The Wisconsin Badgers are going to finish the 2013 college
football regular season at 9-3, and 6-2 in Big Ten Conference Play. The Badgers are now headed for the Capital One Bowl following the events of the
Auburn-Alabama game this weekend, as Vern Lundquist called it, “an answered
prayer”. The Alabama
loss puts Ohio State Michigan
State Michigan State Ohio State Wisconsin into the Capital One Bowl
regardless. Yes the Badgers run of three straight Big Ten Championships is
over, but overall a successful season.
Well if the Badgers had a successful season, they why are we
talking about them needing to make a change at quarterback? The success this
season for Wisconsin
had nothing to do with Joel Stave. Rather the 9-3 record is due to the play of
running backs Melvin Gordon and James White, as well as the fact that this
defense was sixth in the nation in points per game at 14.8. Stave had nothing
to do with it. In fact, Stave at times hampered Wisconsin .
Does Wisconsin Replace Quarterback Stave?
I understand the Badgers are not
exactly known for great quarterback play, but their quarterbacks have always
been good caretakers of the football and of time of possession. Stave’s play in
2013 started out okay, but got gradually worse as the season went on, and this
last Saturday, in the 31-24 loss against Penn State, Stave was just plain
awful. He finished the game 29-53 with 339 yards and three interceptions. Don’t
let the passing yards fool you, he played terrible.
I don’t think they will make a change before the bowl game.
There is no reason to play Curt Phillips in the bowl game and it wouldn’t be a
good idea to give any of the freshmen the start. They have gone this far with
Stave, might as well let him finish the job. There are a lot of people who
think that just because a player isn’t going to be in the team’s plan next
season, he should be benched. I say let him finish the job he signed up for. But
come the offseason, it may be time to look at other options. Right now, outside
of Stave, and senior Curt Phillips, the Badgers have a lot of unknowns on the
roster. Two freshmen who certainly look the part, Thad Armstrong and Bart
Houston come to mind. Conner Senger, a freshman from Milwaukee that I have personally interviewed,
is undersized but is a good football player. Another option would be a sophomore
named Tanner McEvoy.
Bottom line, whether it is Joel Stave, or someone else, the
Badgers need better play out of the quarterback play out of the quarterback
position then what Stave gave them this season.
