Badgers Take Out #1

For the first time since 1981 the Wisconsin Badgers emerged victorious from a matchup with the nation's top ranked team. The Badgers knocked Ohio State out of the top spot with a decisive 31-18 victory on Saturday night.

The Badgers entered the game as the #18 team in the country, the underdog at home against the Buckeyes. The combination of a consistent running game and tough defense helped the Badgers prove the oddsmakers wrong and come away with a win.

This game was the most exciting sports event I've ever attended. The atmosphere was unbelievable at Camp Randall. The stadium was filled to capacity before kickoff, which hasn't happened for quite some time.

David Gilreath's opening kickoff return for a touchdown set the tone for a night full of headaches for Ohio State. The Badgers quickly added two more touchdowns, both on rushes by John Clay, to take a 21-0 lead.



Ohio State then scored 18 unanswered points, making it a three point game. The Badgers responded with a 10 play, 73 yard drive capped by a James White 12 yard touchdown run.

The Badgers managed to control the Buckeye offense for the rest of the game, and Blake Sorenson intercepted a Terelle Pryor pass late in the 4th quarter to seal the victory.

Following the victory, the crowd stormed the field despite the PA announcer's best attempts to convince us otherwise. Camp Randall became a sea red and white, as fans congratulated and celebrated with the players.

John Clay became the first player in 30 games to rush for 100 yards against the Buckeyes. He totaled 104 yards and 2 touchdowns. James White added another 75 yards and a touchdown.

Scott Tolzein threw for 152 yards and connected on 81% of his pass attempts. Nick Toon led The Badger receivers with 6 receptions for 72 yards.

David Gilreath was named the Big Ten Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after his performance against Ohio State. Gilreath's 97 yard touchdown return made him the Big Ten's all-time leader in kickoff return yards. Gilreath finished the day with 163 total return yards, bringing his career total to 2,677 yards, passing the 2.575 yards set by Michigan State's Derrick Mason after the 1996 season.

The Badger defense held Terrelle Pryor to just 156 passing yards and 56 rushing yards. JJ Watt sacked Pryor twice, and Pat Muldoon added a sack as well. The Badger secondary didn't allow a passing touchdown.

The Badgers moved up to #10 in the new polls. Ohio State dropped to #11. The new rankings have Michigan State at #8 and Iowa at #13, making next week's game at Iowa a pivotal matchup for Wisconsin.

Badgers Breeze Through Homecoming Border Battle, Prepare for Matchup with #1

The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers in UW's homecoming football game on Saturday, keeping Paul Bunyan's Axe in Madison for the seventh straight year.

Wisconsin (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) rushed its way to a 41-23 victory over Minnesota (1-5, 0-2 Big Ten). The Badgers rushed for 250 yards and five touchdowns, with the majority of the production coming from John Clay and James White, who both broke 100 yards in the game. Scott Tolzein added 223 passing yards and threw a touchdown pass to Jared Abbredaris.

The Badgers bounced back from a disappointing loss to Michigan State last weekend.

"After a loss and a bad taste in your mouth, you can't look back, you've got to move forward, and I thought our guys did that," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. "I can't say enough about our ground game. John Clay and James White and the big guys up front blocking up for them are really special."

This was the second time this season both Clay and White rushed for at least 100 yards in the same game. In the past three games White has amassed 361 rushing yards and has found the endzone eight times. White's emergence as a force in the running game comes at a vital point in the season as the Badgers prepare to square off with the newly labeled #1 Ohio State Buckeyes.

After #1 Alabama was upset by #19 South Carolina the Buckeyes jumped to the top spot in the polls. This will be the first time the Badgers faced a #1 team since 2007, when they traveled to Ohio State and lost, 38-17. Wisconsin seeks a different outcome this weekend.

Big Ten Alignment Announced

The Big 10 Conference has announced the conference alignment that will be in affect starting next season. The 2 divisions have not yet been named.

• Division 1: 
• Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin
• Division 2:
• Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan State, Iowa, Minnesota

Each school will play the other five schools in their division, as well as three teams from the other division, with one cross-division match up guaranteed annually. These are the guaranteed cross-division matchups:

• Wisconsin - Minnesota
• Ohio State - Michigan
• Penn State - Nebraska
• Purdue - Iowa
• Illinois - Northwestern
• Indiana - Michigan State

The Badgers open the 2010 season this weekend at UNLV.

Another Game.... Another Last Second Shot

Milwaukee native Korie Lucious comes up big for the Spartans! I guess Izzo is happy he didn't finish his timeout call!

Notre Dame may consider Big Ten after all

It appears that there is still hope for the Big Ten to get Notre Dame to join the league. Though Notre Dame still wants to stay independent, they claim they would have to at least consider a change if big changes are made in the Big Ten, Pac-10, and in effect, the Big East. Check out the article here!

Hummel Out For the Year

In shocking news for Big Ten basketball, Purdue's Robbie Hummel is out for the season with a torn ACL. This changes the complexion of the rest of the Big Ten season. With a big game against Michigan State, with a Purdue loss the Big Ten looks like it may be a 3 way tie. This probably ends Purdue's chances at a #1 seed for the Big Ten. Because Purdue will probably lose some games down the stretches and the committee always takes into account injuries. If you remember a few years ago, Cincinnati lost a #1 seed because they lost their star Kenyon Martin in the Conference USA championship game. With another season for Hummel ending in injury, scouts will start to call him a liability with his numerous injuries. This injury gives Wisconsin a much better chance at winning the Big Ten Tournament.

LIVE BLOG: Wisconsin Badgers Basketball at Indiana

Join Two Cents in our live blog of the Badgers - Hoosiers matchup.

Here is what ESPN has to say about tonight's game:

Wisconsin had one of its most dominating defensive games of the season in a win against Indiana earlier this month. It was the kind of effort Hoosiers coach Tom Crean is looking for from his team.

The 17th-ranked Badgers go for their sixth straight win over struggling Indiana on Thursday as they try to improve to .500 on the road in Big Ten play.

Wisconsin (20-7, 10-5) has the top scoring defense in the conference, allowing 57.1 points per game. It was especially impressive in an 83-55 win at home against Indiana on Feb. 13.

The Badgers forced a season-high 21 turnovers, which turned into 29 points, and had 15 offensive rebounds which led to 18 second-chance points.

Wisconsin's effectiveness on the glass came despite missing leading rebounder Jon Leuer, who has played the last two games after missing the previous nine with a broken wrist.

Leuer has come off the bench since returning, and in a 70-63 win over Northwestern on Sunday, he finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots in 22 minutes.

"That was experience that we got back on the floor in those situations, and that's why he was out there," coach Bo Ryan said. "Plus, even with that tape on his hand, his hands in the post are the best of our bigs."

With Leuer struggling to make shots due to his injury, Jason Bohannon continues to play well. Bohannon finished with 17 points Sunday and scored a career-high 30 against Indiana earlier this month. He's averaging 19.5 points and shooting 52.2 percent from 3-point range in February.

The Badgers have struggled on the road, going 3-5 overall, but they have won their last two visits to Bloomington and will be facing a Hoosiers team that has dropped eight in a row.

Indiana (9-17, 3-11) never led in an 81-58 loss to Minnesota on Saturday, shooting a season-worst 32.2 percent and trailing 44-25 at the half.

Devan Dumes had a season-high 20 points off the bench, while leading scorer Verdell Jones III shot 2 of 8 to finish with 10 points. Christian Watford, averaging 12.3 points, scored three while connecting on 1 of 12 field goals.

In the last eight losses, the Hoosiers have been outscored by close to 15 points per game. They are allowing an average of 76.8 points in the last six.

"I told them after the game ... I don't hope the program is coming back, I believe that it will and I believe in those guys," Crean said. "I also told them that if we don't get better defensively and they can't do a better job of guarding their man ... they are not going to be a part of this moving forward. I don't have any patience for lack of getting up into people defensively."

Indiana has lost 14 in a row to Top 25 teams since beating then-No. 14 Purdue 77-68 on Feb. 19, 2008.

Let us know what you think of the live blog. We would love to have your feedback!

Join us tomorrow...

Tomorrow night (Thursday) Two Cents will be conducting our first ever live blog during the Wisconsin vs. Indiana Basketball game. Join us at 8 p.m. (central time) as we provide insight and commentary during the game.