Thank goodness Badger football is back soon. Bye weeks just seem to go by so much slower!
Even after his go-ahead touchdown against Iowa, running back Montee Ball still learned a lesson from running backs coach John Settle according to Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. If you recall, Ball reached with the ball at the end of the run to try and break the plane of the goal line, but lost control of the ball soon after.
While Ball's effort to extend the ball over the plane of the goal line was eventually confirmed as a touchdown by the referees, Settle wanted him to learn that he made a fundamental error- one that could have had serious consequences.
"He understands that if the ball would have been ruled a fumble that it would have been a disaster," Settle said earlier this week. "He understands the risk he put everybody at."
One main reason for the Wisconsin's success this season is that the Badgers have been taking care of the football very well. Wisconsin is tied for second in the nation in fumbles lost with two, and star running back John Clay has zero fumbles in 161 touches.
More Badger Bits after the jump!
Football
Make sure to check out Bret Bielema's post-practice notes from Thursday on UWBadgers.com!
Madison.com continued their series of player interviews with "Five good minutes with Phillip Welch."
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com lays out each team's rooting interest for this week's Big Ten games, as well as a few out of conference matchups.
Barry Alvarez spoke to Mike Lucas of UWBadgers.com about the need for upgrades to the McClain center, because he thinks that the quality of Wisconsin's facilities has fallen behind other Big Ten teams.
Hammer and Rails, SB Nation's excellent Purdue blog, previews the Badger football team heading into Saturday's game in West Lafayette.
Despite spraining his ankle, tight end Lance Kendricks likes playing on special teams and wants to return to the unit once he is ready to play again.
Hockey
The Wisconsin men's hockey team will feature a sibling rivalry when the Badgers take on Minnesota tonight and Saturday night. Defenseman Jake Gardiner will face off against his younger brother Max, who is a freshman winger on with the Golden Gophers.
Sixty Minutes. No Alibis. No Regrets. has a lineup analysis up for Friday's matchup with the Gophers.
Basketball
Wisconsin senior forward Jon Leuer was named Sports Illustrated.com's preseason Big Ten Player of the year.
In Conclusion
Wisconsin vs. Purdue kicks off at 11:00 AM on the Big Ten Network! Keep it here at B5Q for predictions, as well as pre-game and post-game analysis.
Have a great weekend!