patrickdaley.com

I never want to hear anyone rip on John Stocco again. Ever. Yeah, so he is not Michael Vick. He is not going to rush for 100 yards in a game and Wisconsin is not going to run the option. So what. People seem to like Brett Favre just fine around the state of Wisconsin. Stocco is a talented quarterback that came into this season with an untested receiving corps and starting back. He may have made some mistakes in his first year as a starter, but now he is ranked 18th in the country in pass efficiency and is second in the Big Ten to Troy Smith, a Heisman favorite. He has thrown two picks and 12 touchdowns. So the next time you take a deep breath with the intent of letting out a sigh over the play of Stocco do everyone a favor and hold it in.

What a game this past Saturday! Someone should have told Minnesota to send the football team because I swear there were soccer players on that field. Minnesota did not have control at any point in the game as Stocco threw four touchdown passes and Hill ran for two. I got to see Ryan and Garrett in addition to hanging out with my brother and his roommates. On Friday night we watched the homecoming parade. All in all a perfect weekend.

The Badgers still have Purdue, Penn State, and Iowa to contend with this season, but they are all winnable games. Iowa managed to lose to Indiana. Indiana! The Badgers went up 52-0 at Indiana. Penn State is not as tough as they were last year and we have them at home. We are at a 5-2 Purdue team this Saturday, with a 35-21 loss to Notre Dame and a 47-17 loss to Iowa. Painter is a good quarterback and he has good receivers, but then again so does Minnesota. Even though we have beaten up on lesser teams as of late I really like how the offense is working right now. Purdue is averaging 30 points per game while also giving up an average of 30 points per game. Purdue is ranked 90th in the country in run defense. Wisconsin on the other hand is averaging 34 points per game while giving up only 13. Purdue will be our biggest test since we played Michigan, but I am confident the Badgers can pull out a victory. Ohio State and Michigan sit atop the Big Ten and there is no doubt that Ohio State will win out the rest of its games leading up to the Michigan game at the end of the season. The only question on Michigan’s schedule other than Ohio State is Iowa. Could we see an enraged Iowa team take down Michigan and watch Ohio State walk away with a win November 18th, with Michigan finishing the season with two losses? Probably not, but stranger things have happened. Either way, I think the Badgers have a good shot at running the table to finish with an 11-1 record and come January I plan to be somewhere warm.