Badger Bits: Fare thee well, Bart Miller

Offensive line coach/borderline folk hero Bart Miller won't be coaching at Wisconsin next season, according to Tom Mulhern. The news hasn't officially been announced, but anonymous sources apparently have it on good authority. We probably should have seen the writing on the wall after Gary Andersen insisted on bringing T.J. Woods with him from Utah State. Barry Alvarez mentioned at one point that he would like to see Miller retained, perhaps as the Badgers' new tight ends coach. That apparently won't be happening.

Miller oversaw a pronounced improvement in the offensive line after taking over for Mike Markuson after the Badgers' loss to Oregon State. He had drawn praise previously as a graduate assistant, and was the only one of Travis Frederick's three position coaches to be mentioned by name in his NFL Draft announcement. Wisconsin set a school record with 564 yards rushing against Indiana. Most recently, the Badgers rushed for 217 yards against a Stanford defense that had been giving up just 87.7 yards per game (2.84 YPC) heading into the Rose Bowl.

Miller's departure is disappointing. Rarely do fans get to see the direct effect a coach can have on a unit as clearly as they did this season when Miller was promoted, though that may say more about how poorly Markuson handled the line. Obviously, Bob Bostad laid a pretty solid foundation to build off. Still, it's clear that Miller meant a lot to those close to the program. He would have served as another strong link between the old administration and the new, too.

Ah well.

LINKS:

Bo Ryan and Co. were very candid following Sunday's win.

"Don't ask me, I have no idea how we could shoot like that," Ryan said after UW improved its record to 2-0 in the league and 11-4 overall.

Trouble ahead: Nine of Wisconsin's next 11 games come against teams currently ranked in the Top 18. The other two are against Iowa.

2014 recruit Craig Evans is opening up his recruitment.

Wrapping up: Aaron Rodgers is Super/Human.