Badgers lose Rose Bowl To The Ducks

[Mark87]

Can't turn the ball over 4 times and win. UW OL isn't very consistent anymore and that on Joe and PC. PC needs to put the staff back to what it was...with a full time OL coach. UW big issue is they lack playmakers on offense.... beside Cephus the WR corp is just meh.


I know GA screwed up in state recruiting but Barry and Paul the WFCA isn't going to be so nice if this goes south boys.... enough with OG from Mukwonago and GB. Ditto with the converts to DL.

We need to do a better job with out of state recruiting at skill positions. To Packinatl point it's harder for UW because of the over the top academic standards the university has. Oh last point.... please go recruit a real kicker and punter. No a local kid from deerfield doesn't count

 

[GBP4EVER]

Yep Badgers gave this game away turning the ball over. But also the refs were garbage on how they called this game and did UW no favors.

 

[FlaPack]

The recruiting issue is simple. Accept partial qualifiers. Well maybe not simple but it will help. The full time OL / OC is more of a financial issue and that’s an entirely different discussion. If this program wants to take another step (and with OSU it’s somewhat unrealistic) you need get better skill kids. And honestly not sure if what you saw today was the program ceiling. Might not be a popular take but it is what it is.

 

[57packer]

I think the issue is deeper than just academics. It might help - a little. The statistics show that a significant majority of D-1 players tend to stay fairly close to home. Sure, you can try to recruit harder in the south and loosen the academic restrictions, but the vast majority of even a larger pool will stay closer to home because they have plenty of choices. Wisconsin, and their most fertile recruiting areas just don't have a lot of skill position talent and what there is gets snapped up quickly. You might get an extra guy 4-star skill guy every couple of years but I don't think it'd be much more than that.

When all is said, Wisconsin lost to the #6 team by 1 point because they committed 4 turnovers. Even with their crappy WRs, and a few questionable calls, they still outplayed Oregon on both offense and defense. They have only themselves to blame for that loss. Four sloppy plays cost them the game.

 

[FlaPack]

I think if you allow partial qualifiers you open up some doors in Ohio, Michigan (midwest) and even into Penn. I would gladly take a couple of skill kids out of FLA and GA that are 3 star kids you can develop. As I said in my post the Rose or a NY6 bowl might be the ceiling for the program realistically. Yeah maybe in the years we get OSU in Madison we can pull an upset but to run the rest of the B1G schedule even if that happens is under 10%. And then add in the fact we have Bama, ND, Washington State coming up. Personally I am content with where the program is, I am more concerned about off the field stuff such as budget, facilities and ticket sales which can trickle down to recruiting / budget.

 

[Keg Man]

Unfortunately, I agree with Pack. This is probably the top for Bucky.

Could've, should've, would've- didn't happen.

Feel real bad for the punter and the last fumbler.

Feel bad for Taylor, I like that he played and played hard, but he developed a fumbling issue this year - hope it doesn't hurt him too much in the draft.

Coan is what he is. I don't think he can take Bucky anywhere, but he'll be starting next year.

Disagree with Pack on Mertz. I can't believe he'll sit another year behind Coan.

It's going to be an interesting off season.

 

[FlaPack]

Unfortunately, I agree with Pack. This is probably the top for Bucky.

Could've, should've, would've- didn't happen.

Feel real bad for the punter and the last fumbler.

Feel bad for Taylor, I like that he played and played hard, but he developed a fumbling issue this year - hope it doesn't hurt him too much in the draft.

Coan is what he is. I don't think he can take Bucky anywhere, but he'll be starting next year.

Disagree with Pack on Mertz. I can't believe he'll sit another year behind Coan.

It's going to be an interesting off season.

Actually Taylor’s fumbling issues improved this year. The reason Mertz is behind Coan is because Coan outplayed him in spring and fall camp. It’s an open competition, if he’s better he starts it’s not a loyalty program

Expectations for this program are at times unrealistic. Lot of obstacles to overcome especially recruiting. I don’t know why people can’t accept that a NY6 bowl is ok. Just look at who has been in the playoffs since it began. Be thankful we are not Nebraska or Iowa. We are on par with Florida and Auburn, I’ll take it

 

[57packer]

I think if you allow partial qualifiers you open up some doors in Ohio, Michigan (midwest) and even into Penn. I would gladly take a couple of skill kids out of FLA and GA that are 3 star kids you can develop. As I said in my post the Rose or a NY6 bowl might be the ceiling for the program realistically.

I don't really disagree, but grabbing a few more 3-star type guys to develop isn't really going to move the program ahead much unless they get a whole lot better at identifying (or developing?) those guys. Bringing in 3-star kids to develop is what they are doing right now. Here is what they have on their current roster at WR for example:
AJ Taylor - 4* (Mo)
Cephus - 3* (Ga)
Pryor - 3* (ILL)
Perry - 3* (Tex)
Green - 3* (Tex)
Davis - 4* (Ohio)
Abbott - 3* (Mich)
Guerendo - 3* (Ind)
Mustapha - 3* (Mich)
Cruikshank - 3* (NY)
Bracey - 3* (Mich)
along with a handful of in-state walk-ons of whom Jack Dunn is the only productive guy.

The three WRs coming next fall are also all 3* kids, from Tenn, NCar and Wis. They basically already do what you are suggesting. Now, maybe they are missing out on the occasional partial qualifier that they think would be better than this, but unless it results in getting consistently higher rated kids, I don't know if it'll move the needle much.

The same is true of their DB and RB recruits. All are at least 3* kids from a similar geographic area though the safeties are more from the midwest and the cornerbacks from the south.

If everything falls just right, they might make the playoff some year, but that'll be an extreme rarity. I agree that a NY6 game is probably the high point in terms of realistic "expectations".

 

[TW]

I look at where the Badgers came from, over the last two decades. We went from a door mat to a competitor in the Big 10. The program has grown slowly, and may or may not have peaked. I don't know for sure. But I do know one thing. I wouldn't trade one year of Wisconsin's high standards for a national championship.

To me, seeing the Badgers make it back to the Rose Bowl in a year most people saw them winning 8 games proves that the program may not be the best "football mill" in American, but it's sure one helluva scrappy bunch of people on the field, and sidelines, and that's what it's all about in my eyes.

I took no pride in watching our American NBA basketball players going to the Olympics for the first time. Watching them humiliate other teams because they were seasoned veterans, playing against guys that mostly did it for pride. It didn't make me feel good about myself, and country.

But, what did make me feel good was our 1980 US Men's Olympic hockey team. Watching them beat the Russians, and win the gold, was the most memorable thing I've ever seen in hockey, and amateur sports. I was with several friends, and as big and tough as we all were, being cops, not one of us had a dry eye.

I see the Badgers in that light. The guy that's trying to get up that hill. If he don't make it, and he's doing his best, to me, his story is more important than the story of a team of idiot jocks who can't even sign their name, lining up to play for Football U, and actually thinking they really played as a team of guys who achieved something special.

My cousin played for the Badgers in a Rose Bowl. He died a bunch of years back. But to the last, the #1 thing he had outside of God and family that meant so much to him was being part of a bunch of guys who made that elusive trip, which too few Badgers have ever made.

Anyhow. Call me a homer if you want. I'll always hope for better recruiting, but never hope for lower standards, because when you win, with high standards, you're special.

 

[FlaPack]

I don't really disagree, but grabbing a few more 3-star type guys to develop isn't really going to move the program ahead much unless they get a whole lot better at identifying (or developing?) those guys. Bringing in 3-star kids to develop is what they are doing right now. Here is what they have on their current roster at WR for example:
AJ Taylor - 4* (Mo)
Cephus - 3* (Ga)
Pryor - 3* (ILL)
Perry - 3* (Tex)
Green - 3* (Tex)
Davis - 4* (Ohio)
Abbott - 3* (Mich)
Guerendo - 3* (Ind)
Mustapha - 3* (Mich)
Cruikshank - 3* (NY)
Bracey - 3* (Mich)
along with a handful of in-state walk-ons of whom Jack Dunn is the only productive guy.

The three WRs coming next fall are also all 3* kids, from Tenn, NCar and Wis. They basically already do what you are suggesting. Now, maybe they are missing out on the occasional partial qualifier that they think would be better than this, but unless it results in getting consistently higher rated kids, I don't know if it'll move the needle much.

The same is true of their DB and RB recruits. All are at least 3* kids from a similar geographic area though the safeties are more from the midwest and the cornerbacks from the south.

If everything falls just right, they might make the playoff some year, but that'll be an extreme rarity. I agree that a NY6 game is probably the high point in terms of realistic "expectations".

I tend to not trust star ratings, so much is what schools offer that some 3 star kids especially in the south tend to be overlooked so more upside. I just think allowing partial qualifiers gives you a better shot and might put more kids in play