Badger Bits: Alvarez not worried about title race

Well, that week went by quickly. Hard to believe its actually Friday, but oh well.

Former Wisconsin head football coach and current athletic director Barry Alvarez told Andy Baggot of Madison.com that he is not concerned about Wisconsin's place in the Big Ten title race. With three weeks of football left to play, Alvarez says that thinking about a three-team tie for the Big Ten title is a little premature.

"There's a lot of playing left,'' he said. "I keep a close eye on it, but I'm not sitting here worrying or losing any sleep over it.'' ... "I like where we're sitting. You have to be in that mix.''

In other football news, running back John Clay has been named a Doak Walker semi-finalist.

Wisconsin's last Doak Walker award winner also won the Heisman Trophy: running back Ron Dayne. Since then, the Badgers have had three other Doak Walker semifinalists, including Anthony Davis in 2001, Brian Calhoun in 2005, and P.J. Hill in 2006.

Clay is also going to be a game-time decision for tomorrow, but the coaches are assuming that fellow running backs Montee Ball and James White will be able to carry the load.

Rittenberg also posted his predictions for Week 11 in the Big Ten. Which one will he get wrong to maintain his awesome streak of 4-1 weeks? Nobody knows.

Bret Bielema previews the Indiana game for UWBadgers.com here.

Tom Mulhern writes that corner back Antonio Fenelus' career game against Purdue was the result of hard work.

Wisconsin offensive lineman Bill Nagy is showing his versatility this year by stepping up and playing wherever he is needed, according to Mulhern.

Hockey

Blogger Tex Western at Sixty Minutes. No Alibis. No Regrets. writes about what he wants to see during the Badgers' weekend series against the North Dakota [Nickname Pending].

Basketball

Wisconsin's next basketball recruiting class is getting mixed reviews according to Madison.com

A Final Note

Make sure to check out this inspiring story of another young boy who's wish came true when he got to hang out with the Badger football team.

Finally, the Badgers will take on the Indiana Hoosiers tomorrow at 11:00 AM CST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2, so I don't want to hear any excuses for not watching! As always, keep it here at B5Q for gamethreads, predictions, and post-game analysis.

Have a good weekend!