From the frozen tundra....Greetings.

#1
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MarineBadger

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#1
Hi there Volnation.

As you can see by my username, I am indeed a Badger fan. I thought I would visit this forum, to discuss the outback bowl. I had previously visited a different Volunteers forum to do this exact same thing, but I think the admin wanted someone to come in and do a bunch of trash talking and bashing, and thats not what I was there for, so I left.

Anyway, I am glad to be playing a tradition rich,proud program like UT. I lived in the South for 8 years while I was in the military, so I am a little more educated on the culture of SEC football than the average yankee. But I wouldn't consider myself and expert by any means.

I'm not sure where you guys expected to be this year. I know that my preseason expectations for this team was to make a BCS bowl. I figured we'd go 10-2 with the team we had to start the season. Well we had a rash of injuries that plagued us all year(some of which still plague us) and we finished 9-3, in the Outback bowl. I guess I would say that I am happy to be playing on New Years day again. Even though our expectations were not met, I think our coaching staff did a superb job in keeping us afloat with all the issues we had.

Now for my take on the game. Coming into this game, I figured you guys should be easy favorites. I figured an 8 point favorite would have been about right. Now we have lost a starting corner to injury, and you guys have a couple of big players on D ineligible for this game. I think that we might pull a little closer to you guys, but you should still be slight favorites.

I think this game is going to come down to time of possesion. Our running game and somewhat mobile QB need to keep the ball out of your offenses hands. I know you guys aren't a down the field attack this year, and you use alot of short quick passes, so our tackling will have to be crisp. Which, if I am being honest, hasn't been this year. Basically I am not too worried about our O's ability, but our defense has been atrocious at times and I think Ainge is a solid QB that will find some things. Stopping Foster is a priority first though. He looks like a fine back.

I would say these are the advantages in the following matchups, based off of what I have seen in two UT games, and all the Badger games, plus some feedback from UT fans on other sites.

Ainge/Tenn WRs/TE vs. UW secondary/LBs.
You guys employ a quick passing attack. We are down to what was essentially our dime corner, starting on one side. So if we get put in nickel situations, we are diggin pretty deep on the depth chart. Our LBs should be able to keep up with your TEs. Our safeties have been a ? all year.
Clear advantage for UT

Tenn OL vs. UW DL
Our DL has been worn down through the year with injuries/suspensions. Hopefully everybody that can play is at full speed. I think our DL can be effective against the running game, but with that quick passing game of UT, I'd be suprised if we got any pressure
Slight advantage UT

Foster vs. UW LBers
Fosters a good back, with over 1000 yards on the year. Our LBs again have struggled through injury. We have a couple of really fast OLBs that can pursue well. I think with some help from a stout line, our guys can do enough to rein in Foster. We probably won't shut him down, but I don't see him running wild on us either.
Draw

Donovan/UW WRs/TE vs. UT secondary/LBs.
Probably the biggest loss for us this year was Luke Swan, who left midseason with a torn hammy. He was a solid go to receiver, and TDs favorite target. We basically have two track guys at the WR position. Both can fly, but one of them is a thin pencil of a receiver.I have heard you guys have a freshman corner you are all very high on. Where I think we have the clear advantage is with our TEs. Travis Beckum is one of the best in the country, and we utilize him alot. Garret Graham has been a solid pass catcher as well, but he has had a few dropsies lately. You guys lost your best LB for academics, but I don't know how prominently he figured in pass coverage or if he was more of a run stopper?
Slight advantage UW

UW OL vs. UT DL
I guess another one of your losses was a DL. Our OL has played great at times, and average at others, but its never been bad. I confess to not knowing a whole lot about the other UT DL. I guess with the loss I am willing to say:
Slight advantage UW

UW RBs vs. Tenn LBs
Here again the loss of your LB hurts. UW fans don't know which RB is going to start against you, but we have confidence in power back PJ Hill, speed back Lance Smith, and our suprising freshman Zach Brown to get the job done. All 3 have seen alot of time on the field this year, with about 2,000 yards between them. I am going to go ahead and, due to your loss say:
Clear Advantage UW

Now I have one more advantage for UW than UT But I think that the biggest advantage by a longshot is Ainge vs. our secondary.

I have no clue about UTs special teams, so I am not going to offer any speculation there, but whomever has the advantage there will probably win the game.
 
#3
#3
Welcome to the board
Nice analysis

Guess you've already finshed shoevling your driveway..
 
#4
#4
Just to clear things up, Mayo is our best LB and he will play. McCoy is a stud and won't play. It will definitely hurt but not as bad as losing Mayo would.

Welcome to the board.
 
#9
#9
MarineBadger said:
I have no clue about UTs special teams, so I am not going to offer any speculation there, but whomever has the advantage there will probably win the game.
Click to expand...


I wish I could tell you what to expect from our special teams but week to week we don't have a clue what to expect either. Some weeks the kicking is great some weeks it's OK.

The coverage for KO and punts is probably our biggest concern. It seems to have improved the last few games but we seem to always to be sitting on the edge of our seats hoping for the best and fearing the worst.

I lived in the Twin Cities area for 16 years so I know that you are going to enjoy the weather in Florida if you can make the game.

Welcome to the board.
 
#11
#11
good post. welcome to the board. hopefully, our coaching issues will not have any bearing on our performance, as will the loss of our D players.
 
#15
#15
Looks like you know our team better than you admit to. Used to travel Ws, for Rupp Snowmobile Co. Have many friends there, always enjoyed going, specially on a tavern ride. Nothing like a hot buttered rum after an hour of 0 degree weather. Please share more thoughts.
 
#16
#16
MarineBadger said:
UW OL vs. UT DL
I guess another one of your losses was a DL. Our OL has played great at times, and average at others, but its never been bad. I confess to not knowing a whole lot about the other UT DL. I guess with the loss I am willing to say:
Slight advantage UW

UW RBs vs. Tenn LBs
Here again the loss of your LB hurts. UW fans don't know which RB is going to start against you, but we have confidence in power back PJ Hill, speed back Lance Smith, and our suprising freshman Zach Brown to get the job done. All 3 have seen alot of time on the field this year, with about 2,000 yards between them. I am going to go ahead and, due to your loss say:
Clear Advantage UW
Click to expand...

UT's best DT, Bolden, is out.
UT has 2 good LB's, Mayo and McCoy, McCoy is out.
I would say UW has a bigger advantage in both areas.
 
#17
#17
MarineBadger said:
Ainge/Tenn WRs/TE vs. UW secondary/LBs.
You guys employ a quick passing attack. We are down to what was essentially our dime corner, starting on one side. So if we get put in nickel situations, we are diggin pretty deep on the depth chart. Our LBs should be able to keep up with your TEs. Our safeties have been a ? all year.
Clear advantage for UT
Click to expand...

UT's best WR, Taylor, is out for academics too. UT has a good TE who is back and healthy, I think UT will use more 2 TE 2 WR sets.
 
#18
#18
Nice post and from one :naughty: Dog to another... good luck on the 1st, it's gonna be a good old fashioned rumble in Leatherneck Square.

Nice to see a fellow Marine out here.... even if you are a Yankee. :salute:
 
#20
#20
Our LBs are pretty talented even without Rico since Myers-White is back and healthy. I'm not sure it's a clear advantage between your RBs and our LBs.

But - with that said. Our D-line is so bad at time (especially with Bolden out now) that our LBs have no opportunity to make a play. So I think the clear advantage would have to be your O-line vs. our D-line.
 
#21
#21
Make sure if you go to Florida
You take your "floaties" I'd hate to see a Marine struggle in the Ocean
 
#22
#22
Thank you for the kind greetings.

And yes I did have to go out and shovel my driveway. It wasn't too bad though, only about 8 inches, maybe 1 foot in some areas where it drifted. Probably will have another inch or two to clean up after its all said and done. My wife is a southern gal, and no suprise here, we are looking to move back down south when out house sells. I liked living in the south, but if we are being honest here, I'm approving this move only for the ability to golf all year round. :)

Here is a more detailed breakdown by position for you all to consider.

QB-Tyler Donovan(5th year Senior, 1st year starter)
TD is a homegrown product. He's not an NFL level QB, but his only goal in life was to play QB for the Badgers. He spent alot of years here, and finally got his chance this year. He is a mobile QB, but he's not anything like Tebow. He's a little undersized at a generous 6'0", but he's got the feet to make plays. His arm isn't exactly a cannon either, but it gets the job done. I'd say his best abilitiy is his toughness and overall athleticism. The kid has heart and plays tough. His biggest liability is he doesn't go through progressions as well as us fans would like.

RB- We'll start with PJ Hill(Redshirt Soph, 2nd year starter). PJ is a power RB. He is about 5'11" and around 225lbs. His running style is good between the tackles. He doesn't have the shiftiness or speed to blow through the line for 70 yard scampers, but he'll get hit and fall forward for 3 more yards, and what looked like a 2 yard gain will be a 5 yard gain. He'll break a few 8-15 yarders as well. He has the most experience in our system, and has decent hands out of the backfield. His biggest asset is knowing the offense and hitting the right hole. His liabilty would be his speed and he is prone to injury. He gained over 1000 yards this year but that was 4 games ago. He got injured against Indiana early, and played only sparingly against Michigan.
Lance Smith (true Sophmore)- Lance Smith is our change of pace back. The guy has some jets. He was PJs backup last year, and figured to be this year. However an offseason altercation with his g/f led him to get suspended for the teams 5 road games this year. He had over 400 yards in backup duty in the other 7 games and averages over 6 yards a carry. His biggest asset is his speed. He can break the 70 yard runs. His biggest asset is his ability to read the hole. He likes to bounce it outside a little too quickly and he has carried the ball loosely at times. If he were more patient and a better pass blocker, he'd probably start.
Zach Brown-(True Freshman) We had a stud recruit of ours(John Clay) have trouble with getting academically qualified, and he had to take summer classes to make our program. He made it, but missed quite a bit of fall pracitce and was behind the curve and so we elected to redshirt him. Zach Brown made his way to the 3rd spot, probably figuring on not playing that much. Well after PJ's injury and Lance Smith suspension, Zach Brown was pressed into action this year as both a starter and a backup depending on which game it was. He did an outstanding job gaining over 500 yards this year. He had a game of over 200 yards, but to be fair that was against Minnesota, who was one of the worst defenses in the country. Zach Brown is neither as powerful as PJ, nor as quick as Lance. But he reads the holes well, and always goes forward. He is a very good blocker in pass protection too, which is the hardest thing for freshman RB to pick up.
I don't know who is starting, and Bielema is known for playing games with the press. So I'll know who the starter is when you do, which will be Jan 1st.

WR-Paul Hubbard(5th year senior, 2nd year starter)
Paul Hubbard came to UW as a track athlete. He came over to the football team, and last year became a starter. He was injured in the second game against UNLV and sat out 4-5 games. He has decent hands, and good speed. His strength is really as a run blocker at the wideout position. I don't know that he has any glaring weaknesses, but he's not a game breaker either. Solid kid.
Kyle Jefferson(True Freshman, 1st year starter)
Another track runner, he was actually recruited to play football here. He was pressed into the starting role when Hubbard went down, and stayed in the starting role when Luke Swan went down for the year. The kid is a beanpole at 6'5" and maybe 180lbs. He has decent hands, and good route running for a kid his height. He is the deep ball threat. He kind of disappeared the last few games, but I couldn't tell you exactly why. My thinking is that Donovan is more comfortable with Beckum and Hubbard than he is with the true frosh. Or prehaps our O coordinator used Kyle to open things underneath. He showed some flashes of a bright future at UW, but he is still a freshman.

TE-Travis Beckum(Junior, 2nd year starter)
Beckum was recruited as a LB when he came to UW, and last year was the first year he ever played TE. This guy is our playmaker. More in the frame of a large WR, he is a pass catching phenom out of the TE position. Too fast for LBs and too big for safeties, he has been a matchup nightmare for defenses the past two years. Great hands, great speed. Near 1000 yards receiving this year, this guy is Donovans favorite target. Our OC will use motion and formations to create mismatches in Beckum's favor. His only detraction is in run blocking, where he is servicable but not a world beater.

OL
In the interest of saving space, and the time honored tradition of OL not getting credit they deserve, I am just going to be brief here.
We have a very big line, that is experienced despite only having 1 senior. We return starters at every position except LT where we lost All-World Joe Thomas to the NFL last year. Redshirt Frosh Gabe Carimi has filled in well for JT, but he has had some freshman mistakes with holds. I want to say off the top of my head we average around 6'6" and 315 across the line, with Carimi being the light in the loafers at 292. The play from this group has been anywhere from average to great, but never bad. Last year we had trouble running on Arkansas 5 man fronts, something I am sure your coaching staff is aware of. However I don't know if you have the personell for it.

Other names/positions worth note
FB Chriss Pressly-Big powerful run blocker. decent hands for a big fellow too.
WR/KR/PR-David Gilreath-True freshman that is tiny but fast. He may be in as the 3rd/4th WR sometimes, but his biggest impact is in the return game. He had issues earlier in the year with PR, but he gained valuable experience, again when Luke Swan went down for the year.
TE Garret Graham-The "other" TE at UW. He is more of a true TE, than Beckum but posseses great hands as well. Mickey Turner is our best blocking TE, and sometimes all three will be out there at the same time.

Ok my wife is bugging me, but I'll return with a synopsis of our D later tonight.
 
#23
#23
Seeing how you guys were soundly beaten by PSU mid-season 38-7 , and since basically the reason they beat us last year was late fumble by our r/b I dare not mention his name, I feel pretty confident.:)
 
#24
#24
finding it hard to care much about the game. i want us to win, but it just feels inconsequential.
 
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