Greetings Fellow Badgers! First some business to take care of... The Boston Area Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Club has graciously extended an invitation to the Connecticut & Western Massachusetts Badgers to join them in celebrating their annual Boston Badger Bratfest at the Head of the Charles Regatta on Sunday, October 19th. Enjoy brats, Bucky, and Babcock ice cream while watching the crew team races. They are offering us a special reduced admission price of $20, with a request that you register online by October 12th. For a link to the registration site and more information, go to Events page at http://www.ctbadgers.com/. While the Connecticut club is not planning an organized trip up to the regatta, I'd be happy to coordinate between any parties that might be interested in car pooling or otherwise meeting up with other Connecticut Badgers once you're up there. E-mail me at CTBadger83@aol.com and I'll put you in touch with other interested parties. Now back to football... Whew – what a game the Badgers had in Fresno last Saturday night. Once again (ala Matt Bernstein), the fullback saves the day for the Badgers. In case you didn't manage to stay up until about 1:30 am, with the Badgers leading 13-10, 1:55 on the clock, second-and-8, and the Badgers on their own 3 yard line, Bill Rentmeester ran straight up the middle to gain a first down and allow the Badgers to run the clock out on the next series of downs. He was hit before reaching the first down marker but managed to keep moving forward, with the help of the offensive line, sliding over a few bodies along the way to get the extra yardage. And, speaking of that offensive line, through three games, they have not allowed a sack, one of only 8 teams in the nation with such a record. The Rentmeester play was the last in a strange game, filled with missed field goals (on Fresno State's side), botched punts, a blown fumble call, and a number of other things that could have turned the score dramatically one way or the other. I don't know about you, but I just breathed a big sigh of relief when it was all over. The blown fumble call that I allude to above is worthy of a little more discussion. In case you missed it, it's available for review on YouTube? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QPVD_gmY1w... you make your own call! With just over three minutes to go in the third quarter and Wisconsin up 13-7, the momentum appeared to be turning towards Fresno State. Deep in their own territory, Fresno WR Devon Wylie caught a pass and then fumbled on the 18 yard line. The Badgers recovered, immediately putting them in field goal range. The refs on the field called the interception. But Pat Hill, Fresno's coach, questioned whether or not there was going to be a review of the play and finally issued a coach's challenge. To those of us watching on TV, it was obvious that Wylie caught the ball, took one step, then another, was hit hard, dropped the ball, and Wisconsin recovered. The ensuing booth review took about two minutes, however, way too long for such an obvious call. The announcers in the booth were wondering why, and Ed Cunningham, the sideline reporter who was right in front of the play, commented that it was clearly a fumble. Then the decision came back from the booth? it was the Bulldog's ball. So not only had the replay official blown the call, but he reversed the call on the field without conclusive evidence to show it was a fumble. In fact, the camera footage from other angles clearly confirmed the on-the-field call. Fresno State proceeded to march down the field to a field goal, keeping their momentum alive and setting the stage for a nerve-wracking fourth quarter. Frustrating, but not as had as it would have been had the Badgers lost the game! Late-Breaking Update: WAC Acknowledges Replay Error in Wisconsin-Fresno State Game DENVER - Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson acknowledged today that the replay official in the Sept. 13 Wisconsin-Fresno State game was in error when he overturned a fumble call during the third quarter of the game. Wisconsin won the game 13-10. "The WAC holds officials accountable for their performance," said Benson. "And when errors are made, especially those that may have an impact on the outcome of a game, it is necessary to hold an official accountable for the mistake." NCAA rules require that there be indisputable video evidence in order to overturn a call made by an official on the field. Benson went on to say, "After reviewing video of the play with Jim Blackwood, WAC supervisor of football officials, we concluded there was not indisputable evidence. Thus, per NCAA rules the play should not have been overturned." The WAC evaluates and grades officials after each game. At the end of the season, these evaluations are used to determine officiating assignments for bowl games and whether an official is retained for the following year. Senior linebacker DeAndre Levy scored a national honor after the game, as he was named the Bronco Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America. Levy had a team-high nine tackles, four of them for loss, a QB sack, an interception (which led to the Badgers' lone touchdown) and a pass breakup. He was also named Big Ten defensive player of the week. The Badgers moved up to #8 in both football polls, bypassing OSU, who fell to # 13/14 with their loss against USC. This coming weekend is a bye weekend for the Badgers, so once again, there will be no football watching at Rookies. The September 27th game against Michigan has been scheduled for 3:30 pm. The game will be carried by ABC but I haven't seen any regional coverage maps, so I can't tell you yet whether you'll be able to watch it locally. More news will be provided next week. Until then... On Wisconsin! Edit |
