GT: Washington State at Bucky - 2:30 - FOX

[DrWood]

At least we don't have to worry about getting our heart broken later in the season when we thought we might be able to go to the tournament. Now we know we're going to a mediocre bowl game.
WSU isn't a bad team, and we outplayed them.
Had to feel good for Nakeah Watson--2TDS and a late first down on a 11 yard run--coming back to camp Randall.
It was pretty pathetic to get the gift of the fumble after they intercepted Mertz, then not being able to capitalize.

[DrWood]

O line stinks. Weren't they supposed to be at least average?

they were supposed to be better than average.

[Kerb Hohl]

Yup, just pass the torch to Jimmy.

Look, I understand if we are going to lose Jimmy to a different HC gig, this may be preferable to elevate him to keep him around...but are you guys sure you understand what this means?

Jim Leonhard, instead of spending 30 hours/week gameplanning and coaching the defense, will be jumping in a jet and flying to some HS game in Texas much more often and spending more time at fundraising events.

Obviously, things could go well if he can keep his fingerprints on the defense and hand the keys to somebody else to modernize the offense, but I'm not sure this accomplishes what people think it does.

And by the way, I'm still lukewarm on Chryst. Tons of reasons I'd be happy to move on, but keeping stability may also be fine even with recent frustration. We felt this way after the BYU loss and rebounded for some great seasons. But don't get me wrong, I'd be willing to move on.

[Ron Swanson]

I'm not even one to play the "just get anyone besides him" card with coaches. Can we do worse? Of course, but this is now Year 7 of the Chryst era, and despite the early success in his tenure, one Top-25 finish since 2018 is pretty pathetic considering we've had the luxury of playing in the weaker division all those years. I always adjust my expectations for what defines "success" based on the program, but I don't know how the last 4 years fits any Badger fans' definition of that. Whoever labelled Chryst the Division-1 Mike McCarthy is spot on. If it's not Leonhard, then we need a fresh offensive mind.

[ReasonablySober]

With Frost out I've been reading some articles listing candidates at Nebraska. All of them have Leonard as the top assistant available. ESPN's says that the prevailing thought, however, is he's willing to wait Chryst out.

[Mags FTW]

Yup, just pass the torch to Jimmy.

We felt this way after the BYU loss and rebounded for some great seasons. But don't get me wrong, I'd be willing to move on.

Including that game, we went 16-9 over the last 25 games of JT's career. We are 14-8 since he left.

We are slowly creeping towards becoming the middling Purdues and Illinois of the division and, god forbid, being overtaken by Minnesota as the main contender with Iowa to go to the Title Game every year.

[MVP2110]

I think Chryst's seat is warming. That said he still has the highest winning % in program history and has had some of the best recruiting classes in program history as well. I do believe that Wisconsin is at a geographical disadvantage when it comes to recruiting so I'm skeptical we can really expect more than consistent 10 win seasons and an occasional shot at being a top 5 team

[Kerb Hohl]

Yup, just pass the torch to Jimmy.

We felt this way after the BYU loss and rebounded for some great seasons. But don't get me wrong, I'd be willing to move on.

Including that game, we went 16-9 over the last 25 games of JT's career. We are 14-8 since he left.

We are slowly creeping towards becoming the middling Purdues and Illinois of the division and, god forbid, being overtaken by Minnesota as the main contender with Iowa to go to the Title Game every year.

Didn't they sneak a Rose Bowl in there?

Part of going 14-8 over that span is 2020 not having any creampuffs to inflate the record, which makes things look weirder when comparing. The Badgers have played a pretty tough schedule since the start of 2020 (and yes, they sucked in 2020).

I'm much more willing to fear falling to the middle than I was a few years ago, but I also don't think it's imminent.

But yes, the reason that Minnesota (might) be a contender this year and going forward, IMO, is that they have nearly as good of a defense + a team built to run out of the shotgun. Just feels way easier to adjust to a loaded box when you can spread things out a bit. Obviously still bring in 3 TEs if you want to pound the ball, but you can spread the other team out and RPO if necessary.

That said, as middling as this team feels, it can still win a lot of games in the B10. It's no consolation, but the Badgers still "dominated" that game and lost. Of course, it's not a feat to keep the game close enough that Wazzu could win it with some special teams breaks + that crazy INT/fumble, but this team isn't that bad. Mertz played well.

[MickeyDavis]

Tons of good OC's and DC's don't make good HC's. I have no idea how Leonard would fare though.

[Mags FTW]

We felt this way after the BYU loss and rebounded for some great seasons. But don't get me wrong, I'd be willing to move on.

Including that game, we went 16-9 over the last 25 games of JT's career. We are 14-8 since he left.

We are slowly creeping towards becoming the middling Purdues and Illinois of the division and, god forbid, being overtaken by Minnesota as the main contender with Iowa to go to the Title Game every year.

Didn't they sneak a Rose Bowl in there?

Yes, because OSU went to the playoff.

[RiotPunch]

Yup, just pass the torch to Jimmy.

Look, I understand if we are going to lose Jimmy to a different HC gig, this may be preferable to elevate him to keep him around...but are you guys sure you understand what this means?

Jim Leonhard, instead of spending 30 hours/week gameplanning and coaching the defense, will be jumping in a jet and flying to some HS game in Texas much more often and spending more time at fundraising events.

Obviously, things could go well if he can keep his fingerprints on the defense and hand the keys to somebody else to modernize the offense, but I'm not sure this accomplishes what people think it does.

And by the way, I'm still lukewarm on Chryst. Tons of reasons I'd be happy to move on, but keeping stability may also be fine even with recent frustration. We felt this way after the BYU loss and rebounded for some great seasons. But don't get me wrong, I'd be willing to move on.

I think it is pretty obvious that the only reason he is still here as DC is the promise of the HC gig.

I think his clout as an NFL player with a long career might actually serve him best on the recruiting trail, even if sacrificing a little of his direct influence on the defensive coaching. He can sell the brand and the finish line; he can hopefully work his connections to build a more modern staff. Chryst is a dinosaur and if firing him and promoting Leonhard does nothing but just secure Leonhard, I'm still down.

You obviously approach Wisconsin coaching more rationally than I, there is a reason I am not AD, but I think a bold and aggressive move is needed here to right the ship moving forward. Jimmy is 39 and one of the hottest names at the collegiate level-- what programs would offer him the gig? What programs would offer Chryst the gig if fired tomorrow?

[MickeyDavis]

Chryst is 56, I wonde how long Leonard will wait

[humanrefutation]

Leonhard mentioned as a possible replacement for Scott Frost.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/insider/story/_/id/34571131/scott-frost-fired-replace-nebraska-football-coach

Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard: The former Badgers star and NFL player has already established himself as one of the top young defensive minds in football. But the prevailing sentiment around him is that he will wait out Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst to take over at his alma mater, a transition that could be accelerated given the program's recent performance. Still, Nebraska would be wise to check on Leonhard, 39, who knows the Big Ten and would bring a clear vision for recruiting and program culture.

[LUKE23]

If we lose Leonard because we waited too long on Chryst I’m going to lose my ****. I have very little doubt Leonard would be a better head coach. He could still keep his imprint on the defense while bringing a younger mentality and ex-NFL player pedigree to the recruiting game. I feel like you promote him and spend a little extra to bring in a new age OC and you are going to be better off.

Chryst is stale and so is the program.

[MVP2110]

If we lose Leonard because we waited too long on Chryst I’m going to lose my ****. I have very little doubt Leonard would be a better head coach. He could still keep his imprint on the defense while bringing a younger mentality and ex-NFL player pedigree to the recruiting game. I feel like you promote him and spend a little extra to bring in a new age OC and you are going to be better off.

Chryst is stale and so is the program.

Isn't that basically exactly what they did by hiring Bobby Engram to run the offense? I would call Engram a new age OC, both Engram and Leonhard are former NFL players. I think I'm with you that if it inevitably comes down to Chryst or Leonhard I probably go Leonhard but it would certainly be a risk to move on from the winningest coach in program history who has also brought in some of our highest ranked recruiting classes, so as long as we can keep both I don't see a need to make that choice.

[MickeyDavis]

Leonard has been mentioned for a lot of openings. It's been reported that Nebraska wants someone with HC experience. One sleeper I've seen mentioned is Lance Leipold. Others I've seen are Matt Campbell, Chris Klieman, Mark Stoops.

[BUCKnation]

The Chryst and MM comps are actually pretty good. Chryst has shown in the past he can run a very good, creative offense, but he just refuses to do so or pushes against it.

[Kerb Hohl]

The Chryst and MM comps are actually pretty good. Chryst has shown in the past he can run a very good, creative offense, but he just refuses to do so or pushes against it.

I'm not sure how much more creative you can get.

If we aren't carving up defenses that are stacking 8-9 guys in the box with passing (freaking any passing play) then I don't know what we can do.

Mertz was pretty good on Saturday, but maybe I'm off, other good teams facing 8-9 in the box would throw for 350.

I totally understand why we can't run against this sort of defense.

[Kerb Hohl]

The one thing I will say is that it would be cool to have a mobile QB.

5-10 or more years ago, when fans asked for a mobile QB, I'd chuckle a bit, because there weren't that many good ones in CFB and the ones that were attainable to WI sucked at throwing. The guys we could get would be of the Tanner McEvoy/DJ Gillens ilk - they are mobile QBs with emphasis on mobile because they cannot throw.

But there are more of them now. Hell, just get a gadget guy to use or something. We need something to keep the defense honest. Mertz actually was fine, but in some of these other losses, he hasn't been. It wouldn't hurt to basically just read-option/RPO the other team to death, which may open up some huge running lanes for Allen/Chez.