Want an overview of the state of Wisconsin athletics? Look no further; we will take you through the Wisconsin teams that are trending up, trending down, and more.

To the tune of “My Favorite Things”
♫ Shutouts in football
and goals for Cole Caufield
beating the Gophers in v-ball and soccer
and women’s hockey swept Ohio State
these are a Badger fan’s favorite things! ♫

Stock Up ↑

No. 7 volleyball (10-4 overall, 6-0 conference) ↑

Wisconsin thoroughly dominated No. 6 Minnesota (11-3, 5-1) to the tune of a 3-0 sweep. It was Wisconsin’s first victory over the Gophers since 2014.

The Badgers held Minnesota to a measly .160 hitting percentage, and the Gophers failed to score more than 20 points in any set.

The Badgers are alone on top of the Big Ten standings thanks to Michigan suffering its first conference loss.

No. 6 football (6-0, 3-0) ↑

As evidenced by Georgia’s loss, we are in that period of the football season when pretenders start getting picked off. If Wisconsin is a pretender, Saturday’s game against Michigan State would have been a prime time for UW to suffer its first loss.

However, the evidence is overwhelming now that the Badgers are in this for the long haul. They may not beat OSU, but they are right there with the Buckeyes.

We have all the football coverage you need here at B5Q; stay tuned for more news and analysis!

Stock Down ↓

Men’s basketball’s (0-0) shooting ↓

You know things are going well when the only thing I can find for “stock down” is shooting percentage in an exhibition.

In the basketball version of The Greatest by Kenny Rodgers, Wisconsin held itself to 15-of-55 shooting (27.3%). Even I didn’t know the Badgers defense was that good.

Holding high ⮣

No. 1 women’s hockey (6-0-0, 2-0-0) ⮣

Things are good for Wisconsin after it swept No. 8 OSU (4-2-0, 0-2-0). After the weekend, four of the top six scores in the country skate for the Badgers and head coach Mark Johnson. Speaking of Johnson, he earned career win No. 500 thanks to the sweep.

Daryl Watts has scored in every game and leads the country in goals (7), assists (11) and points (18). Kristen Campbell is third in the country in goals against average (.88).

No. 12 women’s soccer (10-2-1, 6-0-0) ⮣

Wisconsin took care of business against with a 1-0 win over lowly Minnesota (2-10-3, 1-5-1). Dani Rhodes scored the Badgers’ lone goal, goalie Jordyn Bloomer earned her career shutout No. 16 and Wisconsin out-shot the Gophers 19-7.

Increased volatility ⟿

No. 16 men’s hockey (1-1-0) ⟿

The badgers struggled defensively in a 5-3 loss to No. 10 Boston College (2-0), but they blew the doors off of Merrimack (0-3-0) with an 11-5 victory. The story of the weekend is freshman Cole Caufield’s pair of multi-goal games to start his career with the Badgers.

The Badgers offense is there, and if they can tighten up the defense, Wisconsin will be a serious post-season contender.

Stabilizing →

Jack Coan →

After a rocky performance against Northwestern, Coan has recovered with a pair of nice performances against Kent State and Michigan State.

Listen, I love the backup quarterback as much as the next guy. I’m even on record saying that Paul Chryst should pick a random UW student ID number and start them at QB. That’s how much of a hack I am. However, Coan’s passing line of 18-of-21 for 180 yards and a TD is nothing to sneeze at.

If opponents make Coan beat them, he probably will.

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Staying down ⮡

Men’s soccer (2-9-1, 0-3-1) ⮡

The Badgers lost 3-0 to Rutgers (7-3-2, 1-3-1) to take sole possession of last place in the Big Ten.