South Dakota @ Wisco, 2:30 PM, BTN
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:13 pm
Perfect tune up for Nebraska.
•UPDATE: DL Kyle Costigan on crutches. LB Marcus Trotter not in uniform as well.
•UPDATE: Josh Oglesby is in uniform and led a contingent of players out of the tunnel and onto the field.
•UPDATE: Kyle French just made a 52-yarder in warmups, Didn't push that one to the right like last week in pregame.
•This is only the second time Wisconsin and South Dakota have played. The Badgers won the only meeting 48-7 on Sept., 20, 1975 in Madison.
•This is the sixth straight season UW has played an FCS team. The Badgers have won the previous five games by an average of 27.2 points.
•South Dakota is ranked 20th in the FCS coaches poll and 18th in the TSN poll.
•Wisconsin has won 31 consecutive regular-season games against nonconference opponents. Only LSU (35) has a longer streak.
•UW has won 22 straight nonconference regular-season home games, the fourth-longest such streak in the nation.
•The Badgers have won 10 consecutive regular-season games and 11 straight home games. The latter is tied for fifth-best in the country and eighth-longest in school history.
•Bret Bielema is 23-0 in regular-season nonconference wins. A victory today would put him all alone in second place - breaking a tie with Joe Paterno - for best start for a Big Ten coach. Fielding Yost was 41-0, so there's a long ways to go to reach the top.
•Wisconsin is 40-5 under Bielema when scoring first and 40-4 when leading at the half.
•The Badgers are 24-0 under Bielema when allowing 15 or fewer points.
•UW has scored at least 40 points in five of its last six regular-season games.
•The Badgers are fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 24 points in three games (8.0 average).
•Montee Ball has scored a touchdown in nine straight games with 22 rushing TDs (and 23 overall) in that span. No other back in the nation has scored as many in that span, with Oregon's LaMichael James next at 19.
•Ball is 19th on UW's all-time rushing list. With 13 yards he'll pass Ken Starch for 18th place, with 52 yards he'll pass Dave Mohapp for 17th place, with 57 yards he'll pass Larry Canada for 16th place and with 109 yards he'll pass Brooks Bollinger for 15th place.
•Russell Wilson in first half of games this season: 35-of-44 for 556 yards and six touchdowns, a 232.6 passing efficiency.
•Nick Toon needs 106 yards receiving to pass Jonathan Orr for ninth place on UW's all-time list.
•Toon's next reception will put him alone in sixth place on UW's all-time list. He needs seven catches to pass Chris Chambers for fifth place and 11 to pass his dad, Al Toon, for fourth place.
•Toon's next TD reception will move him into a tie for ninth place with Michael Jones on UW's all-time list.
•Today's honorary captain is Scott Starks.
•Scouts from the Chiefs and Titans are here.
•A representative from Florida Citrus Sports (i.e. Capital One Bowl) is here. I believe they have now been here for all three home games.