01222013

Sports Editor Nick Korger nkorger@badgerherald.com

C1 | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

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Jen Small The Badger Herald

Montee Ball wrote his name in yet another record book at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. The Doak Walker Award winner and Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year became the only player in Rose Bowl history to score a touchdown in three different Rose Bowls.

Wisconsin wilts in 99th Rose Bowl Stanford triumphs 20-14 thanks to late interception on tipped pass at line Ian McCue Football Beat Writer PASADENA, Calif. — All it took for the Wisconsin football team’s third straight Rose Bowl to slip away was one misguided pass from the hands of quarterback Curt Phillips, a pass that sealed a 20-14 victory for No. 6 Stanford Tuesday evening.

The fateful throw came

as the Badgers (8-6, 4-4 Big Ten) drove down the field behind bruising runs as the clock trickled closer to the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter. All that momentum evaporated when Stanford (12-2, 8-1 Pac-12) defensive end Josh Mauro tipped a pass from Phillips intended for tight end Jacob Pedersen that instead landed in the hands of nickelback Usua Amanam.

“You’re at midfield or close to midfield with a chance to win the Rose Bowl,” interim head coach Barry Alvarez said. “I just felt like maybe we were a team of destiny.

“So I just felt like somehow

we were going to find a way to score.”

The fifth-year senior signal caller said Stanford defenders shut off his first two targets on the play, making Pedersen — who had the option to curl inside or head toward the sideline — his man.

But according to Phillips a miscommunication and a poor throw on his part ended the potential game-winning drive a yard into Stanford territory.

“It’s extremely frustrating, there’s no doubt in my mind we were going to win that game,” Phillips said postgame as he fought back tears. “So it’s tough, but it’s been a hell

of a ride the whole time, I’ve really enjoyed it.”

Phillips’ final drive marked one of the only signs of offensive success for the Badgers in the second half, as their 14 points all came in the opening 30 minutes.

With the Cardinal defense keeping a muzzle on any offensive production from the Badgers early, speedy tailback Melvin Gordon took a jet sweep 15 yards around the right edge to establish the foundation for the remainder of the drive. A tipped ball somehow found its way into the arms of Jared Abbrederis, and Ball finally found a path to the end zone

to cut Stanford’s lead to 14-7.

After Stanford’s Jordan Williamson slid a 47-yard field goal through the uprights, Wisconsin looked set to take a 14-point deficit into halftime.

But Phillips sprinted 38 yards down the left to give his team renewed hope of a score before the break. With less than 30 seconds left in the first half, the fifth-year senior found a diving Jordan Fredrick in the front of the end zone to lower the deficit to three points.

Yet Phillips’ impressive drive proved for naught, the game marred by the electrifying comebacks that

ended in heartbreaking defeat that defined Wisconsin’s 2012 campaign.

“It’s heartbreaking. You’d like to send out guys like Montee the right way, and we couldn’t get it done today,” linebacker Chris Borland said. “Like Coach (Alvarez) said earlier, it’s kind of been a microcosm of our whole season. We’ve faced some adversity, fought back and came up short.”

The surprising offensive fireworks of the first half transformed into a grind-itout defensive battle where neither team scored in the

ROSE BOWL, page C3

UW defense bends, breaks Badgers allow two touchdowns on first two drives, hold long drives to field goals Kelly Erickson Football Beat Writer PASADENA, Calif. — Before either Stanford or Wisconsin even arrived in Pasadena, much less Los Angeles for the 2013 Rose Bowl, it was already predicted to be a defensive battle.

Both the Cardinal and the Badgers run-heavy offenses were balanced by tough defenses known for shutting down even some of the most efficient opposing offenses.

And the 20-14 win for Stanford in the 99th Rose Bowl didn’t disappoint.

Overall, the Badgers only allowed the Cardinal 344 total offensive yards, split between 187 rushing yards and 157 passing yards — holding right around their season average of 322.6 per game.

But before UW could settle into its own offense, Stanford posted two touchdowns on its first two drives of the game — its only two of the game.

“Their first two scores they came out and they did some trick stuff, some reverses …

I think they caught us by surprise with those plays,” junior defensive tackle Beau Allen said. “But from there we adjusted on the sidelines and we just all came together as a defense. We just said, ‘We’re not going to let them score again.’ I thought we did a good job from there.”

From that point, Stanford

wouldn’t touch the end zone again — but it did find a way to score.

On the next drive the Badgers forced a three-andout, which then led to a UW touchdown on the following drive. Prior to halftime Wisconsin forced another Stanford three-and-out, but not before it scored a field goal to take a 17-14 lead into the half. But the defense was just getting started.

Through four drives in the third quarter the Badger defense forced four punts — two of which were the result of a three-and-out.

“Quite frankly I thought our defense played very, very well in the second half,” interim head coach Barry Alvarez said. “Gave them a couple of field goals. Both defenses picked it up, made adjustments and picked it up.”

Wisconsin’s defense became increasingly suffocating throughout the second half until the fourth quarter when it bent too far.

Starting on its own 29, the Cardinal used eight rushes — seven from senior running back Stepfan Taylor and one from freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan — and only three passes to work their way down to the Wisconsin 5-yard line. While the Badgers held them out of the end zone, Stanford notched its second

DEFENSE, page C3

Jen Small The Badger Herald

First team all-Big Ten outside linebacker and redshirt senior Mike Taylor recorded three tackles against Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin’s defense allowed 8.2 yards per first down play in the game.

Cardinal defense tips game result Stanford’s height on defensive line alters Phillips’ passing lanes, causes interception Nick Korger Sports Editor PASADENA, Calif. — There weren’t any surprises New Year’s Day at the Granddaddy of Them All. Two teams, two old-school styles of football and two relentless defenses graced the field in a low-scoring, smashmouth affair that many saw coming.

But, on one particular afternoon, No. 6 Stanford’s defense (12-2, 8-1 Pac12) shined brighter than anything Wisconsin (86, 4-4 Big Ten) could put on the field, dictating the

tempo of the game and batting down critical passes in a 20-14 Cardinal win.

“We were defeated by a very good Stanford football team,” interim head coach Barry Alvarez said. “They didn’t surprise me how they played, as you saw that on films, they’ve been very consistent all year.”

Stanford’s talented front seven in the 3-4 defense constantly bruised Wisconsin’s run game and never allowed much of an offensive tempo, as the Badgers allowed the Cardinal to record four tackles for a loss and five

running plays for no gain.

One of those plays was a fourth and goal for Wisconsin at Stanford’s 1-yard line, a play where Mequon, Wis., native and Cardinal senior defensive end Ben Gardner slipped off of a block by Badger left tackle Ricky Wagner and stuffed running back James White in the backfield. One of the few key moments of the game, the play resulted in a turnover on downs in the opening drive of the second quarter and robbed the Badgers of a critical touchdown at a juncture of the game where they were

down 14-0.

Perhaps the biggest difference in the game was the height of the Cardinal’s down defensive linemen, as defensive ends Gardner and Henry Anderson each recorded a pass breakup and got their hands in the passing lanes when they weren’t harassing Badgers quarterback Curt Phillips.

Gardner (six tackles on the game) and Anderson (three tackles) had perhaps the best height of any defensive end duo UW had faced the entire season,

TIPS, page C5

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The Badger Herald | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

Face of UW still Alvarez Despite Bielema’s years coaching, AD represents football at Wisconsin

Nick Korger Korger’s Korner

Jen Small The Badger Herald

After taking over after a Week 2 loss to Oregon State, interim offensive line coach Bart Miller helped lead the resurgence of the Wisconsin offensive line, going back to a downhill-blocking scheme.

2012 MVP goes to Bart Miller In fall season where so many things went wrong, line coach found way to make them right Nick Korger Sports Editor LOS ANGELES — New Year’s Eve comes as a time of reflection for many individuals on the stories, accomplishments and struggles that have defined their previous 365 days.

For this Wisconsin football program and everyone associated with it, perhaps the greatest focus of any day on the calender should be on Sep. 9, 2012 as the most important date of the athletic year.

Yes, Bart Miller’s hiring was that important.

Just a day earlier the team suffered a 10-7 loss at the hands of Oregon State, amassing a strikingly mediocre 35 total yards on the ground on 23 carries. It was clear that production and execution typical in recent seasons on the offensive line had taken a severe downward turn, as the loss to the Beavers served as the emphatic wake-up call that the Badgers were in more trouble than it first seemed.

The problem? The offensive line never truly adapted to former head coach Bret Bielema’s replacement hire in the wake of longtime O-line coach Bob Bostad leaving Wisconsin after the 2012 Rose Bowl. Mike Markuson had an impressive resume, but Bielema made a mistake

by assuming the offensive line would adapt within a few months to the new coach’s zone-step scheme and abandon the entrenched teaching of Bostad’s downhill blocking.

“Once you’ve had something pounded into your head so long to where you only believe one thing, it’s tough to tell somebody any different,” redshirt junior guard Ryan Groy said. “If you believe in something and somebody comes up and tells you ‘You’re going to do this because that’s wrong’ it’s like ‘No, I’ve had success doing this, why would I change it to something else?’”

After the intense struggles of the line just two games into the season, Markuson was out and Miller was in, elevated from his role as offensive quality control coordinator to the head of the most important positional group at Wisconsin.

Just like Wisconsin’s 2012 campaign, there were highlights and lowlights of Miller’s first — and only — year at the helm of the offensive line.

There were the games like Nebraska (56 total rushing yards) and Michigan State (19) where the offenive line seemingly took a step back as a unit. But there were also the moments where the group looked like what had been expected all season, especially

in the team’s resounding 70-31 thrashing of Nebraska in the Big Ten championship game.

But what exactly made Miller the ideal candidate to turn around the group midseason?

Offensive linemen like Groy and redshirt junior center Travis Frederick point to the fact that their positional coach is just 27 years old and played their position, giving him a freshness with the game — Miller played offensive line for New Mexico, his final year on the field coming in 2007 — and a familiarity with the position in their eyes.

“He’s younger than any of the other coaches I’ve had which makes for better relations,” Frederick said. “He has a better idea of what we’re doing and isn’t necessarily an old school kind of guy. He has a lot of the old-school principles but he knows what it’s like playing in today’s game, so he scales some things back or moves some things better.”

“I think it’s a tremendous asset to coach the position I’ve played,” Miller said. “You understand elements of the game that maybe a guy that didn’t play doesn’t know. You can say what you want about what’s in the playbook, but there’s a realistic aspect of it on the field, what can you do, what can’t you do and angles and all that stuff.

“Another thing too is I’m not that far removed. I’m a young position coach and 10 years ago I was in their seat. You get a little bit more of that relation to them as opposed to some guy who hasn’t played in 25 years when the game has changed.”

The respect factor also made Miller the easy selection to take over after Bielema fired Markuson.

“I think he just understands us, he’s not the kind of guy who tells you what to do,” Groy said. “He bounces ideas off of you and we work off each other and try to figure out what’s best for us. He’s not always telling us what to do and demanding respect, he’s earned our respect and I think that makes the difference.”

Here are the numbers that define Miller’s short 11-game coaching tenure with the Badgers’ offensive line.

1) 262.55 — the amount of rushing yards UW has averaged per game under Miller, which would currently rank as the eighth highest total in the nation rather than 11th (the Badgers ranking for the entire year).

2) 3 — the number of all-conference selections on the offensive line in 2012, with three first-team members between the media and coaches’ selections 3) 4 — the number of times Wisconsin rushed for over 300 yards with Miller as the O-line coach There aren’t many coaches who have taken over their job midseason and had the success Miller experienced, a fact that speaks to the work ethic, intelligence and drive of the assistant coach. He was able to turn around a group who had abandoned their old ways and found a way to bridge them back gradually to the techniques that had brought them success. And for that, Miller is Wisconsin’s MVP — most valuable personnel.

PASADENA, Calif. — It was the ending of an era for Badger football in the 99th installation of the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Or rather, it was the bridging of one chapter to the next in a storybook that largely began in 1990.

Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez had left his lasting imprint on the UW football program long after his departure as the head coach following the conclusion of the 2005 Capital One Bowl. And nowhere was that more apparent than the 2013 Rose Bowl.

The principles have remained the same in the game plan at Wisconsin for more than two decades. Grind opponents down with the “big palookas” up front, a term Alvarez so affectionately used to refer to the offensive linemen at a press conference in December, utilize the play-action and dominate with the ground game over a fourquarter slugfest.

Basically, punch harder than your opponent.

Punch them hard, punch them often and punch them for four quarters until you win.

It was an idea that stuck around well after Alvarez retired from coaching to become the AD at Wisconsin, one that he mentored onto his handpicked replacement Bret Bielema.

As the years passed under Bielema’s — and Alvarez’s — watchful eye, the formula for success remained the same.

With Bielema as the head coach, the Badgers produced two Outland Trophy winners (best interior lineman) in Joe Thomas and Gabe Carimi and six all-conference offensive linemen during the 2010 season.

Yes, only five linemen play at a time on the offensive line, and the Badgers managed to get six honored.

Few doubted that Alvarez still had sizable influence over the program. He would pop in occasionally at practice, take weekly walks with Bielema and, well, he was the Athletic Director. In fact, Bielema cited in his departure to leave for Arkansas that he wanted the chance to “spread my wings and fly a little bit further.”

Maybe the comment was a thinly veiled reference that Alvarez was still micromanaging the football program further than anyone knew. Alvarez even said after Bielema’s departure that his pupil had won following his blueprint for success — which was true, to a degree.

Whatever the case, the Rose Bowl made it clear that the program’s identity still belongs to Alvarez. After all, why else would the players have personally reached out to him over an assistant coach to lead them in their bowl game?

It’s no surprise that Wisconsin football players have the nickname “The Godfather” for Alvarez.

He made Wisconsin football what it is. He had an 8-3 record in bowl games prior to the 2013 Rose Bowl, he loved to coach the big games throughout his career and he won them.

And he truly was a players’ coach. In fact, he cited the reason he

returned was to send his seniors out the right way in Pasadena.

That’s why it was so fitting that he was the one to take on the role of figurehead in this in-between period in Wisconsin football history. That respect Alvarez commands, that aura of legend that surrounds his legacy as a coach and as a winner made the transition to the hiring of Gary Anderson as the new head coach while the players focused on the Rose Bowl easier than could ever be thought possible.

And there’s never been a coach who has made the Rose Bowl and not coached in it. But Alvarez found a way to turn the attention to his return rather than the uncertainty surrounding his team.

Wisconsin’s brand of football, its brand of character and toughness that was first established under Alvarez in the ‘90s and continued under Bielema after his retirement was on full display in Pasadena in what can best be characterized as oldschool: great defense and hard-nosed running offenses going at each other’s throats in a low scoring affair.

Alvarez mentioned during the week leading up to the game that football is cyclical by nature. He has a point.

Look at the teams that made the Rose Bowl and the BCS National Championship game: Wisconsin, Stanford, Alabama and Notre Dame. See the similarity?

All of these teams follow Alvarez’s belief and conviction towards the style of football Wisconsin has played since he took the reigns.

Wisconsin can’t consistently recruit the athletes needed to run a spread right now, but they can consistently recruit the giant offensive lineman to run the style of football that almost beat one of the three most physical teams in the entire country. And that’s why Alvarez’s theory works in practice. If Wisconsin can’t be a fast team, it sure can be the strongest.

And look at the success that has brought the Badgers since the forgettable Don Morton years in the late ‘80s.

The bad news for Wisconsin this season was that it lost a BCS bowl for the third straight year in another close game. The good news? Fans found out that this program isn’t going to fall in stature any time soon.

Wisconsin football is not one man, but simply “the next man in.” It is an idea, an identity, a program that was established by a single man. And that man is still the face of Badgers football.

Was his legacy tarnished because a team he led into battle lost The Granddaddy of Them All? Absolutely not. He restored confidence and order to the Badgers at a time where there was chaos.

Whatever may be said about Bielema at the end of the day, he did lead UW to three straight Rose Bowls. And with Andersen already a proven winner as a head coach, there’s no reason to doubt that the future of Wisconsin isn’t bright.

As the motto in the Badger State goes…“In Barry We Trust.”

Nick is a fifth-year senior majoring in history and English. What were your impressions from the Badgers’ third consecutive Rose Bowl loss? Let him know at nkorger@ badgerherald.com.

The Badger Herald | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

ROSE BOWL, from C1 third quarter.

The lone score of the second half for either team came on a chip shot field goal that capped a clock-draining 12-play, 66yard drive that chugged along behind running back Stepfan Taylor’s 25 yards.

But the offense sputtered for much of the game with Phillips throwing for only 83 yards and the combined 155 yards of Montee Ball, James White and Melvin Gordon not enough to make up for it.

“We weren’t able to do the things we wanted to, their coaches made some great adjustments at halftime, their players continued to play the entire time,” redshirt junior center Travis Frederick said. “We weren’t able to wear them down the entire time the way that we wanted to — they were ready to play a four-quarter game.”

A steady rushing attack

DEFENSE from C1 field of the game for the 2014 lead.

Taylor managed 88 yards and a touchdown on 20 touches (4.4 yards per) but was a force to be reckoned with as the Badgers struggled to stop him as the game wore on.

But Taylor wasn’t the only play-making rusher the Badgers had to worry about. Hogan amassed the second-most rushing yards for the Cardinal on the night with 54 yards on seven carries.

“You’ve got to be aware as a pass rusher, where the quarterback is in the pocket,” Allen said. “You just have to get him down at all costs.”

One of Hogan’s most important rushes of the day came on Stanford’s first drive of the game. Facing third-and-3 from his own 27, Hogan ran for four yards to keep the drive alive. Four plays later, the Cardinal took a 7-0 lead.

“It was one of those things where we weren’t

from the Badgers (151 yards) and an efficient two quarters from Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan (6-of-9, 90 yards) had the first half score sitting closer to what many expected for a full four quarters of play rather than a half.

Wisconsin’s offensive line kept Stanford’s vaunted defensive line and linebackers under control, as they never sacked Phillips and left enough space for him to run for 64 yards.

“They’re very difficult to block. I thought we had some success, Melvin had a great day on the edge,” Alvarez said. “We made some plays, but they were jamming the middle up pretty good.”

The Pac-12 champs wasted no time grabbing the early advantage, as running back Kelsey Young scampered around the left edge and into the end zone on a 16-yard run.

The Cardinal’s redshirt freshman signal caller

playing the things that we were taught to play,” junior safety Dezmen Southward said of the first quarter play. “We practice those same things a million times and we didn’t play them the right way. I think after that we really focused in and really started to do everything we were taught and it showed.”

While Wisconsin’s defensive breakdowns in the first quarter should not stand as the reason the Badgers fell in their third consecutive trip to Pasadena, it likely served as the the difference-maker on New Year’s Day. Either way, Wisconsin ended just one touchdown short of victory.

“Obviously those two scores we gave up in the beginning, they didn’t help — they only won by six points,” Allen said. “I think if we could have come out a little stronger on defense and stopped some of those trick plays we would have been in better shape in the fourth quarter, that’s for sure.”

then aired it out to tight end Zach Ertz for 43 yards before running back Stepfan Taylor rammed it past the goal line to hand Stanford the 14-0 lead early.

Twice the Badgers appeared to answer their first score, but the Stanford defense refused to make it that easy. Ball made it into the end zone nearly untouched but a holding call on left

tackle Ricky Wagner negated that score. Phillips then hit Pedersen — who appeared to crawl into the end zone — but a review overturned that call before the Cardinal denied White on fourth and goal.

The players realized the loss came as a result of more than a single errant throw.

After chasing Stanford for four quarters, Wisconsin’s effort was too little, too late.

“It stings. It stings just as much because we fell short, extremely short when we had the opportunity to win,” Ball said. “They did a great job of stopping a really good offense.

But speaking for our offense, we had many opportunities to capitalize on big plays and we fell short.”

Of Note: Wisconsin seniors closed their career with a 40-14 record, tying the Class of 2007

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for the most wins in program history ... After emerging victorious in his first three trips to Pasadena, Alvarez fell to 3-1 in the Rose Bowl ... Ball became the first player in college football history to score a touchdown in three different Rose Bowls ...

Phillips’ interception was UW’s 12th turnover in 14 games this year ... Fredrick’s touchdown second quarter catch was the first of his career.

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The Badger Herald | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

WHILE YOU WERE AWAY

Men’s Basketball

Upset over No. 2 Indiana gives UW signature win Nick Korger Sports Editor “Grind ‘em out dog fights.”

Those are the selfdescribed kind of games Wisconsin redshirt senior Mike Bruesewitz loves to play in. With a collection of players similar to their starting forward, it’s no wonder the Badgers made some noise over the break in the world of college basketball.

“There are some big boys in the Big Ten, it’s a very physical conference,” Bruesewitz said. “That’s the type of stuff I like, those are the kinds of games I like to be in.”

“I don’t like the games we’re up 25. I’d much rather be in a close game where every decision matters, and every loose ball is a life or death situation.”

And that’s how the Badgers have been playing since the students on the campus of the University of Wisconsin left for winter break. The team rode an eight-game win streak to first place in Big Ten play before a disheartening loss at Iowa this past Saturday, but the team has fans optimistic for hopes of a conference title.

Every win has been tough for the Badgers, but that’s to

be expected in a league that remains the undisputed best in college hoops. The team had to gut out their first two wins against undermanned, but gritty teams in Penn State, who lost its best player in Tim Frazier to an ACL tear, and Nebraska, but questions still remained.

If Wisconsin couldn’t handle their business easily against two of the projected worst teams in the conference, how would they handle the upcoming gauntlet of ranked opponents on their schedule?

It was a sentiment shared by freshman Sam Dekker.

“We felt like our production was subpar the first eight, nine games of the season,” Dekker said.

But the team rebounded in a way that surprised everyone in the world of college basketball. Blowing out No. 12 Illinois at home 74-51 in a 40-minute beating was just a glimpse of what laid ahead in Bloomington, Ind. Sure, the Badgers and Bo Ryan had owned Assembly Hall and the Indiana Hoosiers over the past few years, but were they ready to challenge the No. 2 team in the nation in front of a raucous, sold out crowd?

Well, doubters, naysayers

and non-Bolievers suddenly found Wisconsin was alone at the front of the conference, shocking the Hoosiers and their fans with stingy defense, clutch shooting and resiliency under duress in a 64-59 upset in the program’s biggest road win in history.

“I think we’ve shown flashes throughout the season that we can compete with people, but we haven’t done it too consistently,” redshirt senior center Jared Berggren said. “The Illinois game was a good stepping stone there, it’s one thing to do it at home and another to do it on the road in a hostile environment.”

“So to go into Indiana, at their place, and knock them off was a big confidence boost. Just shows what we’re capable of and we’re going to look to build off that.”

It wasn’t like the Badgers were beating the Hoosiers throughout the game--far from it. Cody Zeller and his 18 points in the first half were decimating to UW trying to establish control.

But, like they have all season, Wisconsin found a way to get it done by grinding down their opponents with physical defense, limited turnovers and balanced scoring.

Berggren, the Badgers’

Lineup & Stats Player

Year/Position

Stats

*Traevon Jackson

So./Guard

5.5 ppg, 41 assists

*Ben Brust

Jr./Guard

10.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg

*Mike Bruesewitz

RS Sr./Forward

7.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg

*Ryan Evans

RS Sr./Forward

11.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg

*Jared Berggren

RS Jr./Center

12.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg

Sam Dekker

Fr./Forward

9.6 ppg, 42% 3PT

George Marshall

RS Fr./Guard

5.7 ppg, 47% 3PT

Frank Kaminsky

So./Center

4.6 ppg, 41% 3PT

Zak Showalter

Fr./Guard

2.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg

Megan McCormick The Badger Herald File Photo

Although set back by a gruesome leg injury and a concussion sustained at practice, Bruesewitz has shown flashes of his old self during conference play. primary offensive option, didn’t even have his best game, as the athletic center scored just five points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field.

But the team was brought back down to earth in Carver-Hawkeye Arena this past Saturday night against an emotionally charged Iowa team. Playing in honor of the 20th anniversary of the death of Chris Street, a Hawkeye basketball standout who died in a car accident Jan. 19, 1993, the allaround performance by Iowa would have made the former player proud.

To put it lightly, the Badgers didn’t show up until the second half after being outscored 18-34 in the first half by their opponents, but it was a deficit that was too big to climb as the team fell for the first time in conference play 66-70.

But even with the letdown loss, the team has done what it always has under Ryan, progressed from week to week and gradually gained more chemistry within its ranks of players.

Ryan constantly preaches

the most important thing he assesses at the end of each game: “Are we better this game than the last?”

And that’s something that the Badgers certainly have shown (minus the Iowa game).

“We kind of were set back by injuries at the beginning of the season,” Bruesewitz said. “We came in to the season with a lot of confidence … I know I did. I had a couple freak things happen to me, then Josh [Gasser] gets hurt.

Essentially, you lose two starters; at that point, that’s a big blow to any team. You lose your point guard and small forward, but the guys were great to weather the storm.”

Confidence is something Wisconsin has seemingly lacked during the season until the last four games, but it was something that was a bit expected coming into the season replacing multi-year starter Jordan Taylor, a fact amplified by Gasser’s seasonending injury.

But redshirt freshman George Marshall and sophomore Traevon Jackson

have been showing signs of growth in their roles and junior Ben Brust has developed nicely into more of a well-rounded offensive threat.

The Badgers still have a long way to go in the Big Ten race if they hope to win a conference that currently has six of its 12 teams ranked in the Top 25.

First comes Tom Izzo’s Michigan State team Jan. 22 at the Kohl Center. Although the Spartans are adjusting to life after long-time leader and 2012 Big Ten Player of the Year Draymond Green, junior guard Keith Appling has led MSU to first place in the Big Ten at this point in the season.

After that, things don’t get much easier, as Wisconsin takes on No. 9 Minnesota at home and then both No. 11 Ohio State and No. 24 Illinois on the road (rankings as of Jan. 20).a What the cards may hold for this Badgers in conference play is unclear, but Bruesewitz should be happy because, in the Big Ten, every night is a constant grind.

Schedule vs. Milwaukee (W) 74-53 Dec. 22

vs. Samford (W) 87-51 Dec. 29

vs. Penn State (W) 60-51 Jan. 3

@ Nebraska (W) 47-41 Jan. 6

vs. #12 Illinois (W) 74-51 Jan. 12

@ #2 Indiana (W) 64-59 Jan. 15

(* Denotes starter)

@ Iowa (L) 66-70 Jan. 19 vs. Michigan State Jan. 22 6:00 p.m. CT vs. Minnesota Jan. 26 1:00 p.m. CT @ Ohio State Jan. 29 6:00 p.m. CT @ Illinois Feb. 3 2:30 p.m. CT

The Badger Herald | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

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WHILE YOU WERE AWAY

Women’s Basketball

Badgers suffer major skid, drop below .500 Dan Corcoran Badger Herald Blog Editor The Wisconsin women’s basketball team was flying high as the fall semester came to a close, riding a four game win-streak into winter break after a 76-47 thrashing of Eastern Illinois at the UW Fieldhouse Dec. 15. But in a season beginning to resemble the 2008 Katy Perry hit song “Hot n Cold,” the Badgers have fallen off from their promising start to the season, losing seven of their last eight games, dropping Wisconsin’s record below .500 for the first time this season at 9-10 and 1-5 in Big Ten play.

After The Badger Herald coverage ended for the semester, Wisconsin continued its winning ways at home when it defeated Florida Atlantic in overtime 82-73 Dec. 10. Trailing by two with nine seconds remaining in the second half, Morgan Paige sank two free throws to tie the game at 69. Florida Atlantic missed the ensuing shot and the game went to overtime. Wisconsin then outscored the Owls 13-4 in the extra session with Jacki Gulczynski leading the way, as she recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Paige gashed the Owls for 28 points.

Then came Wisconsin’s “Return to the Fieldhouse,” where it had not played since the Kohl Center opened in 1998. The confines of the Fieldhouse proved to be just as friendly as they were back in the “old days,” as Wisconsin dominated Eastern Illinois with Gulczynski leading the way, scoring 24 points and recording yet another double-double while Paige and freshman Nicole Bauman dropped 16 and 15 points a piece, respectively.

However, just as Wisconsin looked on track to rebound from its tough season a year ago, it got bad news, and ironically enough, doubly bad news.

After playing in the first five games, senior guard Taylor Wurtz, largely considered the best offensive player on the Badgers team after averaging 16.1 points per game in 2011-12, had not played since and during break.

Finally putting an end to the speculation of a potential return, Wurtz elected to take a medical redshirt to have surgery to repair back issues that had been ailing her all season on Dec. 31.

As if losing its secondleading scorer wasn’t bad enough, sophomore AnnMarie Brown tore her right ACL in practice Dec. 18, further complicating Wisconsin’s depth issues.

Brown was averaging 6.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest in 10 games before the injury.

As a result of the two injuries and sophomore Lindsay Smith and freshman Makailah Dyer transferring out of the program earlier in the year, Wisconsin currently has only nine active players for the rest of the season.

Wisconsin felt the combined absence of both players immediately as the Badgers fell to Green Bay 53-38 in the first game without the pair Dec 23. at the Kress Center. Once again Gulczynski recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds for a doubledouble — her third in a row.

But it was not enough as the Badgers struggled to score, shooting just 30 percent from the field and turning the ball over a catastrophic 25 times, a number that remains the highest of the season to date.

It appeared brighter days were on the horizon when the Badgers traveled to warm and sunny Miami for the Miami Holiday Tournament with Wisconsin’s thumping of Delaware State 83-54 in the first game. Four players recorded double-digits in scoring with Paige leading the way with 17 and junior Cassie Rochel missing a double-double by just two

rebounds.

But just a day later Wisconsin was beaten soundly by the hosts of the tournament, as Miami handled the Badgers 6744. The game marked the beginning of Wisconsin’s six-game losing streak and displayed the team’s streaky shooting habits, as the Badgers made just 14 of their 58 attempted shots against the Hurricanes.

Four days later, Wisconsin began Big Ten play with one of its tougher tests of the season on the road at Nebraska — one of this year’s favorites to win the Big Ten. Depth again proved to be a problem and the Cornhuskers outgunned the Badgers 7052. The Badgers couldn’t find a way to slow down the Huskers’ Lindsey Moore, who torched the Badgers for 26 points.

Wisconsin then returned to the Kohl Center for two consecutive games. But the homecoming turned sour when the Badgers fell to the Minnesota Gophers 6055, despite a late run where Wisconsin went on a 13-6 run in the game’s final two minutes.

In the final game of the two-game homestand, Wisconsin went shot-for-shot with Iowa until an eightminute scoreless drought in the second half, which proved too much to overcome as UW lost once again 65-56 in another tough conference loss.

Last Sunday, Wisconsin traveled to Michigan and the road woes continued for the Badger offense as they scored only 43 points in the 54-43 loss. Then in its game last Thursday against No. 8 Penn State, Wisconsin was clearly outmatched and its offense struggled yet again as the Badgers were trounced 84-40.

And although Wisconsin lost six straight, it still matched its number of wins from a season ago with a win this past Sunday over Ohio State.

Schedule vs. Minnesota (L) 55-60 Jan. 6 vs. Iowa (L) 56-65 Jan. 10 @ Michigan (L) 43-54 Jan. 13 @ #8 Penn State (L) 40-84 Jan. 17 vs. Ohio State (W) 68-49 Jan. 20 @ Iowa Jan. 24 7:00 p.m. CT vs. #8 Penn State Jan. 31 7:00 p.m. CT vs. Illinois Feb. 3 2:00 p.m. CT @ Ohio State Feb. 7 6:00 p.m. CT

Andy Fate The Badger Herald

Redshirt Tiera Stephen has given the Badgers a stingy defender and defined point guard this season. Stephen currently has 98 assists on the year.

Lineups & Stats Player

Year/Position

Stats

*Tiera Stephen

RS Sen./Guard

5.9 ppg, 98 assists

*Morgan Paige

Jr./Guard

15.8 ppg, 34 3PM

*Nicole Bauman

Fr./Guard

6.8 ppg, 93% FT

*Jacki Gulczynski

So./Forward

11 ppg, 6.2 rpg

*Cassie Rochel

Jr./Forward

6.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg

Dakota Whyte

Fr./ Guard

3.1 ppg, 1 apg

Tessa Cichy

Fr./Guard

2.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg

Daria Kryuchkova

Jr./Forward

1.6 ppg, 58 % FG

(* Denotes starter)

TIPS, from C1 with Gardner standing at 6-foot-4 and Anderson at 6-foot-6.

“They are very tall,” Phillips said. “I don’t think I have a low release, but I think it’s almost a credit to our offensive line because they didn’t allow those guys to get in. The only thing you can do whenever you get stoned at the line is to jump up and try to tip balls and that’s really the only chance they had.”

Phillips point was valid, as Wisconsin’s offensive line never allowed Stanford to sack their quarterback. The Cardinal’s lone sack came thanks to an intentional grounding penalty on Melvin Gordon on an attempted trick play on a jet-sweep in the first quarter.

But while Stanford recorded just three total pass breakups, those numbers don’t reflect the total times the Stanford defensive line was able to get its hands on Wisconsin passes. Numerous passes were deflected, including a lucky bounce for UW that saw a deflected ball fall into the hands of wide receiver Jared Abbrederis for 22 yards and a first down, as the next play ended in a Montee Ball

touchdown run and brought the score to 14-7 in the second quarter.

The most important tipped ball of the day came when Stanford defensive end Josh Mauro lined up at nose tackle. With the score 20-14 in Stanford’s favor with just a little over two minutes remaining in the game, Phillips stepped back to pass. Even though he was double-teamed and stalemated by Badgers center Travis Frederick and left guard Ryan Groy, Mauro extended both his hands and was able to jump up, catching his left hand on the ball as Phillips targeted an open Jacob Pedersen.

As the ball changed trajectory it found the awaiting arms of Stanford’s Usua Amanam.

And when the Cardinal nickelback stood up to show the crowd his prize to screaming roars of approval from the team’s fans, it was all but over for Wisconsin.

“I really thought we were going to be able to go down (on that last drive) and move the ball,” Frederick said.

“They got a hand on the ball and tipped it up and that’s the story.”

But Stanford’s style of play on the defensive line also allowed room for

Phillips to break contain and escape the pocket, plays that kept several key Wisconsin’s drives alive.

He finished with 64 yards on five carries in his first career Rose Bowl start.

Maybe what kept a healthy Joel Stave on the sideline for the Badgers was Phillips’ ability to extend the play, as the veteran used a crafty move — faking a step out of bounds on the left sideline — to create a 38-yard gain on a first and 10 during the waning two minutes before halftime, setting up the Badgers’ tying touchdown pass to Jordan Fredrick six plays later.

Though the Badgers’ offensive line kept the Cardinal at bay early, Stanford adjusted to Wisconsin’s 14-point second quarter to hold their opponent scoreless for the entire second half. Like many cases this season, it ended up being a tale of two halves for UW, as the team gained 219 total yards on offense in the first half, but recorded just 82 yards in the second half.

“We just weren’t able to produce what we needed to produce as an offensive line,” Frederick said. “We didn’t play the way we needed to in the second half.”

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The Badger Herald | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

WHILE YOU WERE AWAY

Men’s Hockey

Streaking UW finds identity Kelly Erickson Men’s Hockey Beat Writer

Jen Small The Badger Herald

Jake McCabe won a gold medal, leading Team USA as a captain through the World Junior Championships. The team beat the Czech Republic, Canada and Sweden in the single-elimination rounds of the tourney.

Captain America Nick Daniels Sports Content Editor As classes start up again at the University of Wisconsin and students begin to swap winter break stories after nearly a month off school, it would be safe to say sophomore defenseman Jake McCabe’s story might just take the gold.

Literally.

Chosen in early December as captain for Team USA in the World Junior Championships, McCabe can boast a winter break story that includes leading Team USA to an unlikely gold medal after the team failed to make the podium at all in the same competition just a year ago.

The World Junior Championships, which were held in Ufa, Russia — a city of more than one million people less than 1,500 miles west of Moscow, Russia’s capitol — are a U-20 competition involving some of the best young talent hockey has to offer from all across the globe.

Playing seven games in 10 days with average temperatures in December and January rarely above freezing in Ufa, McCabe said simply “the rink” was the highlight of his trip.

After getting off to a shaky start in a pair of tune-up exhibition games Dec. 20 and 22 before the tournament, which included a narrow 3-2 overtime win against Sweden and a demoralizing 5-1 loss against

Finland, the U.S. didn’t fair much better in the group stage of the tournament.

By the end of the group stage — four games later — Team USA had a mediocre 2-2 record.

But as is the case with many championship teams, it often takes just one game to click into gear and reverse a team’s fortunes from underperformer to championship contender.

And that is just what McCabe and Co. did.

The levy finally broke in the quarterfinal round of the single-elimination portion of the tournament, as Team USA thrashed the Czech Republic 7-0 — scoring five goals in the second period alone — on their way to a critical momentum-building victory.

“To have a group of 23 guys come together like that in such a short amount of time [is huge],” McCabe said. “We slowly improved throughout the tournament and we were playing our best hockey by the end of the tournament and that was key to our success.”

Looking back on the tournament, McCabe pointed to Team USA’s 5-1 semifinal drudging over rival Canada as the true turning point for their title hopes, a victory made all-the-more sweet after a disheartening loss earlier to Canada in the group stage of the tournament.

“We came out with such energy and we really put them on their heels,”

McCabe said. “I can honestly say we dominated them the whole game.

“It’s always sweet to beat Canada. It’s such an emotional game, such a heated rivalry. Any win is nice, but when you can say you dominated throughout the game, it makes it that much better.”

To make the surprising victory even sweeter for the young captain, McCabe scored two of Team USA’s five goals against Canada and assisted on another.

Meanwhile, halfway around the world and a 12-hour time difference away, McCabe’s supporters in his hometown of Eau Claire, Wis., including his family and friends, had to wake up in the early hours of the morning to follow Team USA and McCabe as they advanced through the tournament.

“A local bar [in Eau Claire, Wis.], Dooley’s Pub, was opening early and letting people come watch that didn’t have NHL Network at their home, my mom was waking up at 3 a.m., so [were] my brother and sister and everyone. It was pretty cool that they could support me throughout this whole experience.”

After one final victory just a few days later against reigning-champion Sweden in the championship, McCabe had a gold medal to add to his three goals and three assists in the tournament.

With a World Junior

Championship gold medal to call his own, McCabe has entered an elite group in the Wisconsin Hockey ranks — a group that now includes seven gold medalists for Team USA — even outdoing current teammate and fellow defenseman John Ramage, who was Team USA’s captain in a bronze medal effort in 2011 (although he did earn a gold medal on the 2010 team).

As McCabe makes his return to Wisconsin’s hockey team, Ramage knows first hand from his own appearances in the World Junior Championships the benefits that McCabe will see.

“To win the gold medal at any level is an unbelievable accomplishment,” Ramage said. “He has a little extra emotion coming back now, after an emotional high, and it will help him to be more in tune and more confident now.”

Still, while his Wisconsin teammates played just two games against AlaskaAnchorage in WCHA play during McCabe’s absence, Assistant Coach Matt Walsh was quick to quash the effects that any lingering fatigue might have on McCabe from playing seven games in 10 days for Team USA. “He is a mainstay in our defense,” Walsh said. “They are in such good shape, these kids … now that he is back he will get into the routine again and he will be just fine.”

Schedule @ #11 Minn. State (W) 4-3 (OT) Jan. 11

@ #11 Minn. State (W) 2-1 (OT) Jan. 12

vs. #8 Miami (OH) (W) 1-0 Jan. 18

vs. #8 Miami (OH) (L) 1-2 Jan. 19

vs. Alaska-Anchorage 7:00 p.m. CT Jan. 25

vs. Alaska-Anchorage 8:00 p.m. CT Jan. 26

Rock bottom is always a possibility you desperately hope never becomes a reality.

But for the Wisconsin men’s hockey team, it was an all too real experience. The Badgers started the season 1-7-2 after boasting the highest of expectations prior to the start of the season.

To put it plainly: It was ugly.

UW struggled to put the puck in the net as its roster kept shrinking due to suspensions and injuries.

Fast forward eight weeks.

The Badgers were just three games into the second half of their season and on the road in Mankato, Minn.

Friday was a thrill.

Minnesota State and Wisconsin exchanged blows in the Jan. 11 game, skating to a 3-3 tie after regulation.

With an extra five minutes on the clock, the Badgers were headed into their sixth overtime game of the season, but still looking for their first overtime win.

With about 30 seconds left on the clock, it looked like UW was going to skate to yet another extra-period tie. The Badgers advanced the puck into their offensive zone as senior defenseman John Ramage skated across the slot and chipped up a shot. At the 4:28 mark of overtime, Ramage netted the game winner, extending Wisconsin’s unbeaten streak to nine. The next night Ramage did it again — in overtime with only 6.2 seconds left in extra time — earning Wisconsin its first sweep in Mankato.

After starting the season with only one win in 10 games, Wisconsin didn’t drop a decision in its next 11, with another win the following weekend at home against No. 8 Miami. With a 8-7-5 overall record and a 6-5-5 mark in WCHA play after the sweep at Mankato, Wisconsin moved into sixthplace in the conference, trailing Denver and Nebraska-Omaha, tied for first, by just three points.

Following a nonconference series with Miami — where the Badgers split with a 1-0 win Friday night and a 2-1 loss Saturday this past weekend — Wisconsin currently sits at eighth in the conference and five points out of first with a 9-8-5 overall record.

“We just kept working hard and kept sticking to the plan,” Ramage said. “We believed in ourselves the whole time. … Once we got a few wins, the confidence went up and now we’re just trying to take it one game at a time and keep the streak going.”

The 11-game streak didn’t happen at the drop of a hat. It started with a trip to

then-No. 1 Denver where the Badgers picked up a 1-1 tie and a 3-1 victory. In fact, only five of the 11 unbeaten games were played on home ice where the Badgers went 3-0-2 during that time.

Over that stretch Wisconsin’s offense found new life, scoring 30 goals from 13 different skaters — Ramage, junior forward Michael Mersch and sophomore forward Joseph LaBate led the team with four goals apiece during that stretch, while forwards Tyler Barnes, Jefferson Dahl and Derek Lee had three goals each.

“The whole team is just playing better,” Ramage said. “There’s not a whole lot that has changed (from the beginning of the season), the thing that’s changed is probably the details. …

It’s just not one person, it’s everyone stepping up at different times. I think that’s the key to our success right now.”

Prior to that 11-game stretch, the Badgers only netted 18 goals from eight players. Eight of those goals came off Mersch’s stick — the next goal leader had only two (Zengerle, Jake McCabe and Ryan Little).

But only days before classes started up again that unbeaten streak — and subsequently a seven-game win streak — came to an end in 2-1 defensive brawl with Miami. Despite evening things up one-all in the second period and putting 34 shots on net, Miami used an early power play goal and the go-ahead goal in the second period to ensure it didn’t leave Madison without a victory.

“It felt funny to be in the locker room and not have a celebration going on,” head coach Mike Eaves said in his post-game press conference Saturday night.

“It has been a long time since we’ve had to deal with a loss. As we take stock of the game tonight, I thought for the first eight to 10 minutes [Miami] had a little more jump in their step.

Obviously, they were a team that lost last night and they came out with a little burr in their fanny. But I thought it evened out after that.”

“We were down in their zone the whole time. We attempted 28 shots in the third period. We did the things we needed to do in the third period to try and get us back in the game and we came up short. We didn’t get the ‘dirty one,’ we didn’t get the timely goal to tie it up. … Moving beyond that, this weekend elevated our understanding of how we need to play at a high level if we want to be around at the end of the year.”

Despite the recent loss, there’s no denying Wisconsin has straightened out its season.

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WHILE YOU WERE AWAY

Women’s Hockey

Break not enough to slow down Badgers Spencer Smith Associate Sports Editor Long layoffs between games in an athletic schedule have come to be viewed as something equivalent to the plague, killing any and all momentum that may have existed previously.

Instead of looking at their break as a curse, the Wisconsin women’s hockey team embraced their 25-day winter layoff and have come back just as well — if not better — than when they left the ice in early December.

On Dec. 9, Wisconsin had just completed a come-frombehind 3-2 victory over No. 8 North Dakota at LaBahn Arena, capping off a series sweep over their WCHA rival.

However, any momentum that was gained during the home series against the Fighting Sioux was put on hold for 25 days until the Badgers would once again compete on the ice together.

Senior defenseman Saige Pacholok believes the break was beneficial for the team.

“Sometimes you get a little worried having a twoweek break, but I think it was good because we all need a break sometimes,” Pacholok said. “Physically and mentally, I think it was good for our team.”

The Badgers had roughly two weeks without any organized hockey activity-time set aside for final exams and family.

After taking time to decompress and relax over

the holidays, Wisconsin went right back to the grind.

Head coach Mark Johnson agreed the time off is good for his team, but knows the key to avoiding a slump in 2013 is staying in shape. “[The team] is pretty good about taking care of themselves,” Johnson said. “They are going to do something, whether it’s getting out on the ice every day or getting in the gym and doing some conditioning. It’s important because it’s a sport that is hard to get in shape for, but it’s easy to get out of shape.”

With a series against No. 9 Ohio State and another at North Dakota looming in late January, Johnson set up an exhibition game with the Minnesota Whitecaps, a professional women’s hockey team from the Western Women’s Hockey League.

The Badgers went ahead to dominate the Whitecaps in a 4-0 victory that saw Wisconsin outshoot their opponent 38-18.

Pacholok, who picked up two assists in the exhibition match, says the game was critical for UW to get back into the proper game mindset necessary to compete again at a high level in the WCHA. “We needed that game to get back into game mode,” the alternate captain said.

“You practice all week, but it’s different practicing than playing and your game sense kind of changes a bit, so I think that was beneficial for our team overall going into

the Ohio State series.”

After their tuneup game with the Whitecaps, Ohio State, who had split a series with Wisconsin earlier in the season, came to the LaBahn Arena to challenge UW in a matchup that featured two teams ranked in the top 10.

The Badgers took the first game with a defining 4-1 victory, which featured two short-handed goals by Wisconsin and a pair of scores from senior forward Brianna Decker.

The second contest with OSU proved to be more of a challenge, but UW was able to snap a 1-1 tie in the third period with a late score by Alev Kelter to boost Wisconsin to their second straight series sweep of a top 10 opponent.

The Badgers were able to outshoot the Buckeyes 62-51 and allow only two goals to a team that averages more than three goals a game in the series.

Decker, the team captain who ended up with two goals and two assists in the series versus OSU, says her teammates are now becoming comfortable in their roles which has contributed to the success in the latter part of the schedule.

“I think we are just playing tough and everybody is just kind of playing their own roles; everybody has stepped into their own roles and is used to that,” Dekker said. “We’ve been having great goaltending and the forwards have been putting the puck in the net. I think

Kelsey Fenton The Badger Herald

Senior forward Brianna Decker has enjoyed a stellar 2012-13 for Wisconsin, netting 21 goals and racking up 16 assists in 24 games. that’s what we needed and what we need to continue to do.”

In their last series before the spring semester began, the Badgers traveled west to North Dakota to take on the second best scoring team in the WCHA in the Fighting Sioux.

Despite being outshot in the series 59-50, UW was able to leave Grand Forks, N.D., with a series split.

North Dakota was able to blank Wisconsin 3-0 in the first match up of the series, but the Badgers were able to come back strong in the second game, taking a 2-1 victory on a third period goal

by junior forward Madison Packer.

Wisconsin’s ability to maintain their momentum from early December into late January propelled the Badgers to a four-game win streak and to second place in the challenging WCHA conference.

Johnson is pleased with the way his team has hit a stride lately and attributes the success to consistency, but knows the struggle for a WCHA title has just begun.

But the Badgers’ destiny still lays in their own hands, as the team welcomes the No. 1 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers to LaBahn

Arena this weekend in a crucial series. The Gophers have been the toughest foe of late for this Badger program, outscoring the team 6-1 in their twogame sweep of the team in December.

“It’s a long journey; it’s a long season,” Johnson said.

“Over the course of the winter you make strides, and this team has done that. They’ve been pretty consistent in their work effort. Each game has been fairly consistent as far as the effort that they put into those games, so they are getting rewarded now which is nice.”

Men’s & Women’s Starting Lineups Player

Year/Position

Stats

Player

Year

Stats

Joel Rumpel

So./Goalie

1.83 GA

Alex Rigsby

Jr./Goalie

583 Saves, 1.53 GA

Michael Mersch

Jr./Forward

13 G, 5 A

Brianna Decker

Sr./Forward

21 G, 16 A

Mark Zengerle

Jr./Forward

3 G, 8 A

Madison Packer

Jr./Forward

12 G, 10 A

John Ramage

Sr./Defenseman

4 G, 2 A

Karley Sylvester

So./Forward

7 G, 11 A

Jake McKabe

So./Defenseman

2 G, 7 A

Courney Burke

Fr./Defenseman

3 G, 14 A

Nic Kerdiles

Fr./Forward

2 G, 5 A

Alev Kelter

Sr./Defenseman

13 G, 2 A

Schedule vs. #9 OSU (W) 2-1 Jan. 12 @ North Dakota (L) 0-3 Jan. 18 @ North Dakota (W) 2-1 Jan. 19 vs. #1 Minnesota Jan. 25 2:00 p.m. CT vs. #1 Minnesota Jan. 27 2:00 p.m. CT

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The Badger Herald | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

Long, strange road for Stephen Redshirt senior’s career features stop at Louisville, start in national championship game Sean Zak Senior Associate Sports Editor If Tiera Stephen wasn’t on top of the world in April 2009, she seemed to be pretty close.

Stephen was a point guard for the Louisville women’s basketball team and the Cardinals were playing in the school’s first ever Final Four.

The circumstances were pressure-filled, daunting by any standard. She was also just a freshman, 19 years of age and playing in St. Louis under the brightest of lights.

The Cardinals had just upset top-seeded Oklahoma and were taking on Connecticut for the third time that season.

Widely regarded as one of the best teams in collegiate basketball history, a third loss for the Huskies was inevitable.

Connecticut thumped Louisville 76-54 in the NCAA National Championship game en route to its first of two consecutive undefeated seasons, but nonetheless, Louisville had still finished their best season ever, recording the only 30win slate in the history of Louisville women’s basketball.

Stephen worked her way into the lineup all year, playing in 37 games and starting in 10. She appeared to hold a bright future in the backcourt for the even brighter future of the Cardinals’ program.

Few people would consider leaving such a situation.

But Stephen did.

She wanted something more than Louisville could offer her, a better fit for herself and the goals she held for herself as a player.

“It might not make sense why I left,” Stephen explained. “But me and the coach both decided that it would be best if I went somewhere else.”

That coach was Jeff from the bench, exactly Walz, finishing just his the fate she hoped to second year at the helm of escape when she left Louisville, and, all things Louisville.

Although she was considered, Stephen’s departure actually did only able to practice and could not travel to make sense.

She was a freshman road games during her with a defined role on a transfer season, Stephen deep Cardinals team. She still found her role as a started games when she supporter enough to carry was asked to, but her role her through the year.

During her year of was generally limited to sitting, a lesser-known coming off the bench.

“She wanted the freshman guard began opportunity to play more making headlines for the and I think she wanted Badgers. Taylor Wurtz more of an offensive role, burst onto the scene in and that was just not Madison during the 2009really in the makeup here 2010 season and the two at that point in time,” quickly became friends.

“Since my sophomore Walz said. “She had talked about wanting to broaden year and out, it’s been her game and do more Taylor Wurtz that’s my things, which I completely best friend,” Stephen recalled. “I was always her understood.”

Stephen was a biggest fan and she was consistent defender and always my biggest fan, even if I didn’t a solid ball play at all.” handler, fitting Just as the mold of “I was thinking, the two many backup point guards ‘Man this is the were getting across the most difficult, comfortable as Badgers, nation. This unscripted Stone, the was also a fundamental career ever.’” person who brought them reason for her to Wisconsin, departure.

Tiera Stephen Deseree’ Wisconsin RS senior guard was fired in March 2011.

Byrd was a Stephen sophomore point guard, boasting a had played two seasons year of experience more of college basketball, than Stephen. She had augmented by a year of also earned Walz’s favor sitting in between and had for the starting point to say goodbye to her head guard position after coaches at the end of each starting 38 games for season.

“I was about to Louisville that year and averaging 32 minutes experience my third coach for the championship- in three years. It was just caliber team. If she had like, ‘Here we go again,’” continued to beat Stephen Stephen said. “I was on to the court, it would thinking, ‘Man, this is the take until her senior year most difficult, unscripted for Stephen to become career ever.’”

Little changed for her Louisville’s starting point when current head coach guard.

And so a new direction Bobbie Kelsey arrived pointed Stephen north, at Wisconsin. Stephen made her first career toward Madison, Wis. Having not wanted to start at the Kohl Center, fully reenter the lengthy but her playing time recruiting process, didn’t increase. In fact, Stephen looked to the she averaged even fewer Midwest and the Big minutes her junior season.

“It was hard. The Ten, an area she felt comfortable with after freshmen see me playing growing up in Dayton, pretty well now, and they think that it has always Ohio.

“I kind of went back been like that,” Stephen to the pros and cons [of said. “No, it has not [been schools] from when I was that way]. It has been a a junior or senior in high challenge and it has been school,” Stephen said of a struggle.”

Nonetheless, her her new school search, which featured Wisconsin tribulations have paid and numerous Big Ten off. Just as it likely would schools. “I called Coach have been in Louisville, [Lisa] Stone up, came on it wasn’t until her senior a visit here and that was year Stephen became the lead guard at Wisconsin, that.”

But it wasn’t that simple where she stands as a of a process. Per NCAA starter and a leader.

Nominated at the regulations, Stephen’s transfer to Wisconsin beginning of the season forced her to spend an as one of three captains, recognition entire season watching Stephen’s

from her teammates and her coaches came from her leadership rather than statistical dominance on the hardwood, unlike her fellow captains, junior Morgan Paige and Wurtz.

It’s the same leadership that won the point guard position that earned Stephen the right to call herself a captain.

“The position was up for grabs, so to speak. …

We were really looking for a rock at that spot,” point guard Coach Alysiah Bond noted.

“Sometimes the thought is, well, whoever is the best ball-handler should play the point, but no, it’s the leader who can handle the ball and get people where they need to be.

Stephen hasn’t had the easiest of senior seasons, either. With a nagging back injury, fellow senior Wurtz elected to take a medical redshirt for 2013, leaving Stephen as the lone senior on the court for the Badgers.

Although she made the decision to transfer entirely by herself, not having her best friend by her side has actually become one of the more challenging moments in Stephen’s career.

“Tay and I were supposed to go out together, so that’s the most disheartening thing,” Stephen said.

“Not being able to play with her, I would have never imagined that.”

To say her college basketball career has been riddled with difficulty would be a serious understatement.

Stephen left a 34-5 team and a program in Louisville that annually appears in the Top 25 rankings.

Now, her current team has yet to crack the rankings since she transferred and hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since she has been eligible to play on the roster. The Badgers lost six straight games before snapping the skid against Ohio State this past Sunday and have opened the conference season 1-5.

But like much of her career to this point, Stephen remains unfazed. She cited her friends, family and, most importantly, her faith as the ropes that have helped pull her through these rough patches.

Stephen is the first to say she feels little regret — if any — with the choices she has made to this point. She has believed in each decision every step of the way.

Now in the middle of her last stretch of games as a college basketball player and her team winless in conference play, the idea of believing is exactly what the redshirt senior captain is asking of her teammates before every remaining game.

Believing in what?

“That we are going to win,” Stephen said.

Comics

Welcome Back, Meatlings Noah J. Yuenkel comics@badgerherald.com

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The Badger Herald | Comics | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

WHAT IS THIS

SUDOKU

HERALD COMICS

PRESENTS

S

U

D

O

U WHITE BREAD & TOAST

K

toast@badgerherald.com

MIKE BERG

NONSENSE? Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

What? You still don’t get it? Come, on, really? It’s not calculus or anything. Honestly, if you don’t know how to do a sudoku by now, you’ve probably got more issues than this newspaper.

TWENTY POUND BABY

DIFFICULTY RATING: Even a meat popsicle like yourself could do it

C’EST LA MORT

MOUSELY & FLOYD

BUNI

pascle@badgerherald.com

RYAN PAGELOW

random@badgerherald.com

ERICA LOPPNOW

YA BOI INC. THE SKY PIRATES

paragon@badgerherald.com

PARAGON

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NOAH J. YUENKEL

RANDOM DOODLES

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STEPHEN TYLER CONRAD

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VINCENT CHENG

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COLLIN LA FLEUR

HERALD COMICS

PRESENTS

CROSSWORD YOURMOMETER

yourmom@badgerherald.com

LAURA “HOBBES” LEGAULT

1

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5

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Down 1 ___ Romeo 2 Vegetarian’s 1

2

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6-Down

46 Pinch-hit (for)

means

48 Norm

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45

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56 #1 Alicia Keys

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58 Colgate rival

Augustus

61 Composer

offering

Weill

36 What a leaf-

63 It can be

stalk leads to

found under

38 Keep ___ on

TUV

(watch)

64 Peter Fonda

39 Uproariously

title role

funny sort

65 “___ here”

40 The N.H.L.’s

66 Potato’s

Kovalchuk

multitude

43 “O Come, All 9

69 Wanna-___ 10

12

13

39

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22 25

56

60

11

16

26 33

47

34 38 44

48 51 57

61

61 65

Puzzle by Elizabeth A. Long

god

34 Church

43

60 64

56

60 Winged Greek

32 Clinging, say

8

63

55

hit of 2007

50 55

54

62

37

49

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54 Secret store

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50

briefly

30 All, to

42

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59

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46

53 Israeli port

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41

51

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45 48

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52 Wing it

partner

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28 Court plea, 29 Trouble’s

7

37 41

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27 30

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e.g.

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Ye Faithful,”

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mace 24 What

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10

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no-no 3 Bickering 4 “Me neither” 5 Matter of degree?

6 “The ___ of Steve,” 2000 film 7 Gulf war missile 8 Bug 9 ___ City, California locale named for local flora 10 Came down 11 City near Dayton 12 Wonderland cake instruction 13 Some brake parts 18 Dreaded one?

22 Tree that’s the source of

9 16

21

24

plan on it 62 Excite 67 One who breaks a court oath 68 Diamond feat … and a hint to 17-, 21-, 35-, 47- and 59-Across 70 In that case 71 Memo starter 72 Curt summons 73 Curmudgeonly cries 74 Clears 75 Classic poem that begins “I think that I shall never see”

8

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Across 1 Washer/dryer brand 6 Bygone despot 10 Cans 14 Not conceal 15 Adolescent breakout 16 Sister of Rachel 17 Place to see a Ferris wheel 19 Call ___ question 20 Fifth-century invader 21 Period for R&R 23 Meeting of the minds?

25 “After ___” 26 1950s runner’s inits.

27 Hold ___ (keep) 31 Give a good whippin’ 33 Super Giant 35 Dorm assignment 37 Composer Shostakovich 41 Some pancakes 42 Barnyard cackler 44 Online sales 45 Pool choice 47 W.W. I soldier 49 “But is it ___?”

50 “All right!”

51 “Cómo ___?”

52 Distinctive parts of a Boston accent 55 Electrolysis particle 57 Filmmaker Jean-___ Godard 59 You can

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Puzzle by Adam G. Perl

38 Go over in one’s imagination 39 Chicken ___ king 40 Hospital diagnostic 42 Was out front 43 Genghis Khan, for one 45 Needing hospitalization, say 46 Beginner 47 Place to sleep 49 Barely run the engine 51 Former Disney head Michael 53 Wedge fractions in Trivial Pursuit 57 Cartoon frames 59 ___ club (singing group) 61 Aid for reaching the top shelf, maybe 62 Samuel on the Supreme Court

64 James Bond film involving a Fabergé egg 66 String quartet member 67 Dip, as a doughnut 68 Film spool 69 Having a clearer head 70 Votes that are an anagram of 71-Across 71 “No sweat!”

Down 1 Senegal’s capital 2 Skirt style 3 Doles (out) 4 Stick out 5 Dolt’s response 6 It’s bordered by three countries with “-stan” in their names 7 Dickens’s “The Mystery of ___ Drood” 8 Eskimo boot 9 ___ Dhabi 10 Institution in Ithaca, N.Y.

Get today’s puzzle solutions at badgerherald.com

58 62

Across 1 “There Is Nothin’ Like a ___” (“South Pacific” song) 5 Per ___ (expense account amount) 9 Misbehave 14 “Jeopardy!” host Trebek 15 Pakistani tongue 16 Idaho’s capital 17 Wright flight site 19 Impulses 20 “It’s the end of ___” 21 River near the Pyramids 23 Hornets’ home 24 Outcome 26 The “N” of PIN 28 Needing sign language, say 30 Garrison of “A Prairie Home Companion” 33 Green gem 36 Cumberland ___

64

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11 Perennial whose flowers are typically orange with black dots 12 Avails oneself of 13 Little brother, to an older sibling, say

18 School where the Clintons met 22 Green gems 25 Follow behind 27 “Très ___” (“Very well,” in French) 29 Obese 31 Atop 32 Fresh take, informally 33 Either side of a doorway 34 ___ vera 35 Source of some fluff 37 Omega preceder 40 Dove sounds 41 151, in old Rome 44 Hard-to-chew piece of meat 46 Surface quality 48 Tune 50 Favor a “th” sound 52 Feed the same line 54 Where navies go 55 Water carriers 56 In a wily way 57 Cleveland b-ball team 58 Kazan of Hollywood 60 Sicilian mount 63 It’s dipped in the water 65 Allows

Rocky the Herald Comics Raccoon™

It’s so cold outside I got an ice cream headache without eating ice cream.

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The Badger Herald | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

Wisconsin basketball shows constant improvement Ian McCue Right On Cue Bo Ryan and Tom Crean exchanged a fly-by handshake with just a touch of bitterness, Mike Bruesewitz let out a primal howl as he walked into the victorious locker room and, just like that, the Wisconsin basketball team had reversed its fortunes.

These marked the first moments after Wisconsin shocked No. 2 Indiana to grab not only its most stunning victory since taking down undefeated Ohio State in 2011, but to also secure the top spot in the nation’s best college basketball conference. It was the type of performance that elicited national fanfare for Ryan as the annual ritual of talking about how you can never count Wisconsin out was reinstated. But as the praise grew softer, Badger fans had one question: Where the hell

was this team, say, six weeks ago?

These winners, at one point, of seven-straight games and currently 4-1 in Big Ten play, including a 23-point shellacking of thenNo. 12 Illinois, showed little resemblance to the one that crumbled against in-state rival Marquette Dec. 8. In case you have already pushed that game deep into the farthest reaches of your mind, let me remind you. Ryan Evans went a disastrous 1-of9 from the free throw line, neither Traevon Jackson nor George Marshall appeared reliable long-term options manning the point and no Wisconsin player scored in double digits.

That team looked lost, stumbling to a 6-4 record with legitimate questions if this team would fail to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in Ryan’s 12-year tenure.

Questions resurfaced in an ugly 47-41 victory over Big Ten bottom-feeder Nebraska, the classic muchscarier-than-necessary early conference game against a weak opponent. But back-toback wins over two squads

with what most viewed as exponentially better chances at winning the conference crown have infused the Badgers with renewed poise.

This sudden rise all starts with the man who has taken over the reigns for Josh Gasser, the Ryan protégé whose preseason injury dealt this team perhaps an even bigger blow than it expected.

After an early season battle with Marshall, Jackson is earning a majority of the minutes at point guard and has shown promising signs of development. His “ice-inmy-veins” pull-up jumper that fended off an Indiana surge in the game’s final minutes was the most obvious indication of that growth, as were the two free throws he sunk with 40 seconds left that all but sealed UW’s upset in Bloomington, Ind..

Jackson has turned into just what Ryan requires from his point guards — a sure hand who limits turnovers and can sink a few shots when called upon. The sophomore shot an efficient 47 percent from the field in those two games and finished with a career-high 14 points against the Illini, following it up with

11 more against the Hoosiers.

But perhaps the biggest sign of improvement comes not from numbers, but from body language, as Jackson finally looks comfortable directing this team during the past three games. He’s not Gasser, but he’s also proved himself a more than capable replacement — the single most essential key to Wisconsin’s sudden resurgence.

The changes don’t end there. While Jared Berggren continues to anchor Wisconsin’s offense on a nightly basis, he’s received a significant boost from Ryan Evans. Despite the fact that the circumference of the rim appears to shrink by several feet when he steps up to the free throw line, the forward has posted double-figures in every game since the winning streak began.

His free throw shooting is improving, if sluggishly, and he has also shown a keener eye for the shots he takes. After jacking up at least 14 shots in three consecutive games against UW-Milwaukee, Samford and Penn State, Evans has shown greater restraint recently. He

had his most efficient night of the season in a 4-of-5 day against Illinois and went a steady 6-of-11 at Assembly Hall.

His shot selections remain puzzling at times, but as the Badgers’ second leading scorer (11.5 points per game) and leading rebounder (7.8 rebounds per game), Evans remains the primary scoring threat when Berggren can’t find space inside.

The final piece of the puzzle that finally snapped into place against the Hoosiers is Sam Dekker. The deceptively athletic 6-foot-7 freshman — the program’s biggest impact freshman since Alando Tucker — has provided much-needed athleticism and energy off the bench. Wisconsin’s fourthleading scorer at 9.4 points per game, Dekker’s youth is indicative of his style on the floor.

Reaching double figures against Illinois and Indiana, he is the X-factor who can erupt for 19 points, as he did early in the year against Arkansas. He is the type of talent that does not grace a Ryan-coached team often and will develop into a more

dangerous threat as he gains experience.

Piece these players together and the 4-1 mark in the Big Ten seems more the inevitable result of this collection of talent discovering their designated roles rather than an overachieving group shocking the conference elite.

With these pieces in place, just how far can this team go? A 15th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance is now little more than an afterthought. Once considered among the first few teams left out of the bubble after deflating losses to Virginia and Marquette, barring disaster the Badgers will be dancing come March.

But in a division boasting two of the best teams in the nation in Michigan and Indiana, a Big Ten title is a few steps out of reach.

Its confidence restored and its season-defining win now in tow, the Wisconsin basketball team has its swagger back and it looks like it’s here to stay entering the season’s most critical and challenging stretch. It’s just a shame this identity crisis lasted as long as it did.

Andersen, new staff ready to get to work for Badgers Head coach talks hires, reason for not retaining OL coach Bart Miller Nick Korger Sports Editor New Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen is starting off his coaching career with words that harken back to his identity as a players-first coach.

Andersen repeatedly stressed when meeting with the media Thursday afternoon the most important goal for him before the start of spring football was his entire staff and himself earning the trust of and getting to know the team.

“Getting to know the kids is number one,” Andersen said of his priorities at this point of the offseason.

With his staff almost assembled, Andersen cited the newly hired assistant coaches on his staff have contacted most of their returning players for the 2013 season, with the lone exception being the wide receiver spot — no hire has yet been made to replace the departing Zach Azzani, who took the same job at Tennessee.

Andersen had an opportunity to watch the Badgers practice in Madison and Los Angeles during their preparation leading up to the 2013 Rose Bowl and came away impressed with the team’s chemistry and their love for the game.

“They just like to be around each other,” Andersen said. “This is just a group that loves football.”

Wisconsin’s new offensive and defensive coordinators both share strong ties to Andersen.

Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig spent time at the same position under now-head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes Urban Meyer from 20052008, the same time Andersen was with the program as the defensive coordinator.

On the defensive side of the ball, coordinator Dave Aranda served 2012 at the same position at Utah State under Andersen. A 2012 nominee for the Broyles Award, given to the best assistant coach in college football, Aranda led an Aggies defense ranked in the top 10 nationally for touchdowns allowed and points allowed per game.

“The biggest thing with [offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig] and with [defensive coordinator Dave Aranda] is they do a tremendous job of identifying the talent.

They’re tremendous teachers, I think they’re on the cutting edge with scheme both offensively and defensively.”

On top of that, Andersen brings offensive line coach T.J. Woods to Wisconsin from Utah State, joining Aranda and safeties coach Bill Busch as Aggie transplants with their head coach.

Woods didn’t reveal too much in his initial meet and greet with the press, but said he hoped to use a mix of down-hill and zone blocking schemes.

The Wisconsin offensive line job is largely considered one of the best in the nation, but the players went through quite a bit of adversity the past few years as far as coaching. After the departure of long-time coach Bob Bostad for Pittsburgh and eventually the NFL, former head coach Bret Bielema hired Mike Markuson, whom he promptly fired after two games when the Badgers struggled to produce a push up front.

Bart Miller took over as the interim line coach, helping turn around the struggling group and was considered a key component in the Badgers making it to a third-straight Rose Bowl. Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez endorsed Miller as a candidate for the opening on Andersen’s staff as the tight end coach, but Andersen decided to go a different direction, hiring Auburn University’s Jay Boulware.

“What Bart did was impressive, there’s no question about it,” Andersen said. “It came down to there was a special teams part of that that was a big factor.

And the way this staff

is broken down there’s nine coaches, there’s five on one side, there’s four on the other. We have four on defense and five on offense and we needed that special teams coordinator to be on that side of the football and that fell in the hands of the tight end position at this go-around.”

Besides serving as the tight ends coach at Auburn, Boulware was the special teams coordinator, a position he will also hold at Wisconsin, leading a group in 2012 that only allowed four punt return yards on 70 punts and allowed just 16.6 yards per kickoff return.

The next focus for Andersen in the offseason leading up to Spring football is retaining and recruiting the 2013 class originally recruited by former head coach Bret Bielelma.

After a few years at Utah State, Andersen began to win recruiting battles against traditional state powers Utah and BYU, something that was unheard of in Logan, Utah.

But with a 2013 signing day approaching rapidly with recruits brought in by the departing coaching staff, Andersen and his assistants face the challenge of reaching out to each individual commit and reassuring them that their right choice remains at Wisconsin.

Andersen cited a preference to be honest with each recruit as to where he thinks they sit in the future of Wisconsin football with him at the helm and already has created a needs list based on his evaluation so far of the returning roster for 2013.

“The important part for us right now is to let them know who we are,” Andersen said. “Plans for the program, let them understand who we’re going to be as a coaching staff, kind of put our money where our mouth is if you will as far as what we’ve presented to them so far.”

“A chance for their mentors, their parents, their grandmothers or their grandfathers to sit in a room and look us in the eye and ultimately, me, to be able look them in the eye and walk out of the room and say, ‘I’m here to turn this young man into a man and with his help and your help I believe we can get this done and five years from now, hopefully that’s the case, with a quality degree. And he’s ready to move on into life and be successful.”

The Badger Herald | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue

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A. Bret Bielema

F. Gary Andersen

Wisconsin has rarely served as a launching pad for bigger jobs in other conferences, but Bielema broke the mold when he announced three days after winning a historic third-straight Big Ten title that he had accepted the head coaching position at Arkansas.

Bielema’s record of success speaks for itself at Wisconsin. The coach led Wisconsin to three straight Rose Bowls, although he is the first coach in history to lead his team to Pasadena and not coach it in the game, and amassed a 68-24 record as head coach of the Badgers, the ninth highest winning percentage (.739) among active coaches in the NCAA with at least five years of experience.

But the allure of coaching in the SEC, more money for his hires and better facilities lured away Bielema.

Wisconsin’s new head coach had the proven track record as a head coach Athletic Director Barry Alvarez was looking for in his hire.

A proven winner at every stop he’s coached, Andersen first burst on the scene as the defensive coordinator at Utah, helping coach the 2008 team to a 13-0 record and a win in the Fiesta Bowl against Alabama, as the team finished the season ranked No. 2.

At Utah State, Andersen quickly made a name for himself by turning around a long suffering program. In 2012 the Aggies won a school record 11 games and won the program’s first WAC conference title since 1936.

Andersen was named WAC coach of the year and led the Aggies to their first bowl win since 1936, beating Toledo 4115 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

B. Matt Canada Matt Canada endured probably the roughest criticism of any coach on Wisconsin’s 2012 staff, mainly for the team’s measly offensive performances leading up to the explosion against Nebraska in the B1G Championship game (640 total yards of offense).

Canada showed creativity with trick plays, the ‘Barge” formation and heavy shifts in his playbook, but didn’t find success early at Wisconsin, as the traditional power run game struggled to produce for the Badgers.

However, Canada still had success at UW after gradually adjusting throughout the season. In the team’s last 10 games they averaged 35.1 points and 437.1 yards per game.

Canada will join former UW defensive coordinator and now head coach Dave Doeren at NC State.

F

A

Meet B

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G. Andy Ludwig As the offensive coordinator at eight different universities during the last 20 years, Gary Andersen and the Badgers are hoping that in Madison, Andy Ludwig has found a final home.

Imported from the same position at San Diego State, Ludwig will fill the offensive coordinator void.

In his final season with the Aztecs, Ludwig led an offense that averaged more than 30 points per game.

Ludwig will inherit a Wisconsin offense that was both over- and underwhelming at different points in 2012. He will be without the services of Doak Walker recipient Montee Ball and interior lineman Travis Frederick, but a slew of running back and quarterback options greet Ludwig in 2013.

C. Chris Ash

H. Dave Aranda

Chris Ash came into his own as Wisconsin’s co-defensive coordinator and primary playcaller in 2012.

In his second year as the DC, Ash helped lead one of the strongest Wisconsin defenses in recent memory, as the team ranked nationally in the top 25 in total defense (15th), scoring defense (17th), third down conversion percentage defense (17th), passing defense (18th) passing efficiency defense (22nd) and rushing defense (24th).

A proven coach for Wisconsin’s defensive backs, under Ash’s tutelage the Badgers produced a second-team all-Big Ten player in redshirt senior cornerback Devin Smith.

Ash will follow Bielema to Arkansas to assume the defensive coordinator position for the Razorbacks.

Of all the new coaching assistants to grace the sidelines for Wisconsin in 2013, Dave Aranda may have the easiest transition. He’ll remain in the same position — defensive coordinator — that he has been in since 2010. He’ll also be serving under the same boss — the defensive-minded Andersen — that he had in 2012.

The Aranda-led Utah State defense held its opponents to an average of just 15.4 points per game in 2012, ranked as the seventh best scoring defense in the nation. The Aggies held their opponents to single digit totals in five of their 13 games. If it hadn’t been for a third quarter punt return by Kenzel Doe, Wisconsin likely would have added to that list.

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D. Bart Miller Perhaps the most impressive coach of any on the UW staff, Miller was thrust into the offensive line coaching position after the firing of then-line coach Mike Markuson after a Week 2 loss to Oregon State.

Miller quickly orchestrated a turnaround by switching his positional group back to the old power blocking schemes they were used to under former-coach Bob Bostad and the results were clear when the season was finished.

At the conclusion of the season, Wisconsin ranked 13th in the nation in rushing offense with an average of 236.36 yards per game and paved the way for Doak Walker Award winner Montee Ball, who rushed for 1,830 yards.

Miller will not be retained in 2013.

I. T.J. Woods

The D

I

Immediately after Gary Andersen named T.J. Woods his offensive line coach, the former Utah State assistant faced an uphill battle he had no hand in crafting: endless comparison to Bart Miller, the man credited with turning around Wisconsin’s offensive line in 2012.

That’s no reason to expect staggering strategic changes to the formula that has produced a steady string of NFL-caliber offensive linemen out of Madison.

Woods has connections to one of the most respected names in the business in former Badgers’ O-line coach Bob Bostad. The fresh face guiding the men in the trenches was tutored by New Mexico offensive line coach Jason Lenzmeier, himself a product of Bostad’s system as a player.

E. Charlie Partridge

J. Bill Busch

The co-defensive coordinator with Chris Ash in 2011 and 2012, Partridge’s specific positional group was the defensive line.

Partridge was widely held to be a favorite among players and recruits, as Partridge’s ties to Florida played an essential role in the Badgers recruiting the state.

Over the years, Partridge has produced several solid defensive lines, including a 2012 group that sometimes went eight deep in its rotation. Partridge helped coach NFL star J.J. Watt in 2010 to an AllAmerican season.

The assistant coach was also a talented kicker/punter coach at UW. Partridge will take the defensive line coaching job at Arkansas.

Talk about familiarity. Bill Busch and Barry Alvarez go way back.

Try two decades back, when UW’s new secondary coach served as a graduate assistant under Alvarez in 1993 and 1994 as the now-Athletic Director lifted the program out of the Big Ten’s cellar.

The 47-year-old has made stops at four schools since, serving alongside Andersen at Northern Arizona, Utah and, most recently, Utah State for four years, the last two as the Aggies’ associate head coach and special teams coordinator.

Busch’s work at Wisconsin will focus on the safeties, while secondyear assistant Ben Strickland will focus on the cornerbacks, and he will also split duties with Strickland coaching special teams.

E

J

Andersens Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The New Staff Badger Herald Sports Staff Wisconsin football is one of the nation’s best after making three straight Rose Bowls apperences.

Yet for the second-straight year, the Badgers’ football program will see a mass coaching exodus.

Leaving UW for Arkansas will be former head coach Bret Bielema, strength coach Ben Herbert (not pictured above) and co-defensive coordinators Chris Ash and Charlie Partridge.

Wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni (not pictured) will take the same position with Tennessee,

offensive coordinator Matt Canada will leave to join former Wisconsin defensive coordinator and current head coach Dave Doeren at North Carolina State — the two worked together at Northern Illinois — while tight ends coach Eddie Faulkner (not pictured) will also join Canada at NC State.

The program will not retain interim offensive line coach Bart Miller, although he was a strong candidate for the tight end coaching job in Andersen’s staff and linebackers coach Andy Buh (not pictured) will take the defensive coordinator position at California.

However, new Wisconsin head

coach Gary Andersen has been quick to fill up the ranks of his own staff. Hiring several coaches who were on his Utah State staff and two others he worked with at Utah, Andersen has assembled a group of coaches who all have one thing in common: familiarity with Andersen’s coaching style.

“I think it helps the transition, especially at a place like the University of Wisconsin where we need to hit the ground running,” Andersen said. “It’s important to start fast. Understanding how they deal with kids, the importance that they’ll put in the things I believe in.

If you have the opportunities to get

those coaches on your staff … we had the opportunity to get that done.”

Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Dave Aranda, offensive line coach T.J. Woods and secondary coach Bill Busch all come to Wisconsin from Andersen’s 2012 staff at Utah State, while offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig joins the Badgers after coaching the previous season at San Diego State. Ludwig coached with Andersen during his time as the offensive coordinator at Utah from 2005-2008.

Defensive line coach Chad Kauha’aha’a (not pictured) leaves his former job at Utah to join his former boss at Wisconsin. Kauha’aha’a

coached with Andersen from 20092010 at Utah State, only leaving to take what he called a dream job at his alma mater, Utah, where he spent the last two seasons.

Coaching the tight ends and special teams will be Auburn’s Jay Boulware (not pictured), who also coached with Andersen at Utah during 2005 and 2006.

Andersen will also hold on to Wisconsin running backs coach Thomas Hammock and secondary coach Ben Strickland, the only two holdovers who will remain from Bielema’s 2012 staff.

The wide receiver coaching job currently remains vacant.

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The Badger Herald | Sports | Spring 2013 Registration Issue