Badgers are Red, Brewers are Blue

While the Brewers have been finding different ways to lose of late, the Wisconsin Badgers were getting their season kicked off in impressive fashion out west in Vegas. Football is finally back, and praise the good lord that it is. So what should I get out of the way first, the good news or the bad news? Screw it, I’m feeling good right now so let’s save the depressing Brewers for the second part of this post.

Note: You can also read the next part of this post on the official Badgers Blog within the next couple of days on jsonline along with a few other views on our Badgers roundtable.

What went right: It was easy to see that the Badgers were the better team as Wisconsin was dominant throughout the game...although this really only showed on paper in the 3rd quarter. Tolzien was efficient, the defense was stifling and the run game was bruising. All three rushers had 10+ carries and each averaged five yards or better. Bucky outgained the Runnin' Rebels by 258 yards, including a ridiculous 279 to 12 in the first half. It's also important to note that special teams were another positive. Philip Welch converted on both field goals and all five extra points while Brad Nortman averaged over 45 yards per punt when he was actually called upon.

What went wrong: Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers...this game ended up being a no-contest, but if you tuned in just before halftime, it certainly didn't seem that way. Tolzien tossed a pick six in the first and receiver Nick Toon put the pigskin on the deck right before reaching the goal line only to see it returned 82 yards in the other direction. The Rebels really only put together one solid drive when it didn't matter late in the game. The secondary may also be a red flag. Safety Jay Valai was caught looking in the backfield on UNLV's first TD pass. They were also responsible for yielding the third UNLV touchdown via the air. However, the D managed to avoid the big play and keep everything in front of them.

Player of the game: John Clay

I'm not going to sit here and pretend like Clay wasn't the man on Saturday night. He set the tone early with the first touchdown drive and put the game away with his 16-yard scamper into the end zone in the third. Badger fans have to love what they saw not just out of Clay, but the entire running game. I'm excited for what the future holds with Montee Ball and especially true freshman (!) James White.
Next up on the slate is San Jose State for the Badgers’ home opener next Saturday at 11 AM. This game really isn’t going to show much…the starters will jump out to a lead and the reserves will come in and preserve the lead the remainder of the game. In other words, if you’re looking for a game that will show the Badgers’ true colors, this isn’t where to look. In fact, neither was the UNLV game. Once Bucky meets up with Michigan State in East Lansing on October 2nd, a true test should follow.

And the bad news. Yourrrrrrr Milwaukee Brewers! Friday night the Brewers had a mis-communication in the outfield on a fly ball hit by the Philadelphia Phillies’ Placido Polanco. It appeared that Braun was on his way to catch the ball, but then lunged at it at the last second only to see it fall to the ground. Lorenzo Cain technically should’ve called off Braun since he was already in the vicinity, but he never did. It was loud and a little league mistake…enough said. Polanco ended up with a double and eventually scored the first run of the game. Well…as long as the Brewers don’t lose 1-0, I thought, this shouldn’t really be the difference maker.

Final score: Phillies 1, Brewers 0

Okay moving on…

The next night, I was at a wedding reception so I had no choice but to not watch the Brewers game. Sad, I know. Either way, my cousin was getting updates on the game as the night went along and as I was taking full advantage of the open bar. I had heard that the Brewers at one point had grabbed a 4-3 lead thanks to two solo shots by Corey Hart. When I got home later that night, I noticed that the Brewers had fallen 5-4 to the Phils (Kameron Loe was the loser and had pitched two innings the night before…Macha). I was interested to see how the Brewers found a way to lose this game as well, and the highlights didn’t disappoint. The Phillies had runners on second and third when that Polanco guy showed up again. Polanco hit a sacrifice fly to Ryan Braun, who made a pretty good throw towards home to try and gun down the runner tagging up. Brewers’ catcher Jonathon Lucroy then side stepped the runner to avoid a collision, allowing him to score and the ball to go to the backstop. Loe managed to get to the ball and throw it back to Lucroy, but it was too late as the runner from second just managed to sneak under the tag. Congratulations, Dave Bush. You got screwed out of another win.

Final score: Phillies 5, Brewers 4

Note: The Brewers did manage to win game 3. Hooray for not getting swept on the road trip!

As I mentioned before, the Badgers play San Jose State next Saturday. Then, the much anticipated season opener for the Green Bay Packers will take place on Sunday at 3:15 at Philadelphia. Let’s hope the Pack fairs better than our beloved Brewers in the city of brotherly hate.