My home is less than 15 miles from the end-zone for three plus years and it still has been out of reach except for the Spring Game we enjoyed back in 2013.
Just into year 3 of Wisconsin, part III, I walked through Camp Randall's arch for the first time.
It was a really miserable day to be outside. A light rain created a chill factor made worse by a steady breeze.
Light rain, after awhile anyway, makes you as thoroughly wet as a steady rain. On my way to the game, I searched for a poncho. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with this idea since the inexpensive type I was looking for was difficult to find. Since Halloween is a big deal in Madison with an annual "Freakfest" that attracts aficionados from miles around and in addition to home football there are also home hockey games... parking would be at a premium so I thought it made sense to park on the west side and ride the bus to the stadium.
That turned out to be a very good idea.
I can only guess how wet the band uniforms were by the end of the day. The Wisconsin Band plays a full pep session at the Badger Bash pep rally before the game, pre-game music before kick-off, at half-time, their very own 5th Quarter, and then for post-game. More on the Badger Band later this week.
It was good to see Corey Clement back on the field for Bucky's boys this week. He's been unable to play since the season opener with an injury which required surgery.
Clement was expected to be the next in a long line of excellent Badger running backs. His back-ups embrace the "next man up" philosophy of the team, but they aren't yet at his level. Plus the offensive line is very young - so it's been tough sledding for Bucky.I was blessed to learn my seat at the game placed me under the protection of the upper deck on Camp Randall's west side. Other than some drips from above and rain blown in by the wind, I was pretty dry.
The Badgers, thanks to the return of their usual running attack, handled the state university of New Jersey, Rutgers with a final of 48 - 10. Wisconsin's defense didn't allow any touchdowns and controlled the action all day long.The last time I saw the Badgers play in Camp Randall a seven win season would have been a cause for great rejoicing. Since Coach Alvarez arrived to reverse the fortunes of the football team it's greeted more with a ho-hum.
The Badgers trail Iowa by a game in the West Division of the B1G Ten. Since the one conference loss was to the Hawkeyes there are two games to make up to catch them in the standings.
That seems unlikely at this point with Iowa continuing to win. From my perspective, things look pretty good here in the Badger State. There's a new coach in town, Paul Chryst, who grew up in Madison and both played and was an assistant coach for the Badgers.
There are a lot of young players learning the Badger Way, and the wheels haven't gone off the rails while the teams learns and grows. Go Badgers!
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