Hello again Ducks fans from Wisconsin

Moderators: greenyellow, Autzenoise, UOducksTK1

Post Reply
User avatar
GophersStink
High School Drop Out
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 1:33 am

Hello again Ducks fans from Wisconsin

Post by GophersStink »

Hi all,

It seems like we always end up playing one another every couple of years in either basketball or football. I was at the Rose Bowl in 2012 and genuinely enjoyed my interactions with all Ducks fans. Can't wait to do it again. As I'm sure all of you know, the Rose Bowl is just awesome. For some reason it has a certain lore here more than I think even the playoff would. I can't explain it but my guess is that it stems from the 90's and early 2000's of Wisconsin football. I figured I would give a lowdown on Wisconsin this year as it seems as though a lot of people don't know a ton.

QB - Coan isn't bad and he isn't terrific. He's serviceable and for the most part as avoided making the glaring mistakes. There was a question coming into this year about whether Coan would be the guy or if it would be big time freshman Graham Mertz. By all accounts, Coan won the job rather convincingly. There's been a few bumps in the road but he's played well most of the season. Some of his stat lines are misleading. I actually thought the B1G title game was one of his better passing games even when the stats didn't show it. He had a number of easy balls dropped that would have been big gainers. He's gotten a little more comfortable with his legs but that isn't going to be a huge threat.

RB - It all begins and ends with Jonathan Taylor. Guys like Groshek and Watson may get a few touches here and there but Taylor is the guy. He's improved significantly as a pass catcher and has become I believe the best back Wisconsin has had since Ron Dayne, maybe better considering that pass catching. He's special

WR - This is the best group Wisconsin has had in a long time. Cephus will play on Sundays and the other guys are steady and reliable. Not a lot of gamechangers behind Cephus but after all, it is Wisconsin.

OL - Play has been up and down at times but much better recently but it's Wisconsin. For the most part, pick any oline of the last 10 years and it's pretty similar. Multiple NFL picks on the line and one first rounder for sure.

I am not going to go through every position, just the key ones!

DL/LB - This is the strength of the defense. Baun and Orr are monsters at LB but Orr took a hit in the B1G title game that knocked him out for the rest of the game. It sounds like he'll be good to go for the Rose Bowl but something to keep an eye on.

CB/S - This is the weak spot that worries me. Though their play has been much better the last 3 weeks, it's been a roller coaster ride this season. Very talented but also very young and inconsistent at times throughout the course of the game.


All in all, a good Wisconsin team. Not the best there's been but certainly darn good. The Illinois game was an oddity. I still don't entirely know what happened there. It was just a clunker. The blowout at OSU was a little misleading as that was a close game into the 3rd quarter, but as we saw in Indy, it's Ohio State and I think they're capable of blowing the doors off anyone.

I expect a close game between Oregon and Wisconsin. Like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed sharing some beverages with you all in 2012 and I look forward to doing it again! Best of luck!

Gophers stink.
GrandpaDuck
Senior
Posts: 3100
Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 3:48 pm

Re: Hello again Ducks fans from Wisconsin

Post by GrandpaDuck »

Thanks. Somehow I didn't catch a single Wisconsin game this year.

The 2012 Rose Bowl is one of my favorite games to watch on replay. Some great college players and one guy who is doing alright in the pros.
User avatar
Phalanx
Senior
Posts: 3899
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:50 pm

Re: Hello again Ducks fans from Wisconsin

Post by Phalanx »

Welcome to the board. It does seem like the Badgers have been in the Rose Bowl a lot over the years. It looks like this will be the 10th appearance for Wisconsin and the 8th for Oregon, with each team having won three. I think this will be an interesting game. Last time, despite the dramatic contrast in styles, it was a tight game and each team got their shots in. This time, it feels like Wisconsin is taking a very similar approach, while the Ducks have switched gears. I consider Wisconsin a great benchmarking opportunity for the progress that Cristobal has made with his vision of a more traditional, SEC-style power game and a much stronger defense. It worked against most of the Pac 12 fodder, but will it work against a team that trades in that kind of power game year in and year out?

We are feeling pretty good after the Utah game, but we're not too far removed from the Arizona State debacle. Hopefully, our offense shows up and the Ducks can give the Badgers a good game. If not, there is always the seemingly annual NCAA tournament showdown. The ducks finally won one last year- I was getting tired of the yearly beatdown at the hands of the guys in red.
User avatar
lukeyrid13
All-American
Posts: 10484
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 12:58 am
GM: Portland TrailBlazers

Re: Hello again Ducks fans from Wisconsin

Post by lukeyrid13 »

Great breakdown of the Badgers, much appreciated. I'll try my best to do a quick snapshot of our squad.

QB - Herbert. Yes, he will be a top NFL pick but Ducks fans have been spoiled with QB play (Mariota, Harrington, Vernon Adams, Kellen Clemens, Masoli etc) and Herbert just seems a notch below them. He is sporadic. He can throw the ball 80 yards and make impossible tight throws and then skip a screen pass in the dirt the next play. We are largely reliant on if good Herbert or bad Herbert comes to play.

RB - Mainly CJ Verdell. He's 5'9 200 and our top back but struggles with durability. He has struggled with vision and cutbacks but has seemed to improve. Overall it's an average bunch and nowhere near as impressive as Jonathan Taylor.

WR - Another average bunch. Jaylon Redd is shifty and Jonny Johnson is our most sure handed (what?) WR but they're overall nothing daunting

TE - Our starter is out, we mainly use our backup Kampmoyer as H-Back/FB

O-line - Penei Sewell is easily the best lineman Oregon has ever had. He's literally perfect in his career. The rest are all really solid above average players. Sometimes they struggle with delayed stunts/blitz pickups

D-Line - Kayvon Thibeadoux is still undersized but electric. He has ELITE burst on the line but can get eaten up sometimes. We tend to stick to 3 man fronts that are a bit undersized when Jordon Scott isn't playing but they play with good energy and don't give up on plays

LB - Troy Dye is a stud. He is all over the field and led Oregon in tackles 4 years running. The rest of the group is solid and plays smart

DB - Graham and Lenoir like to play physical on the outside. They're both considered NFL early entrants. Jevon Holland is our best playmaker on defense and an excellent safety. Brady Breeze will likely play strong safety in this game and he's great at run blitzes.

Overall we probably aren't as top end talented as the Chip Kelly era Oregon teams but we don't have a lot of weaknesses either. We win games based off the play of our defense and our o-line and our QB when he's firing. Welcome!
Post Reply