Wisconsin "May have separated from the rest of the West"

[badgers007]

I used Oregon as an example of a program that has been good but the coaching changes finally caught up with them.  They had been promoting coaches from within over the last several changes and finally their luck ran out.

I see this happening at some point with Wisconsin.  You saying Paul Christ grew up in Wisconsin, played at Wisconsin and has coached at Wisconsin on two separate stints.....really doesn't impress upon me that he's definitely going to succeed there.

Wisconsin has promoted one coach from within: Jim Leonhard.  A tad different than Oregon's "several [internal]" changes.

Paul Chryst's connection to Wisconsin only serves as a reminder that he coaches and recruits the way that has made Wisconsin successful for the last 25 years, unlike his predecessor.  No more, no less.

 

[badgers007]

I don't think anyone on this board is saying that Wisconsin isn't good and hasn't earned their place.  I definitely think Wisconsin will be good this year, but are they going to be better than they were last year?  I guess I see a team that will be about as good as last year.

 Listening to the guys on the BTN bus tour last night made it sound like Wisconsin was invincible and would walk through the conference.   It was almost worse than listening to them talk about OSU and how great they are going to be.  

Never accused anyone of saying Wisconsin "isn't good" or "hasn't earned their place." I would just like to gain more clarity as to why a couple posters here believe coaching changes will catch-up with Wisconsin.  In a state of, what seemed like, constant coaching turnover, Wisconsin was able to navigate season-after-season of winning football, having won 10+ games six times in the last eight seasons.  Now that there is stability, there is a school of thought that seems convinced of descent in a West Division that is still, relatively, average.

 

[SuperBigFan69]

Not sure what Oregon has to do with Wisconsin.

Wisconsin has stability at HC.  Paul Chryst grew up in Wisconsin, played at Wisconsin, and has coached at Wisconsin on two separate stints.  He understands the foundation on which Wisconsin was built and has not tried shied away from that identity (getting big bodies from in-state, utilizing a highly-successful walk-on program, going after kids that can get into school, and finding players that fit the traditional Wisconsin scheme), unlike his predecessor (Gary Andersen). 

Similarly, his OC is another that has coached at Wisconsin on two different different occasions and also knows the foundation on which Wisconsin was built.

Think Wisconsin's defense needs to be given more credit than they have.  Dave Aranda was terrific, and still is, but many thought Wisconsin's defense would drop off a cliff when he left for LSU.  Instead, they helped catapult Justin Wilcox to a Pac-12 HC job, after getting fired from USC, in less than a calendar year.

Other than your perception, which I can respect, there isn't a whole lot to suggest Wisconsin is going anywhere.

I agree with you, there is not a lot to suggest that Wisconsin is going anywhere (See what I did there)

 

[Enhance]

To quote your article @BlitzFirst:

Historically, the B1G East teams have more impressive resumes.

Almost all the B1G East teams, due to natural recruiting advantages, have more potential than most of the West teams.

My point, more or less, is the West will almost always be considered an inferior division and a simpler division to navigate. The path to the conference title game is also easier should you end up with a favorable crossover with the East. And, as your link correctly points out, the B1G East has won all three titles since formation. The article makes some good points about things I didn't know, but I think it tries to trivialize a critical component: the East being top heavy is a pretty big deal.

That article is also missing an entire year's worth of data points, the fact that Penn State is no longer a "bottom five" in the East but a conference champ, and that three East teams are ranked pre-season Top 15. Only one West team can make that claim.

 

[RedDenver]

Never accused anyone of saying Wisconsin "isn't good" or "hasn't earned their place." I would just like to gain more clarity as to why a couple posters here believe coaching changes will catch-up with Wisconsin.  In a state of, what seemed like, constant coaching turnover, Wisconsin was able to navigate season-after-season of winning football, having won 10+ games six times in the last eight seasons.  Now that there is stability, there is a school of thought that seems convinced of descent in a West Division that is still, relatively, average.

But there isn't stability as Wisky has a new DC. So the question is: will Wisconsin continue to be very good despite coaching changes, or will this be the change that doesn't go well?

There's good reason to think Wisky will continue to roll, but there's also reason to think that maybe they won't. For example, the new DC has only been coaching for a year.

 

[NUinID]

Never accused anyone of saying Wisconsin "isn't good" or "hasn't earned their place." I would just like to gain more clarity as to why a couple posters here believe coaching changes will catch-up with Wisconsin.  In a state of, what seemed like, constant coaching turnover, Wisconsin was able to navigate season-after-season of winning football, having won 10+ games six times in the last eight seasons.  Now that there is stability, there is a school of thought that seems convinced of descent in a West Division that is still, relatively, average.

I don't think Wisconsin is going anywhere, I just don't look at Wisconsin and see them making that jump to being a playoff contender.    Hornibrook needs to make a really big jump in his play to get Wisconsin into that position.  Wisconsin has had great defenses, but a new DC for the third year in a row can hurt and he really has very little experience in the DC department. I don't question his knowledge, but organization things and calling signals are different than just working a position group.  I think Wisconsin and Nebraska this year should be a very competitive game.  

 

[hskrfan4life]

We aren't the only team that gets better from one year to the next. The Badgers were 11-3 last year. They're thinking they're about to take the next step from that, or so the optimism of the offseason will dictate. 

"Wisconsin has taken the next step" is objectively more logical than "Nebraska is better this year and since last year's game was close, there's no reason to lose to Wisconsin this year."

If Nebraska wins, it could be any combination of Nebraska being better and Wisconsin faltering. 

That's the thing, why does it always have to be the team we beat faltering? Why can't it be that we're just that good.

I know what has happened in the past but that pisses me off.

 

[Kiyoat Husker]

So "Wisconsin may have separated itself from the rest of the West"?  In what?

Obesity?

1. Indiana 32.7% obese

2. Wisconsin 31.2% obese

3. Iowa 30.9% obese

4. Nebraska 30.2% obese

5. Illinois 29.3% obese

6. Minnesota 27.6% obese

Nope.  Looks like Purdue is winning.  Not much separation, either.

 

[Kiyoat Husker]

Maybe it's beer drinking:

http://www.beerinfo.com/index.php/pages/beerstateconsumption.html

Wisconsin 38.2 Gal/year

Nebraska --36.6

Iowa ----------34.4

Minnesota 31.3

Illinois -------31.3

Indiana ------28.3

That could be it....

 

[Kiyoat Husker]

Maybe: Percent of housing units that are mobile homes? (trailer park rate)

Indiana 6.5%

Wisconsin 6%

Nebraska 4.5%

Iowa 4.2%

Minnesota 3.9%

Illinois 2.8%

Nope.

 

[Kiyoat Husker]

I may have found it:

https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/threats-on-tap-water-infrastructure-protections-appendices.pdf

They are pulling away from the pack in drinking water pollution!

Percent of residents served by community water systems with violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act:

1. Wisconsin -38.3%

2. Iowa ----------11.6%

3. Indiana ------10.1%

4. Nebraska ----9.2%

5. Illinois ---------6.1%

6. Minnesota --1.3%

Wow!

 

[Redux]

Their offense other than ground and pound running is pretty awful.  If a team can take advantagd of that they are easily beatable.  Their defense is usually a major strength and keeps them in games they shouldn't be in, that changes this year.

We beat Wisconsin, no doubt about it.

 

[zoogs]

@hskrfan4life yeah I hope it's the case that Wisky has kicked it up a notch, but so does Nebraska en route to a Husker win

Wisconsin vaulting up like Michigan State ... that's good for the division, good for the conference, good for us.

 

[marko polo]

Not sure what Oregon has to do with Wisconsin.

Wisconsin has stability at HC.  Paul Chryst grew up in Wisconsin, played at Wisconsin, and has coached at Wisconsin on two separate stints.  He understands the foundation on which Wisconsin was built and has not tried shied away from that identity (getting big bodies from in-state, utilizing a highly-successful walk-on program, going after kids that can get into school, and finding players that fit the traditional Wisconsin scheme), unlike his predecessor (Gary Andersen). 

Similarly, his OC is another that has coached at Wisconsin on two different different occasions and also knows the foundation on which Wisconsin was built.

Think Wisconsin's defense needs to be given more credit than they have.  Dave Aranda was terrific, and still is, but many thought Wisconsin's defense would drop off a cliff when he left for LSU.  Instead, they helped catapult Justin Wilcox to a Pac-12 HC job, after getting fired from USC, in less than a calendar year.

Other than your perception, which I can respect, there isn't a whole lot to suggest Wisconsin is going anywhere.

Gotta agree with this.

 

[Landlord]

Their offense other than ground and pound running is pretty awful.  If a team can take advantagd of that they are easily beatable.

You make it sound like winning 10-12 games a season is the easiest thing in the world and opposing coaches don't even think about how best to scheme against the team they're playing.