Revenge, Week 2 of 3: The Wisconsin Preview

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​Real quick before I start, a shout out to Jake from Motown Sports Revival, who had the dubious task of sitting in front of me at the ND game. He has a great post about "Lloydball plus risks," which a phrase he used several times throughout the game. The post includes this little gem...

Big props to my dawg from UMtailgate.com. I had the pleasure of meeting him on Saturday. He sat behind me at the game and it was enjoyable to have someone as passionate as I am to share in the joy of Michigan's monumental victory. He also whipped out a king kong sized version of one of mgoblog's shirts appropriately titled, "Notre Dame: Returning to Glory Since 1993".

Translation: "I sat in front of this nut. He was huge and donned a shirt that was so gargantuan that it could have been used for making a homeless shelter." Thanks for the shout out Jake...hope we bump into each other again.

Have you settled down yet from the weekend? Me neither. Wins like the one on Saturday stay with you for a while...weeks, months, sometimes years. At the same time, the feel good moment of the century can disappear faster than ND TV timeout (poor example). A letdown this Saturday would be, well, devastating. So here's to the boys keeping their focus for the Big Ten opener.

First of all, unlike last week, I don't hate the Badgers. I love their town. Madison, Wisconsin is a trip we look forward to every other year, and from the Essen House toState Street Brats, it never disappoints. And rarely do the Wolverines disappoint when they take the field at Camp Randall, boasting a 22-5 record there.

Michigan has the nation's leading rushing defense, the ninth ranked total defense, and is second in nation in turnover margin. So, why not relax? The unranked and overlooked Badgers have a top ten national ranking in passing efficiency defense, pass defense, and scoring defense. And they have basically the same team as last year, a team that crushed the hopes and dreams of the 2005 Michigan squad, breaking a 24-year-old Big Ten opener winning streak with a 23-20 win in Madison.

The School:

  • Enrollment: 41,169

  • Colors: Cardinal and White

  • Mascot: Badger (Bucky Badger)

  • Voted nation's #1 party school in May 2006 issue of Playboy

The records:

  • Michigan is 47-11-1 all-time against Wisconsin

  • Wisconsin is 3-0 with wins against Bowling Green, Western Illinois, and San Diego State

Watch Out For:

  • P.J. Hill, the nation's 7th leading rusher with 138 yards per game

  • John Stocco, who broke your heart with a 4-yard scramble into the endzone last year.

  • Bret Bielema, the first year head coach of the Badgers. Bret was a walk-on at Iowa before becoming a senior team captain under Hayden Fry.

Fun Facts:

  • Wisconsin is Michigan's most common opponent in Big Ten openers with 17 games. Last year was Michigan's first loss in those contests.

  • Famous alumni include Lynne Cheney (second lady), the Zucker brothers, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Charles Lindbergh.

  • Bret Bielema is the second youngest coach in D1A behind Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald.

Theme: Tex Mex

Don't forget to Maize Out.