement anywhere and most regressed or got worse than when they came to the program.

Allen didn’t even improve all that much year over year with PC as the HC.  The OL kept on getting worse and worse after year 2 or 3 under PC.  The only thing that stayed constant for the Badgers was the defense.  There was also very little to no improvement on the defensive line for a while.

There were warts and issues under Leonard that were popping up.  The D-line being the biggest problem.  I can’t remember anyone on the D-line making much if any improvements year over year during PC’s reign as the HC.  It was a talent issue but at some point there should have been a few players who could have been coached up a bit and I can’t remember a single one.  The D-line has been a problem since PC took the job and probably a bit before that.