Sept 25 | Wisconsin

[greyhammer90]

Were we favored against ISU a few years ago? There was some major disrespect before that game.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

I think ND will use the underdog mentality to their advantage for this game………will amplify their focus.

 

[DONTH8]

Were we favored against ISU a few years ago? There was some major disrespect before that game.

We were 3.5 point favorites if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Probably the bowl game against LSU in 2017.

I believe that is the correct answer. It's an interesting stat, but I think it says more about ND's spot in CFB over the last 5 years than anything else.

 

[Irish#1]

Tommy is all over the place. I cannot figure out his play calling. I almost turned the game off entirely yesterday after those first 3 series. What on Earth was he trying to accomplish?

Regarding this game, I love ND not being at home and I love being a dog.

I like it. Keep them guessing. Being all over the place makes it more difficult for Wiscy to game plan.

Coan won't come out and say it, but I bet he is pumped for this game and would love nothing more than to stick it to them. I think the rest of the team, especially the O will want to ramp it more to have Coan's back.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

First team to 10 wins this one. No Italics. Going to be an ugly slug-fest.

 

[Free Manera]

Worried about a Coan offense in this one because of:
1. O line, obviously
2. Receivers getting eaten alive by press coverage
3. Leonhard's blitz packages (Coan should be familiar, but Leonhard is familiar with him too).

I hope Buchner's hammy is alright because he will definitely be needed.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Despite the abysmal stats in the passing game against Purdue I feel a lot better about the offense than I did a week ago. ND would have blown that game open if not for the comically bad performance on about 8 passing attempts for huge plays where WR beat his guy in man coverage. There will be more of those opportunities if Wisconsin commits as strongly as Purdue did to stopping Mayer.

I wonder if Kelly has the guts to start Baker and Carmody at the tackle positions?

 

[stpeteirish]

Kelly presser over...not much news. Buchner should be able to play. Kollie is cleared, CBo is not. They know Bertrand needs a back up and hope to get Kollie there. Thinks Alt was really good vs Purdue and will use him vs Wisc.

 

[Irishize]

As bad as Mertz was vs PSU, the Wisky run game showed up. They can still run the ball early & often. Listening to a Wiscy podcast, the reporters were puzzled by the lack of Chryst employing motion in the offense. They’ve only done it a handful of times in each of their first two games. I could see not using it vs EMU b/c they knew they could play vanilla and still win. But they used very little vs PSU as well. I suspect we’ll definitely see more motion vs ND.

Super small sample size but Leonard’s D looks smothering on paper. They held PSU to under 300 yds of total offense and shut out EMU as they cruised to an easy win. I think we definitely need Alt at TE sprinkled into some offensive series. We’ll also see some more 2 QB from ND. More than what was seen in the last game IMO>

 

[Irishize]

Kelly presser over...not much news. Buchner should be able to play. Kollie is cleared, CBo is not. They know Bertrand needs a back up and hope to get Kollie there. Thinks Alt was really good vs Purdue and will use him vs Wisc.

Cam Hart ok?

 

[CHIDomer9]

Can someone explain this BK quote to me? Or maybe 247 did not transcribe correctly? With regards to Kollie:

We're hoping that Prince Kollie provides that. We were expecting him to provide that and then the wind blew in.

 

[317Irish]

Can someone explain this BK quote to me? Or maybe 247 did not transcribe correctly? With regards to Kollie:

Blew in the COVID?

 

[IrishRazor82]

I'm growing closer and closer to being over Rees as the OC. Both the lack of his mentions in recruiting, and his unwillingness to adapt to the opponent and emphasize our strengths.

Hope to be pulled back to the middle after the next two weeks, but I don't bet on it.

 

[Rogue219]

How is ND historically in Chicago? The last two encounters I can recall recently were the ass kicking of Miami in 2012 and a couple of Holtz wins against Northwestern in the 90s.

Travel should be almost even and both schools have good alumni support in Chicago, but I'd expect ND to have an edge with the crowd.

 

[calvegas04]

How is ND historically in Chicago? The last two encounters I can recall recently were the ass kicking of Miami in 2012 and a couple of Holtz wins against Northwestern in the 90s.

Travel should be almost even and both schools have good alumni support in Chicago, but I'd expect ND to have an edge with the crowd.

Wisky fan's travel really GOOD, I would expect 60-40 fans in favor or WI

 

[Rogue219]

Wisky fan's travel really GOOD, I would expect 60-40 fans in favor or WI

Who determined ticket allotment for this game?

 

[stpeteirish]

Wisky fan's travel really GOOD, I would expect 60-40 fans in favor or WI

at least 60-40 probably more after ND fans sell their tickets for a profit.

 

[jspags10pg]

How is ND historically in Chicago? The last two encounters I can recall recently were the ass kicking of Miami in 2012 and a couple of Holtz wins against Northwestern in the 90s.

Travel should be almost even and both schools have good alumni support in Chicago, but I'd expect ND to have an edge with the crowd.

Beat NW in 2018 also

 

[calvegas04]

Who determined ticket allotment for this game?

Does it matter? Who was in charge of tickets for uga game at ND?

 

[pumpdog20]

Wisky is the home team, so I'd assume they'd get a majority?

 

[T-Boone]

Outside of the first Clemson game last year, when was the last time we were dogs on the betting line and won?

Michigan in 2018?

 

[Irishize]

I'm growing closer and closer to being over Rees as the OC. Both the lack of his mentions in recruiting, and his unwillingness to adapt to the opponent and emphasize our strengths.

Hope to be pulled back to the middle after the next two weeks, but I don't bet on it.

It wouldn’t matter if you handpicked the OC of your choice, they would be set up to fail b/c that OL isn’t allowing any OC to use their entire playbook. I don’t see how any fair-minded person can say that the final word on Rees as OC is in when you have the offense hamstrung by what looks like the worst OL of the BK era.

They’ve struggled w/ three dog shit teams. Lugg & Madden aren’t going to turn into McGlinchey & Nelson overnight but they can’t even be half as good as those guys. What’s Rees supposed to do when he can’t call the ideal play for a given situation b/c the OL is getting zero push & providing minimal pass pro?

 

[IrishBoognish]

It wouldn’t matter if you handpicked the OC of your choice, they would be set up to fail b/c that OL isn’t allowing any OC to use their entire playbook. I don’t see how any fair-minded person can say that the final word on Rees as OC is in when you have the offense hamstrung by what looks like the worst OL of the BK era.

They’ve struggled w/ three dog shit teams. Lugg & Madden aren’t going to turn into McGlinchey & Nelson overnight but they can’t even be half as good as those guys. What’s Rees supposed to do when he can’t call the ideal play for a given situation b/c the OL is getting zero push & providing minimal pass pro?

This.


And lest we forget.

There at least 3 or 4 TDs left on the field for Purdue. That had nothing to do with scheme. The plays were there.

 

[ulukinatme]

I'm growing closer and closer to being over Rees as the OC. Both the lack of his mentions in recruiting, and his unwillingness to adapt to the opponent and emphasize our strengths.

Hope to be pulled back to the middle after the next two weeks, but I don't bet on it.

Honestly the fact we're averaging 33 points a game with this offensive line has given me more appreciation for Rees. Between the OL and the fact Coan is immobile we're nearly giving up the most sacks in the country, but we're still scoring points. He's clearly gotten both QBs ready to play and they're executing fairly well. If not for some untimely drops on Saturday we blow that game open. It looks like we're getting better each week and that's the most important thing.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Honestly the fact we're averaging 33 points a game with this offensive line has given me more appreciation for Rees. Between the OL and the fact Coan is immobile we're nearly giving up the most sacks in the country, but we're still scoring points. He's clearly gotten both QBs ready to play and they're executing fairly well. If not for some untimely drops on Saturday we blow that game open. It looks like we're getting better each week and that's the most important thing.

Another way to view it is that we scored 6 more points against Purdue than Oregon State did, 10 more points against Toledo than what Colorado State did and in 60 minutes against FSU, we scored 3 more than Wake Forest did. Also, he has scored less points each week and my money is on that happening again this week.

I guess the point is, 33 points against what appears to be a really fortunate schedule thus far doesn't mean anything. If he averages 33 points over the next 5 games, I will then sing his praises.

 

[Irish#1]

Was searching for the Badger forum to see what their fans are saying. Checked several and didn't find and real discussion by their fans.

Does head coach Paul Chryst foresee Chenal being full go for this week for both practices and in the game?

"We do,"Chryst said on Monday morning.

Last season during the truncated 2020 campaign, Chenal led the team in sacks (three), tied for first in tackles for loss (six) and placed second in overall tackles (46).
TWO STARTING DEFENSIVE BACKS QUESTIONABLE


Cornerback Faion Hicks and safety Collin Wilder -- who did not play against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 11 and were listed as "unavailable" on UW's pregame status report for that contest -- remain on the depth chart as first-team contributors at their respective positions.

However, UW listed Hicks and Wilder as among four questionable for Saturday's contest against Notre Dame (11 a.m. CT, FOX). The program also assigned tight end Jack Eschenbach and safety Tyler Mais with that designation. Eschenbach left the win against Eastern Michigan with a right leg injury, and Mais -- like Hicks and Wilder -- were among those listed as unavailable against the Eagles.

Inside linebacker Jordan Turner is out for Saturday's game against the Fighting Irish, according to UW.

 

[Irish#1]

In a bit of an obscurity, entering fall camp you could argue the running back room for the Wisconsin football team was one that had the highest level of uncertainty – at least on offense. Now, through two weeks it’s safe to say they’ve been able to put those worries to bed – compiling 532 yards rushing through just two games.

The Badgers have three running backs that should continue to get mixed in on a weekly basis (Chez Mellusi, Jalen Berger, and Isaac Guerendo). Between the three-headed attack, they have accounted for 475 of the team’s total rushing yards.

While the Badger’s don’t appear to have a bell-cow in that rotation, I don’t think they’re going to need one. Each back offers something a little bit different and can help keep each other fresh as the season wears on.

Chez Mellusi has proved to be a fantastic addition for Paul Chryst and the Wisconsin football team. Despite not joining the team until June, Mellusi was able to win the starting job and has been the Badgers most relied upon running back. And for good reason, he’s ran for 265 yards on 51 attempts (5.2 YPC). He’s been a good in-between the tackles runner and has shown some burst when he hits the hole. He may not possess great breakaway speed, but he has enough to quickly get to the second level and make someone miss. He’s already compiled nine rushes of ten yards or more.

Jalen Berger didn’t record a carry against Penn State, but we won’t rehash that. He looked good against Eastern Michigan – running 15 times for 62 yards and a touchdown. He should see more work moving forward and serves as an excellent complement to someone like Mellusi due to their similar finesse running styles. Berger’s best attribute seems to be his patience in letting his blocks to develop, which is impressive for a player as young as he is.

Finally, after having been hampered by injuries throughout his career – we’re able to see what Isaac Guerendo can bring to the table. He’s looked great in the carries he’s gotten – registering 148 yards rushing on just 17 attempts (8.7 YPC). He hits the hole hard and has looked explosive when given the opportunity. Last week Guerendo showed off his top-end speed on an 82-yard touchdown run – which was the 8th longest in school history.



Guerendo should also see carries each week because he adds an element the others don’t as a home run hitter. It might be fun to see him deployed on the jet-sweep, much like the Badgers did with Melvin Gordon back in the day.

Through two weeks the Badgers rank 13th in the country in rushing yards per game (263). One thing worth monitoring though is the fact Wisconsin has registered 53 runs of 3 yards or fewer – 29 of which were on 1st down.

Overall, I’ve been impressed by the position group and they will clearly be relied upon as the focal point of the offense.

 

[Irish#1]

I wonder how much of an impact Hamilton's hit on Bell with mess with the Wiscy receivers? You know when they watch the film they're thinking "Oh Shit!"

 

[Rogue219]

I wonder how much of an impact Hamilton's hit on Bell with mess with the Wiscy receivers? You know when they watch the film they're thinking "Oh Shit!"

They watch film and think "Oh Shit" when they see Mertz throwing to them.