GT: Bucky at Buckeyes - 6:30 - ABC

[Kerb Hohl]

If the Badgers want to make the obvious move (Leipold) they're gonna have to do it by January.

Lol, he's almost 60 and has beaten nobody at Kansas as impressive as it has been with his turnaround. Different place, different time, maybe it would've worked for UW.

This is obvious only to people who have claimed "obvious" moves for the past 25 years like firing Bo Ryan for not being a good tournament coach.

Unless something crazy happens this year, they're not going to dump Chryst in all likelihood. If they do, I'd like a younger coach if we're really going to ditch "stable and pretty good" to shoot for the stars (and likely at best end up exactly where we are).

He's 58. Who gives a ****? He's won literally everywhere he's gone and the offense he's running is light years beyond anything we've seen at Wisconsin.

Does he? I'm sure the Badgers could put up 35 on Duke and probably are almost as efficient in scoring against WVU if they had the desire to play as fast as that game was played possession-wise.

I haven't watched much, but some Twitter commentary actually believes his offense is pretty old school (but probably well coached).

Scott Frost's offense averaged 50+ ppg at UCF...it's not always the same league.

One thing I do think is that UW should embrace a bit more RPO and consider some more mobile QB. But that's not happening this year.

[ReasonablySober]

Lol, he's almost 60 and has beaten nobody at Kansas as impressive as it has been with his turnaround. Different place, different time, maybe it would've worked for UW.

This is obvious only to people who have claimed "obvious" moves for the past 25 years like firing Bo Ryan for not being a good tournament coach.

Unless something crazy happens this year, they're not going to dump Chryst in all likelihood. If they do, I'd like a younger coach if we're really going to ditch "stable and pretty good" to shoot for the stars (and likely at best end up exactly where we are).

He's 58. Who gives a ****? He's won literally everywhere he's gone and the offense he's running is light years beyond anything we've seen at Wisconsin.

Does he? I'm sure the Badgers could put up 35 on Duke and probably are almost as efficient in scoring against WVU if they had the desire to play as fast as that game was played possession-wise.

I haven't watched much, but some Twitter commentary actually believes his offense is pretty old school (but probably well coached).

Scott Frost's offense averaged 50+ ppg at UCF...it's not always the same league.

One thing I do think is that UW should embrace a bit more RPO and consider some more mobile QB. But that's not happening this year.

What you're describing is exactly what Leipold runs.

[Kerb Hohl]

He's 58. Who gives a ****? He's won literally everywhere he's gone and the offense he's running is light years beyond anything we've seen at Wisconsin.

Does he? I'm sure the Badgers could put up 35 on Duke and probably are almost as efficient in scoring against WVU if they had the desire to play as fast as that game was played possession-wise.

I haven't watched much, but some Twitter commentary actually believes his offense is pretty old school (but probably well coached).

Scott Frost's offense averaged 50+ ppg at UCF...it's not always the same league.

One thing I do think is that UW should embrace a bit more RPO and consider some more mobile QB. But that's not happening this year.

What you're describing is exactly what Leipold runs.

I do think that should be where they go. I don't think it would be impossible for Engram/Chryst to do this and I hope its on their mind.

Graham Mertz probably can't really do it.

You consider the benefits of hiring Leipold like maybe going to an offense like this. The downside is you have a year or two of reshuffling your roster, even with the transfer portal available and you have to hope he gets the right guys and they don't lose Leonhard or drop off being one of the top defenses in the country for the past decade or so.

Fleck/MN and Frost/Nebraska is probably a decent comparison of good and bad. It took him 5-6 years to get here. He inherited a 9-win team but tore it down to rebuild his way. His team is going to win with defense and running RPO from the shotgun.

The thing is that I think (?) MN is clearly better than WI this year for the first time in forever. Not to say it won't happen again, but they have a team built from entirely 5th and 6th year guys.

Frost brought some similar stuff to Nebraska and watered down everything.

Regardless, even if bringing in an entirely new coach to make a slight change of direction on offensive scheme is your thing, by the time Leopold gets his stuff up and running, he may only have 3-4 years before he retires. If we're going to go that route, give me someone younger.

[LUKE23]

Yep, the obvious attraction of Leipold is that he's running an offense that is hard to defend. Obviously, they have a mobile QB, so that helps, but I also think that is the direction UW should go. Mobile QB with their same running game, run more RPO.

But yeah, the age comment is ridiculous. He's two years older than Chryst.

[Kerb Hohl]

Yep, the obvious attraction of Leipold is that he's running an offense that is hard to defend. Obviously, they have a mobile QB, so that helps, but I also think that is the direction UW should go. Mobile QB with their same running game, run more RPO.

But yeah, the age comment is ridiculous. He's two years older than Chryst.

It has little to do with Chryst's age and more to do with the fact that if you take a few years to redo things/lose Leonhard, you don't have many left for Leopold once everything is in place.

I agree they need to run more RPO. I am hoping Engram brings that over time.

[midranger]

I’ve definitely noticed an uptick in anti-Chryst sentiment IRL, not limited to anonymous message boards. I’ve said it before, but I think Chryst has been unwilling to do (what should be) the bare minimum in terms of fan relations. I know that “cancelling” the Spring Game three straight years, before just ending it altogether sticks in my craw having loved doing it with the kids prior to his arrival. Other than that, ignoring the Medota Gridiron Club until getting it shut down. Having zero visibility on campus. Offering no information to engage fans in interviews. Etc…

The only sense of connection or loyalty fans feel to him is in terms of Win and Losses. So, with the past 4.5 years being tumultuous on that front (to say the least, for the standard set the past 25 years), you see people willing to term on him quick.

Beyond that, it’s a schtick completely inappropriate for the modern NIL environment. And I think people understand that. If you can get 10k people for the spring games and get them each to donate $20 to some NIL slush fund, that’s 200k. That’s like 2 low end 4 star recruits or 1 high end 4 star at a position of need. Sitting down for a free steak once a year with 100 guys who donate 5k? That’s a five star guy. For 2 hours and a free steak.

I don’t get the guy.

[Ron Swanson]

In college football you are what you can recruit, and if you think that Chryst is simply a victim of his circumstances (having to rely largely on regional recruiting as a mid-sized Power-5 program), then I understand the trepidation about kicking him to the curb. But frankly and with how the college football landscape is changing, I think that's a cop-out answer. As others have stated, it's not as if PC is out there being super visible at the fundraisers/events, hitting the transfer portal hard, or making a significant effort to expand the program's outer-regional recruiting efforts.

[ReasonablySober]

Watch on YouTube

[Mags FTW]

In college football you are what you can recruit, and if you think that Chryst is simply a victim of his circumstances (having to rely largely on regional recruiting as a mid-sized Power-5 program), then I understand the trepidation about kicking him to the curb. But frankly and with how the college football landscape is changing, I think that's a cop-out answer. As others have stated, it's not as if PC is out there being super visible at the fundraisers/events, hitting the transfer portal hard, or making a significant effort to expand the program's outer-regional recruiting efforts.

Right.

Minnesota is a similar-sized P5 program, and you can argue they have more competition for a fanbase/$$$ with the Twins, Wolves, Vikes, Wild and Minnesota FC in the same market. Yet under Chryst's watch, we've gone from dominating them, to losing 2 of the last 4, and they are clearly better than us this year and we will be underdogs at home.

Which program is next to leapfrog us? Illinois with Bielema? Purdue?

If people want to argue we can never compete with OSU/Bama/etc. fine. But we are losing ground within our own division.

[Kerb Hohl]

In college football you are what you can recruit, and if you think that Chryst is simply a victim of his circumstances (having to rely largely on regional recruiting as a mid-sized Power-5 program), then I understand the trepidation about kicking him to the curb. But frankly and with how the college football landscape is changing, I think that's a cop-out answer. As others have stated, it's not as if PC is out there being super visible at the fundraisers/events, hitting the transfer portal hard, or making a significant effort to expand the program's outer-regional recruiting efforts.

Look, it sounds like I'm giving him every excuse I can, but that isn't the case. If we wanna go a different direction, fine.

I just don't understand the "we can just expand the recruiting boundaries" thing.

How?

There's a reason that North Dakota won't be surpassing California's economy anytime soon by just "scrounging up some cash" or whatever.

Everyone else gets the NIL benefits as well. Wisconsin can and will up its NIL spending but so will Texas and Ohio State. We're not going to suddenly pull players from the footprint of those schools by upping NIL money or something.

I don't know in what world Wisconsin will be suddenly offering a higher average NIL/salary whatever than Ohio State or Florida. To pull a kid from Cincinnati or Miami, they'd have to go well and beyond just matching those teams given you're asking a kid to relocate from Miami to Madison. It just isn't going to happen even with the new rules.

[Kerb Hohl]

In college football you are what you can recruit, and if you think that Chryst is simply a victim of his circumstances (having to rely largely on regional recruiting as a mid-sized Power-5 program), then I understand the trepidation about kicking him to the curb. But frankly and with how the college football landscape is changing, I think that's a cop-out answer. As others have stated, it's not as if PC is out there being super visible at the fundraisers/events, hitting the transfer portal hard, or making a significant effort to expand the program's outer-regional recruiting efforts.

Right.

Minnesota is a similar-sized P5 program, and you can argue they have more competition for a fanbase/$$$ with the Twins, Wolves, Vikes, Wild and Minnesota FC in the same market. Yet under Chryst's watch, we've gone from dominating them, to losing 2 of the last 4, and they are clearly better than us this year and we will be underdogs at home.

Which program is next to leapfrog us? Illinois with Bielema? Purdue?

If people want to argue we can never compete with OSU/Bama/etc. fine. But we are losing ground within our own division.

Fleck is a douche but a good coach. I will agree that Wisconsin needs to consider running the RPO and being more aggressive at kicking kids off the roster and pulling in transfers like Fleck does.

I'm not sure the Badgers will be underdogs at home. Right now Sagarin has it as a pick 'em and Minnesota is probably riding as high as they possibly will be in the metrics off of beating an overrated MSU team.

Fleck also has a 6th year senior at QB and I believe something like 18 of 22 starters are seniors in some form.

Wisconsin will have that next year.

I do think Illinois and Minnesota are catching Wisconsin but it has more to do with them finally being competent and not trying to be something they're not, literally copying Wisconsin.

Minnesota is running the ball and playing defense. Illinois is running the ball and playing defense. These teams sucked when they hired Ron Zook and Tim Brewster to "get a top 10 national recruiting class and throw the ball in the spread." They have some stability and competence now. Something the Badgers still have but are having a down year.

[MickeyDavis]

Something to look forward to Badger fans, Lisa is doing the Badgers/Bielemas game on BTN Saturday

[Kerb Hohl]

Pre or post-NIL, are there examples of teams that "expanded their recruiting boundaries" for any extended period of time?

Nebraska like 30 years ago running the option maybe got a good deal of Texas and Florida guys and won with roided up corn boys to go with them. Oregon, I guess? That's probably about it. Nike. I'm just not expecting Wisconsin to start drastically outpaying Ohio State, Alabama, etc.

[ReasonablySober]

A lot of Wisconsin fans sure seem to have a little brother syndrome. Even watching that video above with Temple and a couple national writers, you come away with the impression that Wisconsin should be content with the occasional bout of national relevance, instead of aiming for consistent top ten finishes.

Since their first ten win season in 1993, the Badgers have had 13 ten win seasons. The only schools since then with more ten win seasons are Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, FSU and Virginia Tech.

It'd be nice if people stopped making excuses for why Wisconsin can't be elite.

[Mags FTW]

Bottom Line: The playoff expansion is going to change everything. Since the Ron Dayne Era in '98, Wisconsin has finished Top 12 in the AP Poll 12 times, and 13th another. So roughly half the time we would've made a 12-Team playoff. That's the bar. Get your foot in the door and try to get hot and pull some upsets. And when this thing starts, we need to be in it to make ourselves attractive to recruits right off the bat. It would be devastating to still be where we are now in a couple of years and have a team like Minny, Illinois, etc. get in there first and be able to build momentum off of that instead of us.

[midranger]

A lot of Wisconsin fans sure seem to have a little brother syndrome. Even watching that video above with Temple and a couple national writers, you come away with the impression that Wisconsin should be content with the occasional bout of national relevance, instead of aiming for consistent top ten finishes.

Since their first ten win season in 1993, the Badgers have had 13 ten win seasons. The only schools since then with more ten win seasons are Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, FSU and Virginia Tech.

It'd be nice if people stopped making excuses for why Wisconsin can't be elite.

I think there are definitely some recruiting and monetary disadvantages that make it difficult to be at the elite level of college football consistently. But they were knocking on the door as recently as 6 years ago. We were literally one stalled drive at midfield against OSU away from the playoffs. That makes the trend since all the more frustrating. Feels like we’re nowhere even in the vicinity. For that, there’s no excuse.

[skones]

Look, it sounds like I'm giving him every excuse I can, but that isn't the case. If we wanna go a different direction, fine.

I just don't understand the "we can just expand the recruiting boundaries" thing.

How?

There's a reason that North Dakota won't be surpassing California's economy anytime soon by just "scrounging up some cash" or whatever.

Everyone else gets the NIL benefits as well. Wisconsin can and will up its NIL spending but so will Texas and Ohio State. We're not going to suddenly pull players from the footprint of those schools by upping NIL money or something.

I don't know in what world Wisconsin will be suddenly offering a higher average NIL/salary whatever than Ohio State or Florida. To pull a kid from Cincinnati or Miami, they'd have to go well and beyond just matching those teams given you're asking a kid to relocate from Miami to Madison. It just isn't going to happen even with the new rules.

Wisconsin grosses and spends more than Florida. UW has deep pockets, it's time to stop acting like we're this po-dunk midwestern program without resources, that we're woefully outgunned by other programs. We're not. What we need to do is stop playing boring football and make our program a place where kids actually want to play. There needs to be a philosophical shift. Same goes for the Basketball program.

And let's not go with the Miami to Madison BS. We going to sit here and act like Ann Arbor, Columbus, South Bend, Auburn, and Tuscaloosa are these desirable locales? C'mon. As a college town, Wisconsin actually has enormous advantages over many of these places. College sports are not dominated by major markets and cities.

Act and recruit like we know all of this stuff. The program needs personality. Gen Z ain't looking at Wisconsin's "we got big white bois from farms and we're gonna run in the cold cuz that's big ten football" and buying it. Like it or not, that tradition doesn't sell.

[ReginaldDwight]

What was the last truly cold game in Madison?

[Iheartfootball]

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[midranger]

There is exactly a 0% chance Wisconsin spent only 400k on recruiting.

Reported numbers like that can be massaged in any number of ways.