GT: Bucky at USC - 9/28/24 - 2:30 - CBS

[Mtsportsfan]

College football boils down to talent and the Badgers have very little compared to the top programs

There are some really good scheme designers in college too. Talent obviously matters but Phil Longo is not a coach that schemes a good offense

Dudes are just never open. Even the catches require good throws and zero YAC. You watch other teams and guys are consistently open.

Even if we do have a guy wide open( rare) our QB is so inaccurate we wouldn't get much yac! This has to be the worst QB we have had!

[midranger]

Also, hot take: it’s Mabrey time.

Locke ain’t it. He’s a back up on a group of 5 team. We’re going nowhere with the guy. Can’t run. Not accurate. No arm strength. Gets more balls batted than any QB I’ve ever seen. There’s nothing there.

I know that a redshirt doesn’t matter as much in current college football, but why burn it in a lost season?

Wait 4 more games and do it.

The reports out of camp weren’t glowing (that’s fine, he’s a true freshman) - I’m not sure he’s going to be better than Locke, who I also thought sucked coming into the year (there’s a theme here)

Because the season is lost. You don’t throw a freshman QB in there when there’s something to play for. Get the reps and lumps now. Figure out if he has anything to work with so you can budget your NIL for next year appropriately. If he’s good, you still have 3 years with him as starter. That’s more than adequate outcome. If he’s a disaster you start recruiting transfer QBs aggressively as soon as the season ends (we wouldn’t be bowl eligible)

[Ayt]

Also, hot take: it’s Mabrey time.

Locke ain’t it. He’s a back up on a group of 5 team. We’re going nowhere with the guy. Can’t run. Not accurate. No arm strength. Gets more balls batted than any QB I’ve ever seen. There’s nothing there.

Locke is garbage. He has no touch. I disagree that he has no arm strength. He often slings short and medium passes with way too much velocity while also being off target. His arm is more than fine for a top D1 program, he just has no idea how to play QB and never will.

[MVP2110]

I see a lot of people have zero patience here. This was Locke's 4th career start and 6th game with significant snaps. He's a sophomore QB thrown into an offense where two senior QBs struggled in before him. Locke might not be good but there is frankly just no way to know that for certain at this point. I certainly don't want to throw a true freshman to the Wolves that by all indication has looked like a true freshman in practice to this point.

I'm certainly not saying Braedyn Locke will be Jordan Love or anything but there were a ton of people saying Love wasn't it after 5ish games last year. We need to give Locke time to see if he can be a good starting QB

[MVP2110]

Just for reference, Braedyn Locke was Wisconsin's highest rated offensive player yesterday.

[MikeIsGood]

I see a lot of people have zero patience here. This was Locke's 4th career start and 6th game with significant snaps. He's a sophomore QB thrown into an offense where two senior QBs struggled in before him. Locke might not be good but there is frankly just no way to know that for certain at this point. I certainly don't want to throw a true freshman to the Wolves that by all indication has looked like a true freshman in practice to this point.

I'm certainly not saying Braedyn Locke will be Jordan Love or anything but there were a ton of people saying Love wasn't it after 5ish games last year. We need to give Locke time to see if he can be a good starting QB

I get where you're coming from, but the most alarming thing about watching Locke is his (in)accuracy. I really don't recall ever seeing anything like it; certainly not from a team I watch.

[MVP2110]

I see a lot of people have zero patience here. This was Locke's 4th career start and 6th game with significant snaps. He's a sophomore QB thrown into an offense where two senior QBs struggled in before him. Locke might not be good but there is frankly just no way to know that for certain at this point. I certainly don't want to throw a true freshman to the Wolves that by all indication has looked like a true freshman in practice to this point.

I'm certainly not saying Braedyn Locke will be Jordan Love or anything but there were a ton of people saying Love wasn't it after 5ish games last year. We need to give Locke time to see if he can be a good starting QB

I get where you're coming from, but the most alarming thing about watching Locke is his (in)accuracy. I really don't recall ever seeing anything like it; certainly not from a team I watch.

Pff had Locke with an adjusted completion % of 66.7% which isn't great but hardly castrophic.

[MikeIsGood]

I see a lot of people have zero patience here. This was Locke's 4th career start and 6th game with significant snaps. He's a sophomore QB thrown into an offense where two senior QBs struggled in before him. Locke might not be good but there is frankly just no way to know that for certain at this point. I certainly don't want to throw a true freshman to the Wolves that by all indication has looked like a true freshman in practice to this point.

I'm certainly not saying Braedyn Locke will be Jordan Love or anything but there were a ton of people saying Love wasn't it after 5ish games last year. We need to give Locke time to see if he can be a good starting QB

I get where you're coming from, but the most alarming thing about watching Locke is his (in)accuracy. I really don't recall ever seeing anything like it; certainly not from a team I watch.

Pff had Locke with an adjusted completion % of 66.7% which isn't great but hardly castrophic.

Lol, ok. I really don't care what an advanced stat says his completion percentage is - which you may scoff at, but my eyes on his throws to our receivers say this guy does not remotely have it. His throws are terrible, man.

[MVP2110]

I get where you're coming from, but the most alarming thing about watching Locke is his (in)accuracy. I really don't recall ever seeing anything like it; certainly not from a team I watch.

Pff had Locke with an adjusted completion % of 66.7% which isn't great but hardly castrophic.

Lol, ok. I really don't care what an advanced stat says his completion percentage is - which you may scoff at, but my eyes on his throws to our receivers say this guy does not remotely have it. His throws are terrible, man.

I just fundamentally disagree that his throws looked that bad yesterday, especially to the point where I'd write him off completely after his 1st start this season.

[BUCKnation]

I get where you're coming from, but the most alarming thing about watching Locke is his (in)accuracy. I really don't recall ever seeing anything like it; certainly not from a team I watch.

Pff had Locke with an adjusted completion % of 66.7% which isn't great but hardly castrophic.

Lol, ok. I really don't care what an advanced stat says his completion percentage is - which you may scoff at, but my eyes on his throws to our receivers say this guy does not remotely have it. His throws are terrible, man.

I made mulitiple posts in the thread about it but I fully agree with this. You could blame the scheme or wr group, but he missed a ton a of open guys yesterday on short/intermediate routes.

[coolhandluke121]

I thought the defense was actually pretty good, but the USC WRs catch basically everything thrown anywhere near them (except that TD that should have been ruled a drop in the 1st quarter of course). They're an incredible group. Pressure was okay, but needs to be better for the defense to have a chance because pass protection is a USC weakness.

The Badger secondary is really, really good, but they were still no match for those WRs, and a good secondary can't make up for a weak front 7. The ILBs are absolutely useless - worst I've ever seen at UW, and it's probably not even close.

The whole post is spot on! Especially the linebackers, they may have speed , but they are absolutely clueless with zero physically!

The trade-off for speed is supposed to be better pass coverage, but we're not seeing that either, are we? They're just lost. Literally no better in coverage than the run-stopper extraordinaire Jack Sanborn types we're used to, at least as far as I can tell.

Chaney hardly ever goes to the ground. I've noticed that since his first year at UW. He's constantly avoiding contact and managing to be on his feet watching at the end of a play when nearly everyone else is in a pile.

[coolhandluke121]

The lack of touch is a concern with Locke. He's also visibly struggling to see over defenders, and he has wooden pegs for legs. His arm is actually pretty solid though, and we shouldn't take his decision-making for granted, as that's been good too. Accuracy could improve with reps.

Overall, I'm actually a little more optimistic about their chances of a winning season than I was a few weeks ago, but that's not saying much.

[Kerb Hohl]

Also, hot take: it’s Mabrey time.

Locke ain’t it. He’s a back up on a group of 5 team. We’re going nowhere with the guy. Can’t run. Not accurate. No arm strength. Gets more balls batted than any QB I’ve ever seen. There’s nothing there.

I know that a redshirt doesn’t matter as much in current college football, but why burn it in a lost season?

Wait 4 more games and do it.

The reports out of camp weren’t glowing (that’s fine, he’s a true freshman) - I’m not sure he’s going to be better than Locke, who I also thought sucked coming into the year (there’s a theme here)

Because the season is lost. You don’t throw a freshman QB in there when there’s something to play for. Get the reps and lumps now. Figure out if he has anything to work with so you can budget your NIL for next year appropriately. If he’s good, you still have 3 years with him as starter. That’s more than adequate outcome. If he’s a disaster you start recruiting transfer QBs aggressively as soon as the season ends (we wouldn’t be bowl eligible)

He can still play 4 games later to find out, but I’ll tell you this:

There may be limited confidence in Fickell or Longo, but I still have enough faith that if Mettauer is going to be a top 30 QB in the NCAA in 2025, he’d already have surpassed Locke easily on the depth chart.

I’d say it’s a 99% chance they’ll be hitting the portal or I guess bringing back TVD.

[midranger]

I know that a redshirt doesn’t matter as much in current college football, but why burn it in a lost season?

Wait 4 more games and do it.

The reports out of camp weren’t glowing (that’s fine, he’s a true freshman) - I’m not sure he’s going to be better than Locke, who I also thought sucked coming into the year (there’s a theme here)

Because the season is lost. You don’t throw a freshman QB in there when there’s something to play for. Get the reps and lumps now. Figure out if he has anything to work with so you can budget your NIL for next year appropriately. If he’s good, you still have 3 years with him as starter. That’s more than adequate outcome. If he’s a disaster you start recruiting transfer QBs aggressively as soon as the season ends (we wouldn’t be bowl eligible)

He can still play 4 games later to find out, but I’ll tell you this:

There may be limited confidence in Fickell or Longo, but I still have enough faith that if Mettauer is going to be a top 30 QB in the NCAA in 2025, he’d already have surpassed Locke easily on the depth chart.

I’d say it’s a 99% chance they’ll be hitting the portal or I guess bringing back TVD.

Not sure… because there’s the obvious complicating factor of having taken Locke’s younger brother as the only QB in the next cycle. Pass Locke over and you might lose 2 guys and be left with a completely bare room. Also the odds are stacked against literally any freshman QB being a top 30 guy as a sophomore, but it may be worth figuring out. Locke has had a chance to show something and he’s not it.

He just destroys our options on offense. He could pull the read option at any point and gain 15 yards because the defense crashes in knowing he won’t. Don’t know what he’s saving it for, but he hasn’t done it in two years. If a college QB can’t/won’t run ever, he better be deadly accurate and/or possess a strong arm to push down field. Locke is neither. He also throws into the wrong window constantly leading to batted balls. You’re stuck running short to intermediate routes that are thrown inaccurately and deep shots that are underthrown that the WR needs to make a spectacular play on (the one Anthony throw notwithstanding).

There’s just nothing there to work with. No size, no arm talent, no accuracy, no athleticism. Nothing. It’s not like he doesn’t know the playbook and will get better with reps. That is his supposed singular strength. His limitations are impossible to overcome.

[Kerb Hohl]

Because the season is lost. You don’t throw a freshman QB in there when there’s something to play for. Get the reps and lumps now. Figure out if he has anything to work with so you can budget your NIL for next year appropriately. If he’s good, you still have 3 years with him as starter. That’s more than adequate outcome. If he’s a disaster you start recruiting transfer QBs aggressively as soon as the season ends (we wouldn’t be bowl eligible)

He can still play 4 games later to find out, but I’ll tell you this:

There may be limited confidence in Fickell or Longo, but I still have enough faith that if Mettauer is going to be a top 30 QB in the NCAA in 2025, he’d already have surpassed Locke easily on the depth chart.

I’d say it’s a 99% chance they’ll be hitting the portal or I guess bringing back TVD.

Not sure… because there’s the obvious complicating factor of having taken Locke’s younger brother as the only QB in the next cycle. Pass Locke over and you might lose 2 guys and be left with a completely bare room. Also the odds are stacked against literally any freshman QB being a top 30 guy as a sophomore, but it may be worth figuring out. Locke has had a chance to show something and he’s not it.

He just destroys our options on offense. He could pull the read option at any point and gain 15 yards because the defense crashes in knowing he won’t. Don’t know what he’s saving it for, but he hasn’t done it in two years. If a college QB can’t/won’t run ever, he better be deadly accurate and/or possess a strong arm to push down field. Locke is neither. He also throws into the wrong window constantly leading to batted balls. You’re stuck running short to intermediate routes that are thrown inaccurately and deep shots that are underthrown that the WR needs to make a spectacular play on (the one Anthony throw notwithstanding).

There’s just nothing there to work with. No size, no arm talent, no accuracy, no athleticism. Nothing. It’s not like he doesn’t know the playbook and will get better with reps. That is his supposed singular strength. His limitations are impossible to overcome.

This is mostly all true about Locke.

What you say about Mettauer that he “won’t be a top 30 guy as a sophomore” is why they will hit the portal again. Everyone does for this reason.

I guess he could play 7-8 games this year and then redshirt next year behind TVD, but it all gets weird if he has a subpar (understandable) true freshman year and either you’re not even sure if you want him back or he has to give up the role for potentially several years.