Toughest ballot yet

Let me know tonight what needs to be changed: Click to see my Top 25.

Blogpoll Ballot -- Week 5

Will be breaking the silence soon, as long as my presentation tomorrow goes well. To whet your appetite:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	LSU	--
3	Oklahoma	1
4	California	2
5	Ohio State	2
6	Oregon	2
7	Boston College	8
8	Rutgers	1
9	West Virginia	3
10	Texas	3
11	Kentucky	5
12	Clemson	14
13	Wisconsin	2
14	South Carolina	4
15	Miami (Florida)	11
16	South Florida	2
17	Penn State	12
18	Cincinnati	7
19	Alabama	5
20	Purdue	6
21	Arizona State	5
22	UCLA	4
23	Virginia Tech	3
24	Missouri	2
25	Hawaii	2

Dropped Out: Florida (#3), Arkansas (#17), Nebraska (#19), Louisville (#20), Georgia (#21), Texas A&M (#22), Georgia Tech (#24).

Terse answers to Big Ten Roundtable questions

Thanks to OMGTINNOMJLOL for hosting ...

1. Clearly, Week 1 was a huge week for upsets with Appalachian St. beating Michigan and Clemson beating FSU (though if that really shocked anyone I'd be surprised). What are your upset games for Week 2 and why?

Yeah, Michigan got pantsed. I mean, Appalachian State? I'm more upset than joyful at this loss; that's at least 24 months of "the Big Ten is weak!" fodder for the talking heads. Check that; they would've been saying all that anyway, but now they have an earth-shattering fiasco to point at and say, "that's proof, baby." Even Northwestern beat that I-AA opponent, Wolverines. Nice going.

A great thing to come from last week: now it's OK to pick Minnesota and Michigan to lose every week. Prove us wrong, ladies!

Upsets ... well, I'd pick Miami over the Gophers, but I'm not sure that counts as an upset per se. I really don't see any other Big Ten team losing, except probably Michigan because they have a legitimate opponent. (And, oh yeah, they lost to Appalachian State.)

Nationally, let's talk about South Carolina over Georgia. The Dawgs smothered what was supposed to be a reasonably decent Oklahoma State team and may be puffed up enough to believe they can pull a Michigan and go to sleep on unranked South Carolina. But you can't pull that against the Ol' Ball Coach! If Georgia wins, it's because they wake up in the second half and put some effort into beating the Gamecocks. (Sorry, no abbreviation there; I don't want to arouse people's prurient interests.)

I think South Florida is a program on the rise. At the very least they'll give Auburn a scare this weekend.

BYU over UCLA? If anyone can lose that game (besides Lloyd Carr, Joe Paterno, or Bobby Bowden) it's Karl Dorrell.

What an odd world we live in when Washington over Boise State is considered an upset. While the the Hoosier Report doesn't give Ty Willingham much credit, let's face it -- thus far, his career indicates he's more of a football genius than is Charlie Weis. I want to see Willingham succeed and the Irish regret their personnel moves. Call it wishful thinking, but I'm picking the Huskies.

2. What do you think about the BTN? How'd it look? How were the announcers? Did the first weekend change your opinion of the BTN?

I think it screwed me out of watching the biggest, most embarrassing upset in college football history live. I didn't see it, I won't see it, I don't like it.

3. Now that we're a game into the Season evaluate the Big Ten's strength.

Here's what we know:

A. Minnesota and Michigan will both have long seasons. Minnesota, duh. Michigan can still wake up and outscore their offense and maybe pull out nine wins. Their lack of defense will cost them dearly against Wisconsin, Penn State, and Ohio State.
B. Wisconsin is better than you thought. 42 points? More than I thought I'd see.
C. We don't know anything about anyone else. They all took care of business, as they were supposed to. We know they're not chokers, but we don't know if they're any good. Michigan State looked serviceable on defense and impressive on offense. Illinois is bad, but not losing-to-the-MAC-or-IAA bad. Everyone else? Who knows?

GAMETIME: This week's musical feature

Anything goes when kickoff is less than 24 hours away. Because of that, you'll excuse the copious gaiety contained herein. Before you break out the PBR and the brats, it's time to eradicate the remaining traces of non-football in your body. So put on your favorite pair of K-Swiss and bounce along to Hall and Oates.

College football -- it's makin' my dreams come true!!

Cue Doba: A Washington State-Wisconsin preview

Sometimes you go slummin' and you schedule a team like UNLV or the Citadel. You know it's going to be ugly, the fans know it's going to be ugly, the players on both sides of the field know it's going to be ugly.

And other times you go slummin' and you schedule a team that performs like UNLV or the Citadel but plays in one of the six major conferences. Playing Washington State isn't exactly like that, but it's close. Most season previews for the Cougars tend to hedge their bets, stating that Wazzu might ride its offense to the postseason and anticipating utter embarrassment for the defense.

The series: Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 1-0. The Cougars visited Madison for a game in 1976 and left with a 35-26 loss to a Badger team that would eventually go 5-6. (Their only win against a team that finished with a record of better than .500? They beat the Gophers, of course!)

The school: As you can imagine, Washington State is another victim of the State Rule:

If two public schools exist in a given state, the one that uses the word "State" in its name is, in almost all ways, the inferior school.

Prestige aside, all one needs to do is look at a map and find Pullman, Washington to draw a few conclusions: it's up there with Muncie, Carbondale, Las Cruces, and Starkville on the list of depressingly isolated places in which to attend school. Seattle, at over 250 miles away, represents the nearest bit of civilization. Despite its all that, the Cougars have turned out several luminaries; they count Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson, newsman Edward R. Murrow, and -- most significantly -- complete frickin' legend and voice of college football Mr. Keith Jackson among their alumni.

The matchups: What Wazzu has going for it is that their strengths match up nicely with Wisconsin's question marks. The Cougars and quarterback Alex Brink like to play bombs-away football; he threw for 2899 yards and 23 touchdowns last year. If the two primary receivers, Michael Bumpus and Brandon Gibson, manage to get behind Ikegwuonu and Langford, they'll only have inexperienced safeties to beat. Their running game isn't winning any accolades, and the Wisconsin line should overwhelm anyone who stands in their way early. If Wazzu becomes one-dimensional and DC Mike Hankwitz can consistently drop linebackers into coverage, this game will be over early.

On the opposite side of the ball, Washington State doesn't appear to have anything remotely resembling a defense. This will undoubtedly reflect poorly on head coach Bill Doba, as he fired his offensive coordinator in order to take on that role himself. It appears that everyone who has experienced has suffered an injury, and among the new players the only ones who aren't freshman are JUCO transfers. As long as Donovan doesn't proffer too many wobbling ducks, the Badgers should be able to run and pass at will. My prediction: it'll be a clinic before the third quarter is out.

The prediction: Donovan starts out shaky but P.J. Hill doesn't miss a beat. The defense clamps down and forces a lot of three-and-outs, but gives up a couple big passing plays. The starters get to watch the fourth quarter from the sidelines. Badgers 31, Cougars 10

Random: Evidently the Cougars fancy themselves quite the cheesemakers. If that's the basis for any smack talk this weekend it's going to end poorly.

Wisconsin Badgers 2007 Football Preview: the Defense and Special Teams

The season looms ... time runs short ... not much time for a preview. Sorry.

Your starting defensive tackles: Jason Chapman, Mike Newkirk, and Nick Hayden. On the depth chart, Chapman and Hayden are listed as the starters, but these three will rotate in throughout the course of the game. They will batter running backs who dare test them and will rush the passer with furious aplomb. A fearsome unit last year, the DTs will improve, hopefully when it comes to penetrating the opposing line. Backing up the starting rotation are two guys who've never seen the field as Badgers, redshirt freshman Brandon Hoey and redshirt sophomore Jeff Stehle. Hopefully Chapman, Newkirk, and Hayden stay healthy. (This will become a theme on defense, as you'll see.)

Your starting defensive ends: Kurt Ware and Matt Shaughnessy. Shaughnessy is a rising star, picking up second-team All Big Ten honors last season, his sophomore year. Shaughnessy started seven games as a freshman and has been impressing ever since. Ware, on the other hand, is a fifth-year senior whose story was supposed to be about overcoming injuries and valiantly winning his position in the face of adversity. Then Jamal Cooper got kicked off the team and the keys were simply handed over to Ware. The fact that he has recently recovered from knee surgery is disturbing. After the starters, the cupboard is pretty bare; note this article, which has Mike Newkirk stepping in as backup end. Ouch.

Your starting linebackers: Jonathan Casillas, Elijah Hodge, and DeAndre Levy. Another damn fine unit, these guys will be fun to watch this season. Casillas plays on the weakside and was an all-conference pick last year, making 83 tackles (12.5 for a loss) and being fast fast fast. Levy, a junior, led the team in sacks last season with six last season. Hodge is the spottiest of the starters but only because the position he takes over (middle linebacker) was capably filled by Mark Zalewski last season -- he wasn't plugged in with great frequency.

Again, the backup situation is not promising, with true freshman Blake Sorenson the primary backup on the strongside, unused Culmer St. Jean backing up Hodge, and unproven junior Jaevery McFadden filling in behind Casillas. Maybe one or more of these guys will prove themselves as the season goes along, but an early injury to one of the starters might prove disastrous.

Your starting cornerbacks: Allen Langford and Jack Ikegwuonu. Again, you know these guys. Ikegwuonu was All-Everything last year, exactly the sort of corner you don't want to go up against, and one of the primary reasons Wisconsin had the #1 defense against the pass in the nation (imagine Brandt from the "Big Lebowski" saying that last part). Allen Langford broke out last year after having been merely average, doing well enough to pick up honorable mention when the all-conference awards came out. Coverage is expected to be good this season. And, mirabile dictu, we have experienced backups at the position; fifth-year senior Ben Strickland and true sophomore Josh Nettles will spell Jack and Allen, and the depth chart actually lists true freshman Aaron Henry as Langford's primary backup, so he must be pretty solid.

Your starting safeties: Shane Carter and Aubrey Pleasant. And now we come to the sketchy part of the defense. Both of these guys were hurt last year and will be thrown into the fire early. This will be the first significant action Carter and Pleasant will have seen in their careers. Evidently they both outplayed the (slightly) more experienced Kim Royston, which might be an indication that the backups aren't quite ready for prime time either. I fear for this unit.

Your specialists: kicker Taylor Mehlhaff and punter Ken DeBauche. What can I say, both are great at what they do. Mehlhaff was 15-for-20 on field goal attempts and made all 47 PATs he tried. DeBauche averaged over 41 yards per punt. There is no need to worry about this unit. The return game is not yet set, but look for lots of contributions from the receiving corps -- Jefferson, Swan, Gilreath -- and look for them to improve upon last year's efforts.

Wisconsin Badgers Football 2007 Preview: the Offense

Your starting quarterback: Tyler Donovan. A redshirt senior from Hartland, Donovan has one year to be the guy for the Badgers. A backup to John Stocco, Donovan was called into service at the end of the 2006 season, starting the Badgers' wins against Iowa and Buffalo. He performed admirably, finishing the season with a passer rating of 161.34 while completing 63% of his passes, but again: we're talking Iowa and Buffalo. He gives the Badgers decidedly more mobility than Stocco had but at the cost of arm strength. The real question is whether he's mentally prepared for a starting role.

Backing him up: Allan Evridge. Evridge was a nice surprise for the Badgers, transferring from Kansas State after the dismissal of Bill Snyder in 2005. After sitting out the 2006 season, Evridge was expected to compete for the starting role with Donovan, but Coach Bielema indicated very early on in fall camp that Donovan was destined to start. I speculated that Evridge might be a more attractive choice at starter due to his additional remaining year of eligibility, but Bret Bielema knows that the future doesn't matter if you're not winning today. It's Donovan's job to lose, but if he's shaky, Evridge might be able to seize the starting role with a strong performance if Donovan gets the hook. He did, after all, make numerous starts as a Kansas State Wildcat.

Backing up the backup: Redshirt junior Dustin Sherer is absolutely the third-string quarterback. Redshirt freshman Scott Tolzien was a Rivals two-star recruit and will almost definitely not play. Incoming freshmen Cody Rose and James Stallons will redshirt.

Your starting tailback: P. J. Hill. Hill, the Wisconsin Winnebago, led the Big Ten in rushing as a redshirt freshman last season. He averaged 5 yards per carry, pounded out 1569 yards, and plowed into the end zone 15 times. He also displayed competence as a receiver, catching 18 passes for 197 yards and a score. Bielema intends to make use of Hill's pass-catching ability this year (detailed in this article, once you get past the embarrassing parts about stripping naked and wearing plastic bags) and touts his breakaway speed. When Hill gets free, he's tough to stop; p=mv, y'all. His numbers last season can't be denied, even though at one point Coach Bielema requested that his star back pop a few "toughen-up pills" and he did end the season on a disturbing note, gaining just 36 yards on 19 carries in the Capital One Bowl against Arkansas.

Backing him up: Lance Smith, Zach Brown, and John Clay. Second-stringer Smith is back with the team after an incident that began with an argument over $10 and ended with a call to police and some shoe-stealing. He's got experience at the collegiate level, having seen action in twelve games last year, but he didn't do all that much; when Hill was injured against Illinois, Smith ran for 46 yards on (ugh) 21 carries. Through camp, Bielema made it known that Smith's shortcomings are with mentality and maturity; physically, he's doing fine.

Zach Brown is a freshman who established himself as the third-string back at camp. This may or may not have changed when star recruit John Clay became academically eligible. The word appears to be that Clay is still not in football shape (he did miss a lot of practice) so it appears the order will be Hill-Smith-Brown-Clay, but that is subject change. Regardless, expect a big year from the running backs again; with a new quarterback, the ground game is going to have to be top notch.

Your starting fullback: Chris Pressley. Pressley jumped over the very capable Bill Rentmeester in the depth chart this fall. He sat out last year with a leg injury, shed about twenty pounds, and is back to do to unto others as he does unto weights: he shall squat them, 770 pounds at a time. Pressley took a trip to China over the summer -- he's one of those bright kids who isn't just here to play football, wishing instead to embrace the academic experience as a whole. No word yet on whether he managed to hone his Shaolin shadowboxing whilst overseas.


Shaolin shadowboxing and the Wu-Tang sword style. If what you say is true, the Wu-Tang could be dangerous!

Backing him up: Bill Rentmeester. It was about 53 weeks ago to the day that Bill Rentmeester found out he would be taking over as the Badgers' starting fullback. A redshirt junior majoring in biology (what is it with our fullbacks being polymaths?), Rentmeester played in every game last year. Oddly, he was never asked to carry the ball, but he did become the first Badger fullback in six years to catch a touchdown pass (this against Bowling Green). It's tough to compete with a freak like Pressley, but Rentmeester is one of those guys that you can't help but like. He's likely to continue to contribute on special teams this season.

Your starting wide receivers: Luke Swan and Paul Hubbard. Both guys are fifth-year seniors who didn't see much action until last season, but they became game-tested in a real hurry. Their numbers are incredibly similar; Swan caught 35 balls for 595 yards and 5 scores, while Hubbard pulled in 38 for 627 and 5. Swan's got the hands, and Hubbard -- a champion long-jumper -- has the agility. These guys aren't virtuosos or anything, and they probably won't be able to clean up most of the mistakes that Donovan might make. But they're solid, experienced players, and they'll be consistent deep threats.

Backing them up: Xavier Harris and Kyle Jefferson. Harris, a sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, was a frequently-deployed third wideout who rarely saw a ball come his way. That figures to change this year. Jefferson appears to be the guy voted Most Likely To Possibly Approach Chambers/Evans; he's big and fast, and hopefully his mind and his hands will be ready for the college game. A stable of lesser receivers, including Lance Kendricks, David Gilreath, Isaac Anderson, and possibly Marcus Randle El, will back up the other four receivers. Daven Jones, who wasn't able to make it to campus last year, is now on the squad but has a lot of people to jump before he sees the field.

Your starting tight end: Travis Beckum. Volumes and volumes have already been written on Beckum. You don't need me to tell you very much about #9. Recruited as the #6 linebacker in the nation out of high school, Beckum spent his freshman year stagnating as a defensive backup. He was plugged in at TE right from the get-go in 2006 and finished the year as the Badgers' leading receiver. He's been named to several preseason first-team All-America lists and, if his run-blocking improves this season, could be making big money in the NFL at this time next year. He's going to be double-covered all year long.

Backing him up: Andy Crooks. Few teams have the luxury of having a second-string tight end who has played in 38 games and made 19 starts. The University of Wisconsin does. Crooks is a converted linebacker and, like Beckum, has lined up at fullback as well. Opponents will live in fear of the Badgers' jumbo package this year.

Your starting offensive line will feature four returnees: Eric VandenHeuvel at right tackle, Kraig Urbik at right guard, Marcus Coleman at center, and Andy Kemp at left guard. Of course, the missing guy is Joe Thomas, who is currently driving an all-gold Rolls Royce somewhere in the vicinity of Lake Erie. Redshirt freshman and local product Gabe Carimi (Monona Grove) steps in as the Last Best Hope on Donovan's blind side. (Side note: Allan Evridge is left-handed, so if Donovan gets bounced, he'll have a more experienced lineman protecting his blind side.) Mgoblog has pointed out a discrepancy between the line's ability to create holes for Hill (good) and the fact that John Stocco seemed to taste a lot of Fieldturf last year (bad). My prediction: experience will allow this line to gel quickly, and their increased capability combined with Donovan's non-statuesque style of quarterbackery will lead to sexy results.

All in all, the offense looks promising, but will ultimately come down to Donovan's readiness. Hill won't regress, but if Donovan can't keep defenses off-balance by moving the ball through the air, that won't matter in the least. Fortunately, an experienced receiving corps and an offensive line packed with upperclassmen are there to help the QB out when the punishing convoy of Hill and Pressley turn their CB radios off for a play.

***

And now, a word from our sponsor: That's all the information you need to make your football picks, and that concludes my college football preview for the Badger offense.

Big Ten Network is coming to UW-Madison

In the dorms, that is ...

Students in University of Wisconsin-Madison residence halls will be able to watch the Big Ten Network, under an agreement between the university and the network.

In addition, the Big Ten Network will be available at the Memorial Union and Union South, as well as the J.F. Friedrick Center, the Fluno Center and Lowell Hall.

The Big Ten Network will be offered on channel 116 of the university's ResNet cable system beginning on about Sept. 1.

Presumably, if the game is low-profile enough to merit airing on the BTN, you can watch on campus ... although in many cases I'd guess you could find a ticket on the street for $10 or less and just watch from the stands in Camp Randall Stadium. Still, those road games at Illinois and Minnesota? Might have to head to the Union to see them ...

Monday night linkfest

• Oh boy oh boy oh boy!!! The Journal-Sentinel, in all its wisdom, has gone ahead and decided to combine Dave Heller's old blog with one co-authored by Mark Stewart and Jeff Potrykus! What does that give us? The Badger Blog at JSonline! After one day in existence, it is already the preeminent Badger blog on the web. Read it!


• On the other end of the blogging spectrum, Andy Baggot becomes the latest in a long line of victims who fell for a joke paper's conception of a new code of conduct for Alabama football games. The Piedmont Gazette has also published articles about Auburn players shooting steroids and beating up fellow students, only to have Tommy Tuberville endorse this behavior as "defending their house." Don't worry, Andy, a LOT of people fell for this one, which is precisely what makes it so great. But I do have a lot of other hot leads if you want to follow up on any of them ...


• Georgia Tech blogger Ramblin' Racket has published a gameday guide for young alumni (warning, R-rated language and insinuations), which answers the salient question: "Is it creepy if I try for college girls?"
  

  I am here to tell you, young lad, the answer is emphatically NO.

  
  What he fails to mention is that he's probably talking about Georgia Tech girls here, in which case ... why bother?
  
  Seriously, though, Ramblin' Racket is a good read, and you ought to check it out frequently. (Note that I endorse this blog despite the nonsense that Jeff wrote about the Big Ten's "bogus" traditional ties with the Rose Bowl. Because 60 years is clearly too short to be considered tradition, especially in a sport that's been around for 125 years ...)


• There'll be another installment of the Blogpoll out on Wednesday, the second of the preseason. Early props go to T. Kyle King for moving the Badgers up to #7 from #10 on his ballot.


• Badger previews! Good ones are up: a shorter, very worthwhile one at Black Shoe Diaries (awkward Bataan Death March reference included!) and a behemoth, well-researched, humorous one over at Mgoblog. With any luck I'll have an offense preview up tomorrow and one for the defense on Wednesday, but -- sadly -- no promises.

Badger forward Kevin Gullikson cited for underage drinking

Lest you think that the football players are the only ones having any fun ...

University of Wisconsin men's basketball player Kevin Gullikson received a citation early Saturday morning for underage drinking.

According to the UW Police Department, he was picked up at 1:25 a.m. and had an alcohol level of .209, more than twice the legal limit.

Now, since they were kind enough to post the actual BAC here, I decided to run a few numbers ... ya know, just for fun. Gullikson weighs 240 pounds, so a BAC of .209 could translate to:

• 13 shots of Jack Daniel's over the course of 2 hours (BAC = 0.214%)


• 11 Miller High Lifes in one hour (BAC = 0.212%)


• 2 liters of MD 20/20 over the course of 3 hours (BAC = 0.209%)


• Two and a half forties of Steel Reserve over the course of 3 hours (BAC = 0.208%)
  

Makes me sick just to look at it.

Prodigious! And with numbers like that, you have to expect the guy's no rookie; sure enough:

For the second offense, Gullikson faces up to $375 in fines and a suspension of his driving privileges for up to six months. According to the UW Police Department, he may also be required to attend an alcohol assessment program.

Underage drinking violations are not covered under the athletic department's Student-Athlete Discipline Policy.

Caught twice? Kevin Gullikson needs to drink smarter, not harder.

Preseason bong hits with Kirk Herbstreit

Lighter? Check. Peyote? Check. List-makin' pen? Double check! LET'S DO THIS!

Ol' Kirk is handing out the Herbies today; let's run down his list:

• Travis Beckum is rated as the fourth-best tight end nationwide.


• Jonathon Casillas finds his way to #5 on the outside linebackers list, subtitled "all over the field."


• John Clay is on the Top True Freshmen list.


• Bret Bielema is already rated the 7th-best game-day coach. (Read that, Nittany Lions? People LOVE that clock-killing maneuver. LOVE. IT.)

Not bad, eh? A little love for the Badgers.

Except ...

• P.J. Hill doesn't crack the top twelve list for running backs. Don't worry Kirk, no need to put the Big Ten's leading rusher for 2006 on your list!


• Anthony Morelli is projected to be the most improved QB in the game. By itself, not a bad thing to say, but ...


• Pick to win the Big Ten: Penn State. Um, great. Sez Herb: "If Anthony Morelli plays the way he did in the Outback Bowl, the Lions are BCS bowl bound." Big "if" there, bucko.


• Sleeper pick to with the Big Ten: Iowa. Ohhhhh...kayyy??? Here's the rationale: they don't play Michigan or Ohio State, and they're "flying under the radar." Why didn't I think of that!?


• Wisconsin doesn't crack the top ten Game Day Locations. Herbstreit puts Ohio State at #1 (I wonder why?) and includes Iowa (!?) on the list. I've been to Iowa for game day, and let me tell you: it is no Madison, WI. Hell, it's not even Ann Arbor. Iowa City is definitely in the bottom half of football destinations in the Big Ten, and it's certainly not the #8 place in the nation.

Finally, Wisconsin doesn't crack the top five student sections, and although we're a loud and obnoxious bunch I agree in this case. See the rationale in the 2005 Herbies:

Wisconsin has always been one of my favorite places, but it lost serious points lately. Lighten up on the beer bongs. Have a little more respect for your opponents; and remember, there are kids around, too, so maybe yelling profanities in every other chant isn't such a good idea.

And that's not to mention the mild-mannered, generally non-controversial Chris Fowler's take (from 2004):

Writing to UW students, he said, “You guys are great. For energy, boisterousness, originality, you get A’s … But the constant, collective F-bombs are lame and tired … [and] it’s beneath you.”

Fowler also criticized compact discs thrown by some students during the game, as well as their tardiness to the game versus Penn State Saturday.

“The students got an “F” for punctuality. The [student] section was about 20 percent full at kickoff!” Fowler wrote, adding, although seats filled to capacity quickly, it was not good enough for the undefeated Badgers’ Big Ten opener on national television.

“Be there on time! The beer bong will still be sitting there when you get back after the game,” he continued.

It IS beneath us. Badgers are way smarter and way classier than constant F-bombs. This is simply embarrassing (obviously, don't click if you don't want to hear profanity):



I love a loud football crowd. I love taunting the opponents. I love well-channeled malice, used to create an intimidating atmosphere. But I don't love swearing just to swear, and I don't love the attitude that "We party so much that we CAN'T be on time for the game!!!" Screw that; wake up 15 minutes earlier and get yourself to your seat on time for kickoff.

Blogpoll Preseason Poll Roundtable

A pretty simple one this week: according to the preseason poll, who is overrated and who is underrated?

First, a note about the Badgers: they're fine at #9. A little lower than I voted them (fifth; my ballot can be seen here), but just fine for the time being. They've definitely got top ten talent and top-notch coaching; the question is whether a first-year starter at quarterback is going to be a recipe for disaster. (Camp Lambeau thinks we're in for a year of underthrows, picks, and batted balls) ... I'm not as pessimistic but he's got some pretty solid arguments to back up his thoughts.)

Who's Overrated?

#3 Michigan. I voted them sixth and will be moving them down in this week's poll. Their white-hot offense will be a boon early on in games, but Lloyd Carr's deep-seated conservatism will shelve everything but running up the gut every time the Wolverines have a double-digit lead sometime late in the third quarter. Expect losses to Ohio State (for the fourth straight year) and in their bowl game (for the fifth), plus a loss at Camp Randall. Michigan finishes the season with three losses again. Mark it.

#10 Louisville. Yeah, they won their BCS Bowl last year. (They played Wake Forest, and someone had to win.) Brian Brohm and his offense is going to put up points, but every game will be a footrace as their defense is going to be atrocious. Look for these guys to drop a couple games, but those losses may not come until season's end -- their three November games are at West Virginia, at South Florida, and vs. Rutgers, and all three are potential losses.

#18 Florida State. Last I checked, these guys still had Drew Weatherford starting at quarterback, a guy whose resume conists of cringe-inducing losses. Maybe Bobby Bowden's new brain trust can get the house in order but until I have proof of that I'm not voting for the Seminoles.

Who's Underrated?

#16 UCLA. Their out-of-conference games (at Utah, BYU and Notre Dame at home) keep the Bruins relatively close to home all season long, and each will provide an above-average challenge, keeping them ready to play all season long. If UCLA can get past Cal, that season-ending date against USC might become the PAC-10 title game. I don't really have strong feelings about other teams; UCLA is the only one that stands out as egregiously underrated to me.

Jamal Cooper is gone

Suspended indefinitely. Sounds like he won't be back:

Cooper will have access to full academic support services, but will no longer be a part of the football program in any other way.

Ouch. And that's from the official release on the matter. No word on the matter yet but Cooper has had issues in the past.

Presumably senior Kurt Ware will move up the depth chart and assume the starting role.

Eight days to go ...

The anticipation is building! Just eight more days till kickoff.

It's tough to sit still long enough to write anything substantive. Jeff Potrykus has a better look at the depth chart than most and lays out the storylines at many positions particularly well. He also gives a prediction in the form of a bottom line:

UW can't match the offensive firepower of Michigan, the favorite to win the league title, mainly because the Badgers are breaking in a new full-time starter at quarterback.

However, the Badgers could have the best defense in the league and the special teams should be better than 2006.

Not matching Michigan's offense is OK. Having the best defense in the league is paramount. That's what gets a team a title. Thankfully there are only eight days to wait before we get to see whether these predictions -- and all of our college football predictions -- come true.

The CapTimes has a fluff article on Tyler Donovan, which doesn't reveal anything interesting or embarrassing. But it's about football, dammit! So read!

Finally, the first preseason Blogpoll is out. The bloggers of the nation appear to have less esteem for the Badgers than do the sportswriters and the coaches, ranking the Badgers #9. I wouldn't expect sixty-odd bloggers to do much to alter the college football spreads, but it's great that a group of people who put so much thought into analyzing the game gave the Badgers top-ten props.

We've also made a new friend -- the Enlightened Spartan gave the Badgers his #1 vote. I wish I had that kind of confidence!

Badgers release updated two-deep roster

Coach Bielema has made up his mind -- here is how the 9th-ranked Badgers will look going into the Washington State game:

Offense

QUARTERBACK
12 Tyler Donovan, Sr., 6-1, 185
4 Allan Evridge, Jr., 6-2, 226

TAILBACK
39 P.J. Hill, So., 5-11, 227
5 Lance Smith, So., 5-10, 203

FULLBACK
44 Chris Pressley, Jr., 6-1, 259
34 Bill Rentmeester, Jr., 6-1, 246

TIGHT END (H-BACK)
9 Travis Beckum, Jr., 6-4, 224
89 Garrett Graham, So., 6-4, 227

TIGHT END
43 Andy Crooks, Sr., 6-3, 269
36 Mickey Turner, So., 6-4, 237

WIDE RECEIVER
1 Luke Swan, Sr., 6-1, 190
2 Xavier Harris, So., 5-11, 175

WIDE RECEIVER
19 Paul Hubbard, Sr., 6-4, 213
14 Kyle Jefferson, Fr., 6-5, 195

LEFT TACKLE
68 Gabe Carimi, Fr., 6-8, 292
64 Danny Kaye, Sr., 6-8, 323

LEFT GUARD
75 Andy Kemp, Jr., 6-6, 324
74 John Moffitt, Fr., 6-4, 307

CENTER
65 Marcus Coleman, Sr., 6-6, 295
64 Danny Kaye, Sr., 6-8, 323 OR
58 Brad Thorson, Fr., 6-4, 287

RIGHT GUARD
63 Kraig Urbik, Jr., 6-6, 332
76 Bill Nagy, Fr., 6-4, 292

RIGHT TACKLE
71 Eric Vanden Heuvel, Jr., 6-7, 325
78 Jake Bscherer, So., 6-7, 297

Defense

LEFT END
5 Jamal Cooper, Sr., 6-4, 214
34 Kurt Ware, Sr., 6-4, 268

LEFT TACKLE
91 Jason Chapman, Jr., 6-4, 285 OR
54 Mike Newkirk, Jr., 6-3, 268
79 Jeff Stehle, So., 6-6, 297

RIGHT TACKLE
96 Nick Hayden, Sr., 6-5, 301 OR
54 Mike Newkirk, Jr., 6-3, 268
59 Brandon Hoey, Fr., 6-5, 292

RIGHT END
92 Matt Shaughnessy, Jr., 6-6, 247
99 Kirk DeCremer, Fr., 6-5, 238

SAM LINEBACKER
11 DeAndre Levy, Jr., 6-3, 230
27 Blake Sorensen, Fr., 6-1, 204

MIKE LINEBACKER
52 Elijah Hodge, So., 6-1, 235
15 Culmer St. Jean, Fr., 6-1, 226

WILL LINEBACKER
2 Jonathan Casillas, Jr., 6-2, 220
47 Jaevery McFadden, So., 6-2, 225

LEFT CORNERBACK
17 Allen Langford, Jr., 5-11, 197
7 Aaron Henry, Fr., 6-0, 169 OR
28 Josh Nettles, So., 5-10, 179

STRONG SAFETY
8 Aubrey Pleasant, So., 6-1, 194
26 Jay Valai, Fr., 5-9, 191

FREE SAFETY
25 Shane Carter, So., 6-2, 206
21 Kim Royston, So., 5-11, 185

RIGHT CORNERBACK
6 Jack Ikegwuonu, Jr., 6-1, 193
3 Ben Strickland, Sr., 5-9, 172

Special Teams

PUNTER
94 Ken DeBauche, Sr., 6-2, 214
97 Paul Standring, Sr., 6-1, 212

KICKER
10 Taylor Mehlhaff, Sr., 5-11, 184
96 Matt Fischer, So., 5-11, 181

PUNT RETURNER
1 Luke Swan, Sr., 6-1, 190
85 David Gilreath, Fr., 5-11, 160

KICK RETURNERS
28 Josh Nettles, So., 5-10, 179
85 David Gilreath, Fr., 5-11, 160

14 Kyle Jefferson, Fr., 6-5, 195
13 Marcus Randle El, Jr., 5-10, 193

First and foremost, we have Donovan over Evridge. Not much of a surprise. Congrats to Tyler, and best of luck.

The WSJ ran an article yesterday where they suggested that David Gilreath might be the primary returner in all situations, and from the article, it appears that sure-handedness was a trait to which Bielema was giving top priority:

"I think the guys that jumped out to me (as returners) are the new guys," UW coach Bret Bielema said after Tuesday's practice. "Marcus put a couple on the ground.

The article didn't mention Swan, who is listed as the top punt returner. Whatever happens, hopefully we won't have a repeat of last year's Adventures of Zach Hampton everytime the opposing punter jogs out.

Also of note is Chris Pressley leapfrogging Bill Rentmeester for the starting fullback position. One would have to think that this is due to Chris Pressley's ability to do this:

My interview at FanIQ.com

Go read it, it's awesome.

Badger football starts the season at #7 in the AP poll

Just like in the Coaches Poll. It's exciting that expectations for this team are so high. After watching the Packers demolish the Seahawks 48-13, it's finally time to acknowledge that we need to fast-forward through the remainder of August and get football season going.

I do enjoy the AP's new policy of full transparency; you can see the ballots of each voter every week. (Quick request of the geeks out there: is there any way one of you could write a script that will take the data from each ballot and put it into a convenient, sortable, single-page format? Let me know.) It doesn't appear that everything is updated at the AP's site quite yet, but of the polls in which preseason rankings are visible, the Badgers are ranked as highly as fourth (by three voters) and fall outside of the top ten on four ballots. The cast of College Gameday doesn't appear to think the Badgers will live up to the hype, as both Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit place UW at #11. (Herbstreit's ballot is interesting, as he also ranks Michigan #10. His top Big Ten team? Penn State, at #7.) One voter ranked UW #14; let it be known that David Birkett of the Oakland Press is officially On Notice, especially considering that he's got the Wolverines at #2.

UPDATE 8/20/07: Ach! A 23rd place vote!! This dude's in South Bend; fortunately he didn't have the audacity to rank the Irish ...

Way, way too early BlogPoll ballot -- Preseason Week 1

This is my second year of participating in the weekly BlogPoll, a top 25 poll started by Brian of Mgoblog. We received an advisory from him stating that this year we will have two -- TWO! -- preseason rankings. This is so that we have ample opportunity to tell all the other participants how wrong they are (I'm looking at YOU, Falcon Nation, what with your #14 ranking for the Badgers and whatnot) and give them a chance to correct themselves before the season opener.

So here's my absolutely awful initial attempt. Explanatory notes are provided for each team's ranking. You MUST, MUST help me with this. Who'd I leave out? Who'd I overrate and underrate? I don't know! You might though! Leave your thoughts in the comments and help me get this thing right.

Rank	Team	Comment
1	Southern Cal	An absolute embarrassment of talent should keep the Trojans at or near the top of the heap all season long
2	Florida	Urban Meyer's recruits will be the source of Florida's sustained success
3	LSU	Sure, they'll miss JaMarcus Russell, but scoring isn't too important when your defense gives up 1.4 points per game (projected)
4	Texas	It's a good year to be named "Colt"
5	Wisconsin	Hello, and welcome to Wisconsin Badger Sports
6	Michigan	Yes, I think we're better than Michigan. I think their offense will be the country's most feared but their defense will hemmorhage frequently
7	Oklahoma	People seem high on them but I would really like to rank the Sooners lower than this. Probation doesn't help either
8	Penn State	Everyone seems to be doubting this team. That seems to be when they excel
9	West Virginia	I believe in the individual stars on this team but not in the team itself. Of course I said the same thing last year and they demolished Georgia in the Sugar Bowl
10	Ohio State	Never, ever, ever count this team out, even when you really want to
11	UCLA	Dorrell saved his job last year in beating USC. This year he proves his worth
12	Virginia Tech	Could cause the ACC -- the mega-conference that everyone's been waiting to see -- to rise from the ashes
13	Rutgers	I believe in Schiano. Last year was no fluke
14	Nebraska	The transfer of Sam Keller intrigues me ...
15	California	Jeff Tedford and his nerd herd just "feel right" here
16	Louisville	Brian Brohm will help this team score a lot of points, but he should've just gone pro
17	Georgia	Charles Rogers curses the Dawgs
18	Hawaii	Could win their conference with Colt Brennan ...
19	Boise State	... unless these guys are in BCS-victory form right off the bat
20	Oregon	An enigma ... help?
21	South Florida	Up-and-comers who have even lower academic standards than Florida State and Da U means there's a lot of potential for victory
22	Tennessee	[Filled this spot with an SEC team]
23	South Carolina	[Um, this one too]
24	Indiana	I really, really think they're going to win a bowl game this year. I really do
25	Washington State	Look at that, the Badgers scheduled a ranked opponent out of conference after all!

BIG NEWS: John Clay eligible to play, practices with team

Depth at tailback is ours!

"I checked with the NCAA, the school, everybody gave me documented paperwork, which I wanted all along," Bielema said. "There weren't rumors or sources, pure information, (we) got our guy out there to play."

Awesome.

"Great effort," Bielema said. "I think the reason we recruited him, as well as everybody else in the country recruited him, (is) he's a good person. He's a good football player. He stands for what's right. He worked very hard to get to where he is right now.

"I think the biggest thing he's got to learn to take forward from here is, it didn't come about in a normal way, as clean as everybody else and he can definitely learn from that past experience."

I love -- just love -- this attitude from Bret Bielema. John Clay made the grade, but hopefully the extra work he had to do to get to campus is something he won't forget.

An injured walk-on, defensive back Tony Megna, vacated his roster spot, a necessary step before Clay could join the team.

And finally, there's this:

"In this situation, things were out there prematurely that didn't need to be out there," Bielema said. "I just hope the same amount of space given to him when the story broke that he wasn't going to be eligible, is given to him now that he is eligible."

Yep, there's egg on my face over this one ... even moreso here. Mea culpa, Coach, and sorry, John. I was 100%, completely wrong. And I'm so glad I was.

Badger links for moving day

It's moving day here in Madison, which means chaos in the streets. It's also pretty funny, since (a) it's raining and (b) I don't have to move, so ... HA HA!

Also, it looks like UW-Madison is going to get a little more annoying, as they're making the place more accessible to parents:

Amy Smith is anxious. She's known for years this time would come, but now the day when she and her husband, Stan, will deliver Alynna, their oldest child, to UW-Madison for the first time is almost upon them.

"We're sending our child into unknown territory," said Smith, of Darlington. "She's been under my wing. I know all of her friends, I know what she's doing during the day, I know what she's doing at night. We're very close."

Uncharted territory indeed -- except to the 356 THOUSAND LIVING ALUMNI OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. Get a grip.

Anyway, onto the sports. That's why you're here, right?

* Tom Dienhart of the Sporting News can't wait to see Bret Bielema match coaching wits with Penn State's Joe Paterno. He doesn't specify whether the Joe Paterno he speaks of is the one who actually coached the team a decade and a half ago or the one who appears on the sidelines today.

* The WSJ reports that Allan Evridge still isn't fully comfortable with his role on the team yet. Evidently, though he was comfortable enough to smoke the defense in practice on Monday, turning the tables on that unit from this weekend's action.

* It's probably nothing, but Travis Beckum, Jack Ikegwuonu, and DeAndre Levy sat out of practice on Monday and Tuesday due to minor injuries.