BadgerBadgerBadgerMushroomMushroom.com - The Unofficial News of Wisconsin Football

[gschwendt]

For anyone that doesn't get the reference...

Wisconsin Regrouping after a Disappointing 2012
OC Fired, going back to Badger Football

Madison, WI - After a disappointing 10-3 record in 2012, Wisconsin is taking a look at themselves to try to figure out what went wrong. Eyes in Madison quickly turn to former Offensive Coordinator Mike McCall who brought in a brand new offensive scheme. That offensive scheme certainly produced throughout the season, except when it mattered, against top-ranked opponents. As we all remember, the Badgers faced and lost to three top contenders, Miami, Michigan, and Penn State. UW lost each of those matchups by one touchdown, the most heart-breaking of which was when Wisconsin managed only 206 total yards of offense against Penn State. Commenting on the season, Wisconsin head coach gschwendt had this to say,

"We've got to get back to what gives Wisconsin football it's identity... that is running the football. We strayed too far away from that last season and as a result, our offense was streaky throughout the season. We feel that a solid run game and a balanced passing game is what will take us where we want to go. As a result, I'm proud to officially announce the hiring of Steve Axman to be our offensive coordinator in the upcoming season."

Axman, seen left, is a relative unknown. He is the former offensive coordinator at Idaho University and has also spent time at UCLA and Washington. Having served the Vandals for three seasons (beginning in 2010), Axman has helped arrange an offense based on running the football. Bucking the trend in today's football, he believes in straight-ahead football, with little misdirection or option, his favorite quote being "hit 'em in the freaking mouth", meaning don't run around them, run through them.

Wisconsin is preparing to finish offseason recruiting where afterwards they will quickly begin their Spring Practices. In preparation, BadgerBadgerBadgerMushroomMushroom.com has put together an early look at what the upcoming season's depth chart may look like.

			OFFENSE						DEFENSE
Pos	Name		Yr	Pos	OVR		Pos	Name		Yr	Pos	OVR
QB	Hunter, Jon	So	QB	79		LE	Wilson, Matt	So-RS	DE	80
	Ward, Brett	Fr-RS	QB	78			Tyson, Phillip	Fr-RS	DE	79
HB	Ball, Montee	Sr-RS	HB	94		NT	Kohout, Jordan	Sr-RS	DT	87
	Brown, Deon	So	HB	81			Hemer, Ethan	Sr-RS	DT	85
FB	Butler, Albert	Jr	FB	3*		RE	Gilbert, David	Sr-RS	DE	84
	Mason, Marquis	Jr-RS	FB	72			Irwin, Jake	Jr-RS	DE	75
LT	McCloud, Jeremy	Fr	T	4*		LOLB	Edwards, DesmondFr	OLB	5*
	Lewallen, DallasJr-RS	T	72			Taylor, Robert	So	OLB	68
LG	Havenstein, Rob	Jr-RS	G	73		MLB	Flores, Melvin	So	MLB	80
	Russell, Justin	Jr-RS	G	72			Fenton, AJ	Sr-RS	MLB	78
C	Handy, Aaron	Fr-RS	C	81		ROLB	Bonner, Raymond	So	OLB	80
	Johnson, Ryan	So-RS	C	73			Chase, Cedric	Jr	OLB	3*
RG	Frederick, Trav	Sr-RS	G	94		CB1	Rice, Chris	So	CB	80
	Hall, Lionel	Fr-RS	T	72			Callahan, ChanceSo-RS	CB	75
RT	Holt, Matt	So	T	78		CB2	Howard, Chris	Jr-RS	CB	77
	Lynch, Bill	Jr	G	2*			Lawrence, Brian	So	CB	3*
TE	Cadogan,Sherard	Sr	TE	70		FS	Chavis, Brett	So	FS	79
	Fine, Terrence	So-RS	TE	66			Tamakloe, Frank	Jr-RS	FS	70
WR1	Duckworth, Jeff	Sr-RS	WR	87		SS1	Feaster, Darius	Sr-RS	SS	82
	Everson, Jeff	Fr	WR	5*			ONeill, Conor	Sr-RS	SS	74
WR2	Payne, Justin	Jr	WR	78		SS2	Jacobs, David	Fr	SS	3*
	Johnson, Josh	So	WR	67				--	--	--
WR3	Nobles, Josh	Jr	WR	68		K	Gordon, Shawn	So-RS	K	75
	Wyatt, Deonne	So-RS	WR	63		P	Merritt, Donny	So	P	82

[JeffHCross]

For anyone that doesn't get the reference...

I did, so ...

[fsuprime]

i used to play magicaltrevor1 and lock my computer and go for a smoke break back in the navy

[gschwendt]

Badgers Review Season
Turnovers killed 2013 campaign.

As fans begin to look back over the schedule of 2013, they won't have to look far to see why the Badgers finished the regular season at 9-3... quite simply it was the offenses inability to hold onto the football. Currently Wisconsin is tied for dead last in the nation in giveaways. While the defense did do a solid job of creating takeaways, it wasn't quite enough to overcome 35 giveaways, 21 of which were interceptions from the quarterback position. Turnovers are certainly not acceptable but when your senior Quarterback manages to give the ball to the other team 15 times over the course of 12 games, something has to change.

For either better or worse, something will change as two redshirt sophomore quarterbacks will challenge for the job during spring practice, Jon Hunter and Brett Ward. Hunter is considered to have better touch on the ball while Ward has the stronger arm, though both understand the offense equally. Each has had a season to perform in a backup role, Ward this past season, Hunter the season before. Neither seemed to separate themselves from the other over their opportunities. Additionally in the mix is QB/Wildcat Nicholas Johnson who finished the season with the highest efficiency though with limited attempts.

Commenting on the season, coach gschwendt had this to say, "clearly we didn't perform upto the expectations that we set for ourselves and as you've pointed out, turnovers were key. We'll have to have either Ward or Hunter step up next season if we want to compete. However, we still have a hell of a team returning next season and we know we can get it done."

The Badgers do have a solid foundation returning next season losing seven total starters from both sides of the ball. Perhaps the largest loss will be HB Montee Ball who finished the season with 1460 yards rushing to go along with his 16 rushing touchdowns. His replacement will likely be RS Sophomore Deon Brown, a slower, more deliberate runner with excellent running skills. In addition to Ball, Wisconsin will have to find replacements for QB Jon Budmayr, WR Jeff Duckworth, RG Travis Frederick, DE David Gilbert, DT Jordan Kohout, and SS Darius Feaster.

Looking at the 2014 schedule, Wisconsin will wait to see how the Big Ten conference shakes out but in non-conference games, they're currently scheduled to host Florida State and travel to Oklahoma. Those games though are less important to the Badgers, "we've got to learn to compete in conference. We often put ourselves in position to win games but we can't seem to finish, both evident in the Michigan and the Penn State games but once again, turnovers killed us."

As with every next season, hope springs eternal in Madison, Wisconsin but next year certainly seems to be looking up.