UW vs. UDub in 2017, 2018

The Badgers have signed onto a home-and-home contract with the Washington Huskies for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. This is the fifth BCS conference opponent the Badgers will face out-of-conference in the next eight seasons (Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington State, and Virginia Tech). 

In 2017, the Badgers will play host to both Washington and Virginia Tech, making for one of the most potentially exciting OOC schedules in recent memory. Virginia Tech is well established as a consistent top-25 team under coach Frank Beamer, who has won five conference Coach of the Year awards and led his Hokies teams to multiple BCS bowl appearances and wins. Washington, under new head coach Steve Sarkisian, knocked off powerhouse USC earlier this season. If Sarkisian stays at Washington as the head coach, the prognosis is good for two exciting match ups for the Badgers in the 2017 season.

UWBadgers | Official Release

Clay, Schofield Take Home Big Ten Player of the Week Honors

Yup, the Badger again have players who are being honored with the Player of the Week award. After the team's effort in Minnesota on Saturday, the Badgers actually have two. John Clay has been named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week, while O'Brien Schofield has taken home Defensive Player of the Week honors.

John Clay rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns in the 31-28 win. The yardage was a career high for Clay, who did a majority of his damage in the second half when the team needed him the most. He found an incredible amount of success running off of and behind the left side of the line in the third and fourth quarters, and was punishing defenders with his big frame. Clay now ranks fifth in the country in rushing.

O'Brien Schofield had 6 tackles (5 solo), 3.5 TFLs, 2 sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass defended. The all-around effort for Schofield was just one of many great performances from OB this season, who has really stepped up his level of play as a captain for the team. He is the Big Ten leader in sacks (4.5), and leads the country in TFLs (11).

Congratulations to both players. Badger fans hope to see similar efforts next week against Ohio State.

UWBadgers | Official Release

Game Recap: Wisconsin vs. Michigan State

Behind a Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week performance from Scott Tolzien, the Badgers were able to get the best of the Spartans this past Saturday in Madison. Michigan State made an attempt at a late rally, scoring two touchdowns in the last two minutes of play, but the Badgers were able to hang on to their otherwise easy win, 38-30.

Badgers' Top Performers

• Scott Tolzien: 19-31, 243 yards, 4 TDs
• Garrett Graham: 5 catches, 58 yards, 3 TDs
• John Clay: 32 carries, 142 yards, 1 TD

• Mike Taylor: 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PD
• Chris Maragos: 5 tackles, 2 INTs
• Chris Borland: 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD, 4 QB hurries

As evident by the stat sheet, lots of players made a significant impact on the game. Tolzien's performance, as I have previously mentioned, earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors. Three of his touchdown strikes went to Garrett Graham, whose performance was sure to catch the eye of any tight end recruits that were at the game or watching from home. John Clay bounced back from a fumble-filled game against Wofford, and was able to keep the defense honest by making noise on the ground.

On defense, Chris Maragos continued to give the opposing QB headaches. He now has 3 interceptions on the year, which ranks 10th nationally. Linebackers Mike Taylor and Chris Borland once again gave Badger fans reason to be excited for the future. Taylor has been one of the team's best tacklers as a redshirt freshman, and he hauled in his first career interception. Borland was used more in blitz packages this week, and forced the Michigan State quarterbacks into making rushed decisions with four hurries. The Badgers are lucky to have these two moving forward.

As a team, the Badgers were generally able to hold down what had proven to be a tough MSU passing attack. While Mark Dell was held out of the Spartans' first two games, Blair White and BJ Cunningham were able to prove their worth. Their receiving core on a whole this season has 13 total touchdowns. Four of those touchdowns came on Saturday against the Badgers, though two game in the game's waining moments. It was an impressive performance for the Badgers' pass defense, but it should serve as warning that better defense needs to be played in prevent situations such as the end of Saturday's game. The last thing the Badgers need is to give a way a game that they have won by allowing a team to take it from them in the last few minutes.

Wisconsin started to receive votes for the top-25 in this week's polls, but if they want to actually get ranked, they're going to need a convincing performance against Minnesota. Even then, it could be close.

Whitefish Bay Punter Will Hagerup Commits to Michigan

Whitefish Bay punter Will Hagerup (2010) has given his pledge to Rich Rodriquez and the Michigan Wolverines. While he had a Badger offer and had Wisconsin among his finalists, it was not much of a surprise that he left the state in favor of a team where he could receive more immediate playing time. Wisconsin punter Brad Nortman still has two years of eligibility left beyond this season, while it is believed that Hagerup can step in and play immediately in Ann Arbor starting next season.

Best of luck to Hagerup in the future, though not too much luck when playing the Badgers.

Tolzien Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week

Congratulations go out to Scott Tolzien, whose 243 yards and 4 touchdown performance was recognized by the Big Ten this week as being the best offensive performance in the conference. This marks the second week in a row that a Badger has been named one of the conference's players of the week. Chris Borland took home special teams honors last week for his performance against Wofford, highlighted by his blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown.

It'd be great to see the Badgers keep the streak alive with another honoree next weekend. One can hope.

UWBadgers | Official Release

Josh Gasser Commits to Wisconsin

2010 Port Washington (WI) guard prospect Josh Gasser has given his commitment to Bo Ryan and the Wisconsin Badgers. Gasser becomes the second commit in the 2010 class, joining center Evan Anderson.

Gasser broke onto the scene over the past year or so, and as a Junior averaged over 21 points per game. He was originally offered a four-for-five scholarship offer, meaning that he could walk onto the team his first year before receiving a scholarship offer for the final four years of his eligibility. Recent events that led to the departures of 2009 guards Diamond Taylor and Jeremy Glover, though, freed up scholarship room for Gasser to receive a typical, full-ride offer. The same day Glover was dismissed from the team, Gasser received his "upgraded" offer. A week later, he's a Badger. He ultimately chose Wisconsin over Northern Illinois and Northwestern, though he also held offers from the likes of Arizona State and Maryland.

It's expected that Gasser be a challenger for the state's Mr. Basketball award. Stiff competition will come from, among others, Madison Memorial guard Vander Blue - formerly a commit to the Badgers. Blue's offer is still on the table, and hope remains that he decides he wants to stay home and play his college ball in Madison. We'll find out how that tale ends in November, likely, as Blue is expected to take part in the early signing period. His final five choices are Arizona, UCLA, Florida, Marquette, and Wisconsin.

The Day After: UW Football Recruiting Class 09

National Signing Day has come and passed for 2009, and the Badgers pulled in one of their more highly-ranked classes in years. Among the players are two off of the nation's #1 ranked football team's defense (LB Conor O'Neill, S Dezmen Southward), and three out-of-state four-star players (WR Kraig Appleton, RB Montee Ball, DE David Gilbert).

I've collected Senior year stats for some of our incoming players and put them into a spreadsheet. You can check them out below. Click the image to enlarge.




I'll try to provide more information about our recruiting class in the coming days. Don't forget to check out Badger Blitz, part of the Rivals network, for more information on UW's newest signees.

Link: Badger Blitz