Cole Tollison

Wisco Wednesday: Time for a Break

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Wisconsin is the Lord of the Flies. Purdue wasn’t much of a threat. The Best QBs in the B1G are out West.

The Badgers handled business on Friday night, time for a long break before Homecoming. With next weekend being a bye week, I won’t have a game preview at the end of this week’s Wisco Wednesday. Also, I don’t have as much to say about the Purdue game as previous games this season. I think most of us have an idea of who the Badgers are right now; we just want to see consistent improvement now. 

With that in mind, this will be a shorter Wisco Wed piece. Without further introduction, let’s get into it. 

Looking Back: Offense is improving faster than Defense

Wisconsin 38
Purdue 17

WOF attended the game in West Lafayette last Friday, and it was a fantastic experience. 

The cliff notes: Ross-Ade was great, the massive video board put NFL stadiums’ to shame, the fans around town were super nice, selling beer in the stadium is great, Purdue fans stand more and are louder than Wisconsin fans (recently), and Badger fans travel well.

Shout out to Lana from Colorado who tailgated with us. 

Long Live

…

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Saturday, Saban, and Sanders, Everything You Want and More – Week 4 Preview

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What is it about a little number next to a team name that makes us want to watch them more?

Texas at Alabama was the most anticipated game of the year – that can’t be disputed. But, week 4 is definitely the best full weekend of the year so far. And it’s not close. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being the best week of the whole season (rivalry week is still pretty great). Going into the season, I wrote about the games I thought would be the best in week 4. Check it out if you want to see what the storylines going into the season were. 

There is a packed Saturday full of great games. Let’s start with the ones everyone wants to hear about.  

Ranked vs. Ranked 

Ranked on ranked violence, that’s what the fans want. People need to be told who matters and who doesn’t. It makes life easier for them. Are there other games that matter? Sure. But that’s not why we’re here. We’re here for two reasons:

  1. Ranked vs. ranked games are usually darn good games.
  1. A ranked team loses no matter what, and we love watching the big brands go
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Wisco Wednesday: Ready or Not, Here Comes B1G Football

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So how about that Defense? At least the “No Turnovers” streak is over.

Ready or not should be the expression of the week. Wisconsin has better players than Purdue. But, based on what we saw over the first 3 weeks, the Badgers do not look ready to go on the road in conference. 

Looking Back: A Jekyll and Hyde Defense. Yards and Turnovers.

Georgia Southern 14
Wisconsin 35

BUCKY GOT A TURNOVER! WOO!

They actually got 6!

The streak has ended. After 2 games without a turnover, Wisconsin got six. But, were they earned? Kind of? All 6 turnovers were on Georgia Southern QB, Davis Brin, and I think he deserves blame more than Wisconsin deserves credit. Some were bad throws because the Wisconsin D-Line was generating pressure, and some were just bad throws. 

Brin threw 5 picks and fumbled once. Watching the game, most of the picks were thrown right to Badger defenders. They didn’t so much “make a play on the ball,” it was more “they caught the ball that hit their hands.”

So yeah, 6 turnovers is great, and it takes skill to catch INT’s and secure loose fumbles, but it wasn’t impressive. More so just something …

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Tolly’s Top 25 – Post Week 3

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My ballot for the AP Top 25 – If they let me have one

I have some short explanations for my picks in groups of 5 from 1 to 25. Then, at the bottom, I have a list of 1-40. I went 40 deep to show what my personal “others receiving votes” section would look like. 

We got some upsets in week 3, so there was plenty of movement. And realize that teams can move based on wins they got earlier in the year – wins over Florida look better now, right?

We’re mixing things up with the top 25 this week. I think we know most of the teams at the top, so I decided to go top-down this week. I also have quite a bit to say at the bottom due to a certain team falling more than I ever thought they could. I guess it’s true: the bigger they are, the harder they fall. 

Top 5

1 – Florida State
2 – Georgia
3 – Texas
4 – Penn State
5 – Washington

I feel like I need to explain myself here. LSU is good, really really good. So I HAVE TO have Florida State #1. That …

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Will Upsets Strike on a Quiet Week? – Week 3 Preview

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Week 2 delivered some chart topping hits. Week 3 is more so the deep cuts. 

A lot of casuals will watch their team play this weekend, or nothing at all. There is no Texas – Bama, FSU – LSU, or Colorado – any decent team to get first billing this week. Many fans are looking ahead to the absolute monster that is week 4. There are a lot of good games in week 4, but we’ll get there when we get there. I had some games I thought would be the best in week 3 before the season started. But I’ll leave it up to you if I was on the mark or not. There are some things to talk about in week 3, they are just deeper cuts for a more diehard fan. For me the week mostly revolves around renewed rivalries and possible upsets. Let’s get into it. 

Upset Watch 

With the games being a little lackluster this weekend, let’s flip the script on our format. I will be watching the Wisconsin – Georgia Southern game. Outside of that, I’ll check scores on my phone during the day to see if any upsets are brewing. When things start …

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Wisco Wednesday: How Will The Badgers Respond?

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I told them to run the ball, but they just wouldn’t listen. 

Last weekend was not a fun time to be a Badger fan. All that offseason excitement and optimism came crashing down as Wisconsin lost its 1st real game of the year. All due respect to Buffalo, but a lot of Madison viewed that as more of a preseason contest. There are more issues to clean up than fans were expecting. And I don’t think people realize, Washington State is just a good football team. You can’t make mistakes and beat a good football team. 

Looking Back: Slow starts and turnovers. A losing formula.

Wisconsin 22
Washington State 31

The stat sheet says Wisconsin won, but the score doesn’t.

Wisconsin had:

  • More Passing Yards
  • More Rushing Yards
  • More Yards Per Play
  • More Plays
  • More 1st downs
  • Half as many punts
  • Half as many penalties

BUT

They lost the turnover battle 3-0.

So regardless of all the other mistakes made, like not running in the first half, and not giving the ball to Braelon enough, the game was decided by turnovers. It’s plain and simple: don’t turn the ball over.

Bad 1st Half

The slow start was concerning. Wisconsin had …

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Doubt Saban at Your Own Peril – CFB Week 2 Recap

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Pac-12 Supremacy, SEC slump, B1G check-in, and Tolly’s Top 25.

Who is the best conference? A common, fun debate among college football fans that has consistently ended with the SEC on top for the last 15 years. Sometimes the B1G has an argument, but they have generally played second fiddle to the teams down south. 2023 is being weird though. The Pac-12 is on an absolute tear, and the SEC’s elite can’t get out of their own way. Minus Clemson, the ACC has a solid argument for 2nd place. Yes, Georgia is still Georgia, but after that – college football has gone a bit off the rails. 

The Pac-12 is the Best Conference – For Now

The top 8 in the Pac-12:

Washington – 2-0
They absolutely destroyed Boise State. The Huskies might have the best defense in the Pac.

Oregon – 2-0
The Ducks scored 81 in week 1 and beat a Big 12 contender on the road in week 2.

USC – 3-0
The offense looks unstoppable. They have 2 special teams TDs in 3 games.

Utah – 2-0
They have two P5 wins with their 3rd string QB.

Colorado – 2-0 
Deion has two P5 wins including …

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Deion Round 2? SEC Bounce Back? – WOF Week 2 Preview

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Last week, most of the favorites won. It’s time for things to get crazy in Week 2.

Well, I was pleasantly whelmed for most of the week 1 action. But there were definitely some upsets that kept things interesting. Deion gets first billing, but Duke wasn’t far behind. And don’t forget Florida State who announced their return to college football’s high rent district with that primetime thumping of LSU. 

Week 2 sets up nicely for some sequels to the week 1 lineup. But on top of that, there are just way more interesting P5 vs. P5 matchups. Colorado doesn’t get a moment to recoup, facing historic rival Nebraska in the Deion home opener. The Big 12 has an opportunity to shine with some ranked matchups. The B1G plays 14 non-con games. The ACC is semi-underwhelming, but they have some good games too. 

Then there’s obviously the elephant in the room. The most anticipated non-con game of the year is this week. The question: who wins in a fight? A longhorn or an elephant?

SEC – Are you OK?

The SEC had 3 big games in week 1

  • Florida at Utah – Florida lost big
  • South Carolina vs. North Carolina –
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Wisco Wednesday: I Have Concerns

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Everything is different, yet nothing has changed. Run the damn ball.

Wisco Wednesday will have a consistent format for most of the season. I’ll start by looking back at what Wisconsin did the previous week. We might also touch on some other games that are of interest to Badger fans. Then, I’ll look ahead to the upcoming matchup of the week. That’s the plan; let’s see how it goes.

Looking Back: Where was the Air Raid?

Wisconsin 38
Buffalo 17

I think some lists are in order, to sum up what should’ve been an uneventful beatdown of a lesser team.

The bad:

  1. Wisconsin had 3 total pass attempts with over 15 air yards. The forward pass is an abomination.
  2. The 2 Mordecai INTs led to 7 Buffalo points (it should’ve been 10, Buffalo missed a 34 yard field goal after pick #1)
  3. Mordecai went 24/31 for 189 yards. That’s a paltry 6.1 YPA.
  4. Wisconsin had 0 sacks, 0 INT’s, and 0 Forced Fumbles.
  5. Wisconsin had 3 TFLs, Buffalo had 5. This wasn’t a good showing for our OL.
  6. Skyler Bell (WR) dropped the only long ball of the day. It would’ve been a 60 yard TD. 
  7. Jordan Turner (ILB) was
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Tolly’s Top 25 – Week 1

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My ballot for the AP Top 25 – If they let me have one.

It’s been a while, but I’m back now. Labor Day was a holiday for me too. I have a lot to say about some of the week one games. I’ll touch on some of them here, and I’ll address others later this week.

If the AP Top 25 let me have a ballot, this is how mine would look. It’s a ranking, not a power rating. We finally have some games to go off of now. The games this past week will heavily influence my top 25. Not all wins are created equal, and this list should change drastically over the course of the first few weeks as we all find out who’s actually good and who we just thought was good.

I’ll explain my picks in groups of 5 from 25 to 1. Then, at the bottom, I have a list of 1-40. I went 40 deep to show what my personal “others receiving votes” section would look like.

25-21

25 – Wisconsin
24 – Clemson
23 – TCU
22 – Texas A&M
21 – Oregon State

Wisconsin looked rough in their opener vs. Buffalo. …

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