Wisconsin Badgers

[daleko]

Camp Randall 100: Charles Lindbergh

Ten years after Camp Randall Stadium was built, it hosted perhaps the most famous person in the world, a history-maker and former UW-Madison student. His return to Madison was greeted by the closing of area stores as well as the state Capitol, a parade of nearly 100 cars with a police motorcycle escort down State Street and a crowd of approximately 40,000 people at the relatively new stadium.

The date was Aug. 22, 1927, and the man was Charles Lindbergh.

Just three months earlier, Lindbergh had become the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. He received international acclaim and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Calvin Coolidge.

Lindbergh’s interest in aviation was born as a student at UW-Madison. While living with a friend, Delos Dudley, on Regent Street he built the first propeller-driven craft he would ever pilot: an ice boat, made with a cast-off airplane parts. An engineering student, Lindbergh dropped out of UW in 1922 without receiving his degree to pursue his passion, travelling to Lincoln, Nebraska, the home of the Nebraska Aircraft Association.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, He rose quickly, but was still an unknown when he cajoled businessmen in St. Louis to fund the construction of a plane designed to tackle the Atlantic. The Spirit of St. Louis was born.

On May 20 and 21, 1927, Lindbergh flew from New York City to Paris, nonstop, becoming the first person to complete a solo transatlantic flight. A star was born.

On the day he returned to Madison, Lindbergh, in the Spirit of St. Louis, circled the Capitol dome three times. He then flew over Camp Randall at a height of 200 feet, then west a few blocks, buzzing the homes of friends in University Heights. He landed at Pennco Field, which today is the site of South Towne Mall, and was ushered to Camp Randall.

There, according to the State Journal, UW President (Glenn) Frank predicted that Lindbergh’s flight would end war. ‘A world in which New York and Paris are only 33 1/2 hours apart is only a neighborhood, and in such an intimate neighborhood we dare not tolerate narrow nationalism and swashbuckling jingoisms.’

Later that day, Lindbergh dedicated the Memorial Union by laying a wreath at its cornerstone. As he was leaving Madison, he told reporters, “My greatest regret is that this tour … doesn’t allow me to visit here in Madison for a longer time.

“Madison certainly was 100 percent. I appreciate very greatly what the people here have done for me.”

Lindbergh returned to Madison again a year later to accept an honorary degree from UW, completing yet another journey.

[daleko]

Camp Randall 100: Brett Favre

For many football fans in the state of Wisconsin, a dream weekend consists of a Badgers home game at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday and a Packers home game at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Last year, in UW’s season-opener vs. LSU in Green Bay, those two worlds were combined with great fanfare. But that wasn’t the first time.

As early as 1966, the state legislature urged the UW Board of Regents to invite the Packers to play an exhibition game at Camp Randall Stadium with the proceeds going to charity. In early 1973, Wisconsin Gov. Patrick Lucey discussed the possibility of the Packers holding an exhibition game in Madison with Packers President Dominic Olejniczak, noting that Camp Randall had approximately 50 percent more seats than Lambeau Field or County Stadium in Milwaukee.

Finally, on Oct. 9, 1985, after what UW athletic director Elroy Hirsch said was 14 years’ worth of discussions, the two sides announced that the Packers would hold an exhibition game at Camp Randall Stadium in August of the next season.

“I am really thrilled,” Hirsch said at the time. “It’s been a project close to my heart over the years and I’m glad that all of our work has resulted in a fine attraction for Wisconsin and Green Bay Packer fans alike.”

That first game, a 38-14 Packers win over the Jets, had a distinct Badger feel to it. Randy Wright started at quarterback for Green Bay and running back Gary Ellerson accounted for 71 yards on 12 carries and two first-half touchdowns. On the other side, Al Toon had two catches for 19 yards for the Jets. The crowd of 73,959 was the largest to watch the Packers in the state of Wisconsin.

Over the next 14 years, the Packers played 12 exhibition games in Madison, going 9-3 at Camp Randall Stadium. The final six games featured a noted gunslinger who grew into a Packers legend.

On Aug. 16, 1992, Brett Favre made his second appearance for the Packers. Traded from the Atlanta Falcons during the offseason, he tossed the winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of his Green Bay debut a week earlier. Against the Jets in his Camp Randall Stadium debut, Favre started the second half and immediately led a 20-play drive. However, as the Packers lined up for a 36-yard field goal attempt, one thing was missing, the holder. It was Favre. He raced back onto the field and proceeded to fumble the snap, botching the attempt.

“I just plain forgot I was supposed to hold,” Favre said after the game.

He finished the game 19-of-28 for 181 yards with 2 interceptions as the Jets won, 24-7.

The following season, Favre started his first game at Camp Randall and saw his first pass intercepted by the Saints. He bounced back nicely, tossing a TD pass on the Packers’ next drive and leading Green Bay to a 17-0 lead after the first quarter. New Orleans rallied for a 26-17 win with Favre going 7-of-14 for 67 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Favre started the next three Packers games held at Camp Randall (1994, 1995 and 1997), seeing limited playing time in each. That was the plan in what turned out to be Green Bay’s final game in Madison, on Aug. 23, 1999, against the Denver Broncos, but the plan was cut even shorter.

The game, a Monday Night Football broadcast on ABC, drew another Wisconsin-record crowd of 78,184 fans despite a driving rainfall. Favre started once again but left after eight plays when he was knocked to the ground by John Mobley and landed awkwardly on his right hand. Favre stayed on the sideline for the first half but watched the second half from the locker room. The Packers said no X-rays were taken of Favre’s hand and the injury wasn’t serious (bruised thumb). It turned out to only be a scare as Favre started the Packers’ next game just five days later.

Favre’s Camp Randall career encapsulated six games (five starts). His numbers in Madison were 41-of-69 for 386 yards with one TD and four interceptions.
“Obviously we were not here to watch stellar football, but it was really awesome to be back with the guys.”
— Brett Favre on the NFL Legends game

Following Favre’s retirement and reconciliation with the Packers, he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame on July 18, 2015. One day later, Favre returned to Camp Randall Stadium to host Brett Favre’s Legends Game, a charity flag football game featuring a team of former Packers against a team of NFL All-Stars, featuring UW Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne.

A crowd of more than 20,000 fans was on hand and saw Favre’s team pull out a 38-32 victory.

“Obviously we were not here to watch stellar football, but it was really awesome to be back with the guys,” Favre said after the game at midfield.

And awesome for the fans to enjoy one last game in Madison.

[daleko]

www.buckys5thquarter.com/2017/8/22/16186388/wisconsin-ucla-football-series-rose-bowl-camp-randall-stadium
Wisconsin announces home-and-home series with UCLA in 2029, 2030

The Wisconsin Badgers football program just keeps getting more exciting.

The team announced today a brand new home-and-home series with the UCLA Bruins. The Badgers will visit Pasadena on Sept. 15, 2029 while UCLA will head to Camp Randall Stadium on Sept. 7, 2030.

The news comes just over a week after the Wisconsin and Notre Dame series at Camp Randall and Soldier Field was announced for 2020 and 2021, respectively.

"UCLA is one of the premier programs in college football," UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said in a press release and on UWBadgers.com. "We had some memorable bowl games when I was on the sidelines but this is a great opportunity for us to play them at Camp Randall. Non-conference scheduling is always a challenge but the folks at UCLA have been great to deal with and we look forward to the series."

The Badgers have met UCLA 11 times in the past, with Wisconsin winning the last three meetings. Perhaps the most notable of the wins was the 21-16 1994 Rose Bowl game that restored confidence in the Wisconsin football program and fans across the state.

The Notre Dame and UCLA series aren’t the only two lined up for the foreseeable future. The team will also take on Syracuse (2020 and '21), Washington State (2022 and '23), Hawaii (2022 & '24) and Virginia Tech (2024 & '25) in a home-and-home format. Head coach Paul Chryst and Barry Alvarez are obviously putting the team in situations to better themselves in the presence of strong teams they don’t usually come across. Here’s hoping it leads to some huge payoffs.

Wisconsin also announced the addition of five more home games in the upcoming seasons. The Badgers will host the following programs on these respective dates:

Kent State on Oct. 5, 2019
FCS opponent Southern Illinois on Sept. 19, 2020
Army on Oct. 16, 2021)
Buffalo on Sept. 2, 2023
North Texas on Sept. 6, 2025
All this news makes it hard for a Wisconsin football fan to be anything but ecstatic, so get excited for what’s coming up in the next few years.

Wisconsin starts its 2017 season at Camp Randall Stadium versus Utah State next Friday, Sept. 1.

[mscott59]

Aug 23, 2017 18:59:34 GMT -5 daleko said:

www.buckys5thquarter.com/2017/8/22/16186388/wisconsin-ucla-football-series-rose-bowl-camp-randall-stadium
Wisconsin announces home-and-home series with UCLA in 2029, 2030

The Wisconsin Badgers football program just keeps getting more exciting.

The team announced today a brand new home-and-home series with the UCLA Bruins. The Badgers will visit Pasadena on Sept. 15, 2029 while UCLA will head to Camp Randall Stadium on Sept. 7, 2030.

The news comes just over a week after the Wisconsin and Notre Dame series at Camp Randall and Soldier Field was announced for 2020 and 2021, respectively.

"UCLA is one of the premier programs in college football," UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said in a press release and on UWBadgers.com. "We had some memorable bowl games when I was on the sidelines but this is a great opportunity for us to play them at Camp Randall. Non-conference scheduling is always a challenge but the folks at UCLA have been great to deal with and we look forward to the series."

The Badgers have met UCLA 11 times in the past, with Wisconsin winning the last three meetings. Perhaps the most notable of the wins was the 21-16 1994 Rose Bowl game that restored confidence in the Wisconsin football program and fans across the state.

The Notre Dame and UCLA series aren’t the only two lined up for the foreseeable future. The team will also take on Syracuse (2020 and '21), Washington State (2022 and '23), Hawaii (2022 & '24) and Virginia Tech (2024 & '25) in a home-and-home format. Head coach Paul Chryst and Barry Alvarez are obviously putting the team in situations to better themselves in the presence of strong teams they don’t usually come across. Here’s hoping it leads to some huge payoffs.

Wisconsin also announced the addition of five more home games in the upcoming seasons. The Badgers will host the following programs on these respective dates:

Kent State on Oct. 5, 2019
FCS opponent Southern Illinois on Sept. 19, 2020
Army on Oct. 16, 2021)
Buffalo on Sept. 2, 2023
North Texas on Sept. 6, 2025
All this news makes it hard for a Wisconsin football fan to be anything but ecstatic, so get excited for what’s coming up in the next few years.

Wisconsin starts its 2017 season at Camp Randall Stadium versus Utah State next Friday, Sept. 1.

after quite a stretch where the badgers' ooc left a lot to be desired, very good to see uw continue the recent trend of more high profile opponents that started a few years ago w/lsu, alabama, arizona st, et al. kudos to klemenza. take the bruins. leave the kanoli.

[daleko]

Troy Fumagalli receives more preseason All-American hype

Let the hype flow for Troy Fumagalli.

Fumagalli, the former walk-on turned prolific tight end and current Wisconsin Badgers team captain, landed preseason first-team All-America honors from ESPN on Thursday.

That makes three first-team nods for the 6’6, 248-pounder before an offensive snap of the 2017 season, as both Athlon Sports and Sports Illustrated also named Fumagalli to their respective lists this summer.

Fumagalli, who led the Badgers with 47 receptions last season, also recently received second-team honors from the Associated Press and Pro Football Focus.

It hasn’t been just Fumagalli receiving love, as right guard Beau Benzschawel also garnered preseason first-team All-America honors from USA Today and offensive lineman Michael Deiter received a third-team nod from Pro Football Focus... despite his name being misspelled and his position being mislabeled.

P.J. Rosowski put on scholarship
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jeff Potrykus reported on Wednesday night that walk-on punter/kickoff specialist P.J. Rosowski has earned a scholarship. A UW official confirmed the news to B5Q on Thursday.

It’s much deserved for Rosowski, who recorded touchbacks on 64.6 percent of his kickoffs (51 of 79) in 14 games last season. That mark placed him No. 15 in the nation and No. 2 in the Big Ten.

[daleko]

Aug 24, 2017 8:27:44 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

Aug 23, 2017 18:59:34 GMT -5 daleko said:

www.buckys5thquarter.com/2017/8/22/16186388/wisconsin-ucla-football-series-rose-bowl-camp-randall-stadium
Wisconsin announces home-and-home series with UCLA in 2029, 2030

The Wisconsin Badgers football program just keeps getting more exciting.

The team announced today a brand new home-and-home series with the UCLA Bruins. The Badgers will visit Pasadena on Sept. 15, 2029 while UCLA will head to Camp Randall Stadium on Sept. 7, 2030.

The news comes just over a week after the Wisconsin and Notre Dame series at Camp Randall and Soldier Field was announced for 2020 and 2021, respectively.

"UCLA is one of the premier programs in college football," UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said in a press release and on UWBadgers.com. "We had some memorable bowl games when I was on the sidelines but this is a great opportunity for us to play them at Camp Randall. Non-conference scheduling is always a challenge but the folks at UCLA have been great to deal with and we look forward to the series."

The Badgers have met UCLA 11 times in the past, with Wisconsin winning the last three meetings. Perhaps the most notable of the wins was the 21-16 1994 Rose Bowl game that restored confidence in the Wisconsin football program and fans across the state.

The Notre Dame and UCLA series aren’t the only two lined up for the foreseeable future. The team will also take on Syracuse (2020 and '21), Washington State (2022 and '23), Hawaii (2022 & '24) and Virginia Tech (2024 & '25) in a home-and-home format. Head coach Paul Chryst and Barry Alvarez are obviously putting the team in situations to better themselves in the presence of strong teams they don’t usually come across. Here’s hoping it leads to some huge payoffs.

Wisconsin also announced the addition of five more home games in the upcoming seasons. The Badgers will host the following programs on these respective dates:

Kent State on Oct. 5, 2019
FCS opponent Southern Illinois on Sept. 19, 2020
Army on Oct. 16, 2021)
Buffalo on Sept. 2, 2023
North Texas on Sept. 6, 2025
All this news makes it hard for a Wisconsin football fan to be anything but ecstatic, so get excited for what’s coming up in the next few years.

Wisconsin starts its 2017 season at Camp Randall Stadium versus Utah State next Friday, Sept. 1.

after quite a stretch where the badgers' ooc left a lot to be desired, very good to see uw continue the recent trend of more high profile opponents that started a few years ago w/lsu, alabama, arizona st, et al. kudos to klemenza. take the bruins. leave the kanoli.

SIU & KS still kind of suck but it'll be kind of cool to see Army play at CR, given what it once was. You know it's funny in that, unless you're a name blue blood like TOSU, Meat, ND, Tx, Bama etc, it's tuff to schedule a name for a H&H if you're on the up tick but not yet there. Easier, if you're not a BB, when you suck or you're a banner to collect for the "judges". When you're in-between it's tougher perhaps. Though not a BB, now Wisky is the team banner you want to collect if they are on your schedule. Playoffs have changed a lot of AD scheduling habits. Of particular interest is the number of H&Hs or in the case of ND, close by "H&Hs".

[bamorin]

Aug 24, 2017 16:20:02 GMT -5 daleko said:

Troy Stinkymangina receives more preseason All-American hype

Let the hype flow for Troy Fumagalli.

Stinkymangina, the former walk-on turned prolific tight end and current Wisconsin Badgers team captain, landed preseason first-team All-America honors from ESPN on Thursday.

That makes three first-team nods for the 6’6, 248-pounder before an offensive snap of the 2017 season, as both Athlon Sports and Sports Illustrated also named Stinkymangina to their respective lists this summer.

Stinkymangina, who led the Badgers with 47 receptions last season, also recently received second-team honors from the Associated Press and Pro Football Focus.

It hasn’t been just Stinkymangina receiving love, as right guard Beau Benzschawel also garnered preseason first-team All-America honors from USA Today and offensive lineman Michael Deiter received a third-team nod from Pro Football Focus... despite his name being misspelled and his position being mislabeled.

P.J. Rosowski put on scholarship
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jeff Potrykus reported on Wednesday night that walk-on punter/kickoff specialist P.J. Rosowski has earned a scholarship. A UW official confirmed the news to B5Q on Thursday.

It’s much deserved for Rosowski, who recorded touchbacks on 64.6 percent of his kickoffs (51 of 79) in 14 games last season. That mark placed him No. 15 in the nation and No. 2 in the Big Ten.

[daleko]

Camp Randall 100: Pat Harder

After leading the Western Conference in rushing and scoring in 1941, what would Wisconsin’s Pat Harder do for an encore in ’42?

How about blocking for the new guy, Elroy Hirsch?

That’s what head coach Harry Stuhldreher asked of Harder, the Badgers’ hard-hitting fullback, heading into a season that would become one of the greatest in UW history.

The man known to his teammates as The Mule took his assignment without complaint.

“I’ll take care of it,” he told Stuhldreher.

As teammate Dick Thornally put it in “Third Down and a War to Go,” the definitive history of the ’42 Badgers, “…when the chips were down, he could do everything – block, back up the line, carry the ball. He was one hell of a football player.”

Harder’s versatility was on full display in a 17-7 triumph over Ohio State on Oct. 31, 1942, when a record crowd of 45,000 turned out to Camp Randall Stadium to witness Wisconsin’s first-ever win over a No. 1-ranked team.

After his blocking allowed Hirsch to cover most of the ground – including a 59-yard run – Harder capped an 80-yard drive and gave the Badgers a 7-0 lead in the second quarter with a push into the end zone from about six inches out.

Also the Badgers’ kicker, Harder added a 37-yard field goal before halftime to give UW a 10-0 cushion.

Still, the Wisconsin lead seemed tenuous when Ohio State broke into the scoring column with a touchdown with 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Harder heeded the call once again, plowing the Badgers down the field with four carries on a 66-yard drive that ended with Hirsch finding All-America end Dave Schreiner for a 14-yard touchdown pass that effectively sealed the victory.

Though Harder sometimes found himself overshadowed by the exploits of Hirsch and Schreiner, his effort against the Buckeyes was given top billing in sportswriter Joseph “Roundy” Coughlin’s famed “Roundy Says” column in the next day’s Wisconsin State Journal:



Man alive folks, that’s what saved the game for us. If Pat didn’t put on the most brutal 50 yard drive you ever seen we might of got beat. Ohio was hot and bothered right then for another score if they’d ever got that ball. But after those four mad dashes by Pat Ohio was a whipped team. After Pat got the ball down there then Wisconsin pulled some smart football. They crossed Ohio up worse than a telephone switchboard.



In all, Harder carried 21 times for 97 yards and accounted for 11 of the Badgers’ 17 points, an effort that left him weary in a jubilant Wisconsin locker room.



The great Badger fullback, who definitely proved his class despite the vaunted Ohio State defense, was so tired after the game that he couldn’t keep his balance while attempting to tie his shoelaces while standing up, Marv Rand wrote in the State Journal’s coverage from the game.



The Badgers’ hopes of an unbeaten season were short-lived, fading when they suffered their lone setback a week later in a 6-0 loss at Iowa. That result opened the door for the Buckeyes to claim the Western Conference title, and Ohio State also went on to regain its No. 1 ranking in the season’s final poll, earning the program its first national championship.



For having defeated the Buckeyes and finishing 8-1-1, Wisconsin was justifiably recognized as national champion by the Helms Foundation, one of several entities that awarded titles in those days.



Individually, Harder was named first-team All-Big Ten for the second consecutive season and joined Hirsch and Schreiner in garnering All-America accolades.



Like many of his teammates, Harder went on to serve in World War II and enlisted in the Marines.



Upon his return, he was selected by the Chicago Cardinals with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1944 NFL Draft. Harder became the first player to score 100-plus points in three consecutive seasons, leading the league in scoring from 1947 to 1949 and being named NFL Most Valuable Player by United Press in 1948.



Winning an NFL championship with the Cardinals in 1947, Harder added two more rings in 1952 and 1953 after being traded to the Detroit Lions. He retired as a player following the ’53 season but returned to the game in 1966, beginning a 17-year run as an NFL official.



Harder was inducted as a member of the charter class of the UW Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991, just over a year before his passing at age 70. In 1993, he was posthumously inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame.

[daleko]

Camp Randall 100: Rufus Ferguson

Wisconsin’s embattled head coach John Coatta recruited Rufus Ferguson out of South Florida — Miami’s Killian High School — and predicted that the 5-foot-6, 195-pound Ferguson would put fannies in the seats of Camp Randall Stadium with his flamboyant personality and unique running style.

The summer prior to his freshman year in Madison, he served as a congressional page in Washington, D.C. When he got to campus, he was already answering to a nickname. After stealing 42 bases in 19 American Legion baseball games, Ferguson was tagged as the “Roadrunner.” Beep, beep.

Freshman coach LaVern Van Dyke loved telling the story of picking up Ferguson at the airport on his official recruiting visit. It was a typical winter day in the Midwest — windy and below freezing — when Ferguson stepped off the plane dressed for South Beach, not central Wisconsin.

Van Dyke easily picked Ferguson out of the crowd and shouted out his name, whereupon an innocent and puzzled Ferguson inquired, “How’d ya know it was me?’”

Four years later, no introductions were needed. Ferguson evolved into an explosive tailback and genuine crowd-pleaser — spiking attendance at Camp Randall Stadium. Just like Coatta said he would. But Coatta never got a chance to really coach him. He was fired after Ferguson’s freshman season.

Rufus “Roadrunner” Ferguson was featured on the cover of the 1972 Wisconsin football media guide. An action shot of No. 21 — cradling a football in his right arm and making a cut off his right foot — was superimposed over an aerial view of a sold-out Camp Randall Stadium.

The cover included the ’72 schedule and some pertinent information on Ferguson. Like the fact that he had rushed for the all-time school record of 1,222 yards in 1971 and he was being touted as an All-America and Heisman Trophy candidate going into his senior year.

The cover also noted that the Badgers averaged 68,148 fans per game in ’71 and ranked No. 3 nationally in attendance, a remarkable four-year turnaround. In 1968, they averaged 43,459.

UW athletic director Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch had done a tremendous job stumping the state and reviving the base. Oh, yes, the Roadrunner had something to do with the renewed enthusiasm, too.

The spirit and the crowds are back at Wisconsin, wrote Roy Damer in the Chicago Tribune, and there’s no question that the Pied Piper of Madison is Rufus Ferguson.

Damer went on to write, Ferguson sends electric shocks of excitement thru the admiring throngs when he gets his hands on the football and does wondrous things.
I hope John Jardine doesn’t make Rufus stop doing that little dance in the end zone. The dance is flagrantly doggy and if anybody but lovable and effervescent Rufus did it, he’d be run out of town. … Rufus and the rest of us get such a lift from it.
— Wisconsin State Journal sports editor Glenn Miller
on Rufus Ferguson’s end zone dance — “The Roadrunner Shuffle”

Even though frosh were still ineligible to compete in 1969 — the NCAA didn’t clear them for participation until 1972 — the Badgers got their initial glimpse of Ferguson when he was the MVP of the freshman team. He definitely stood out. He ran for 380 yards and six touchdowns in just two games.

As a sophomore, Ferguson posted modest numbers — 130 carries for 588 yards and six touchdowns — but still led Wisconsin in rushing.

It was the calm before the shuffle, er, storm.

In the second game of the ’71 season, a 20-20 tie at Syracuse, Ferguson rushed for 149 yards and two TDs. After being pushed out of bounds on one of his runs, he unveiled a dance move, shuffling his feet while extending his arms above his head. It was the dawning of the “Roadrunner Shuffle.”

The following week, Wisconsin attracted a record crowd of 78,535 for a nonconference game against LSU. It was the first time all the seats had been filled since the construction of Camp Randall’s upper deck in 1966. The Badgers lost, 38-28. But they were entertaining. Ferguson had 97 yards and two more TDs.

“I’ll tell ya what, Rufus is a showman — he puts life into football,” said LSU coach Charlie McClendon. “But, more importantly, he’s a true player. He’s big-time. He runs so low slung that our ballplayers couldn’t get their arms around him.”

Before the ’72 rematch in Baton Rouge, LSU middle linebacker Warren Capone pointed out, “We had watched him do his dance on film all week and we were laughing at it. But by Friday, we didn’t think it was too funny. We certainly didn’t want him doing it against us.”

Usually when UW’s straight-laced coach John Jardine was asked about the “Shuffle”, he would do his own song and dance to avoid answering. “But I don’t think Rufus is a hot dog,” he allowed. “He’s that way every minute of the day. That’s just his personality. He’s always exuberant.”

The “Roadrunner Shuffle” was preserved, popularized and validated with a Ferguson poster; the off-shoot of an Edwin Stein photo appearing in the Wisconsin State Journal. Ferguson said of his Shuffle, “It’s to get the team together. It’s for player unity — it’s to give ’em pep.”

State Journal sports editor Glenn Miller was solidly in Ferguson’s corner. I hope John Jardine doesn’t make Rufus stop doing that little dance in the end zone, he wrote. The dance is flagrantly doggy and if anybody but lovable and effervescent Rufus did it, he’d be run out of town.

But Miller emphasized, Rufus and the rest of us get such a lift from it.
“I’m not a number anymore. Wherever I go people know me. They say, ‘Hey, there’s Rufus.’ And I like that … I loved the game and that’s the way it should be played.”
— Rufus Ferguson

Ferguson put an exclamation point on the 1971 season by rushing for 211 yards against Minnesota. Overall, he averaged 111.1 yards per game. In the process, he became the first player in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season (excluding bowls). He had 1,222 and 13 TDs.

Ferguson was first-team All-Big Ten. Plus, he was first-team Academic All-Big Ten.

Moreover, he was a second-team Academic All-American, which made him the proudest.

“Rufus has been getting a lot of publicity,” Jardine said. “But he deserves it all.”

Jardine confided that he knew that Ferguson was special after the Syracuse game.

“He ran with complete abandon,” he said. “He just gives 100 percent every play.”

Ferguson’s senior year in 1972 was a letdown from a team perspective though the fans came out in record numbers (an average of 70,454). The Badgers were 4-7 overall and tied for ninth (2-6) in the Big Ten. Ferguson’s personal expectations had fallen short, too, because of injuries.

Against Northwestern, he rushed for 197 yards. But he took a damaging shot to his brawny upper torso and his shoulder went numb. That injury forced him to miss two games. Still hurt, he vowed to play in his final appearance at Camp Randall and he did — rushing for 112 yards against Minnesota.

As for the setbacks, Ferguson insisted, “I was always prepared in case something like this happened. Life is like this. You have your ups and downs. When it’s down, you have to take it in stride. When the sun is out, prepare for rain. Right now, it’s raining for me. It was sunny all those early games.”

Nobody had a sunnier disposition than the Roadrunner.

“I’ve been happy with my last four years here, very happy,” he said after rushing for 1,004 yards as a senior and 2,702 for his career. “I’m not a number anymore. Wherever I go people know me. They say, ‘Hey, there’s Rufus.’ And I like that … I loved the game and that’s the way it should be played.”

[daleko]

Camp Randall 100: Earl “Jug” Girard

The game seemed to come naturally to Earl Girard.

Just four games into his college football career, the 17-year-old quarterback known better as “Jug” was tabbed to be Wisconsin’s acting captain as the Badgers prepared to take on top-ranked Notre Dame.

Head coach Harry Stuhldreher felt confident a hostile road environment wouldn’t be too much for his freshman signal-caller after Girard, in his Badgers debut, had delivered the game-winning extra point in a 7-6 victory at Northwestern to open the 1944 season.

The Fighting Irish lived up to their No. 1 ranking and scored a 28-13 win, but Girard connected with Jack Mead on a touchdown pass that marked the first points to be scored against Notre Dame, which had opened the season with four consecutive shutouts.

Wisconsin’s second straight loss was part of a slide that would see the Badgers drop six of their final seven games en route to a 3-6 season.

The lone highlight seemed to come on Nov. 11 in a 26-7 win over Iowa, a game in which Girard had been sidelined, but his replacement, fellow freshman Allen Shafer, died from injuries sustained during the game.

Despite the Badgers’ unimpressive record, Girard’s work as a dual-threat quarterback, safety and punter earned him first-team All-America laurels from Look Magazine.

Girard’s football career was put on hold when he was inducted into the U.S. Army in April of 1945 and, when eligible for discharge, re-enlisted for another year.

He returned to campus in 1947 and immediately found better fortunes on the gridiron. The highlight of his second – and final season – at Wisconsin came in the Nov. 8 Homecoming clash with Iowa, with the Badgers scoring a runaway 46-14 victory at Camp Randall Stadium.

Girard electrified the sold-out crowd of 45,000 by returning a pair of punts for touchdowns, one covering 85 yards and another covering 63. His two punt return touchdowns set single-game Big Ten and NCAA records and still have him tied atop the category in the Badgers’ record book, though the feat has been matched by Nick Davis (1998), Jim Leonhard (2003) and Brandon Williams (2005).

Girard’s performance also generated single-game UW records that still stand for punt return yards (158) and punt return average (52.7). His 85-yarder still ranks as the fourth-longest punt return in school history.

A professional career followed, with the multi-talented Girard selected by the Green Bay Packers with the seventh pick in the first round of the 1948 NFL Draft. It was a homecoming for Girard, who grew up along Green Bay in his hometown of Marinette, Wisconsin.

Girard, who was also drafted by the Cleveland Indians and enjoyed success in the minor leagues before electing to focus on football, went on to play four seasons with the Packers before he was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1952.

He won NFL championships in each of the first two seasons of what would become a five-year run with the Lions before playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1957 to cap a 10-year pro career.

[daleko]

Wisconsin 45, Utah State 13.

First step in a 12-0 season and a game with the Nuts in December, who also are 12-0. #1 V #2. Or is it #2 V #3.

[bamorin]

Aug 31, 2017 14:44:07 GMT -5 daleko said:

Wisconsin 45, Utah State 13.

First step in a 12-0 season and a game with the Nuts in December, who also are 12-0. #1 V #2. Or is it #2 V #3.

got more faith in the nuts than I do This has a feeling of 2004 about it.

[daleko]

Camp Randall 100: Paul Chryst

Paul Chryst’s roots at Camp Randall Stadium run deeper than most, perhaps more than anyone who’s ever set foot in the place.

Born in Madison in 1965, he spent a healthy chunk of his formative years growing up in the Vilas neighborhood, which is a short walk from the century-old facility at 1440 Monroe St.

Chryst, one of five children and the youngest of three boys, used to sneak into the stadium as a grade-schooler and play football with his buddies.

He used to walk its confines delivering newspapers and working on the clean-up crew after UW games.

He used to sit in the stands or walk the sidelines observing his father as he served as an assistant coach for the Badgers from 1972 to ’77.

Chryst played his first meaningful football game at Camp Randall, winning a state championship for Platteville High School, as an 18-year-old quarterback in 1983.

He received a scholarship to UW, earned a degree in political science, and played offense (quarterback, tight end), defense (cornerback, outside linebacker) and special teams (holder, kick coverage) for the Badgers from 1985 to ’88.

He returned twice as a UW assistant coach — for one season in 2002, overseeing tight ends, and again for seven seasons as offensive coordinator in 2005 — before returning to his alma mater as head coach in 2015.

Chryst has spent the better part of his 51 years coming full circle, doing something he loves on a legendary site. His first two seasons as coach of the Badgers have been especially impressive: 21-6 overall and two bowl victories.

But ask him for his fondest memory of Camp Randall and Chryst gives you an elusive answer.

“Yet to come,” he said.

Paul Chryst’s first memory of being inside Camp Randall was when he was in second or third grade.

He had access because his father, George, a center and guard for the Badgers from 1956 to ’58, was an assistant under then-coach John Jardine.

“I remember the JV football games,” Chryst said of that staple of a bygone era.

Some perspective: Chryst was born the same year the upper deck was added on the west side of Camp Randall, bumping its capacity to 77,745.

When Chryst returned to Madison to begin his tenure as offensive coordinator, the school had just completed a massive renovation that cost $109.5 million and nudged capacity to 80,321.

Chryst has memories of tagging along with his older brothers, Rick and Geep, and their neighborhood friends for games inside the stadium.

“It’s the landmark, it’s the place,” Paul said. “As a kid it was an experience to go to it.”

Did the gang do anything mischievous?

“We thought we were (by) sneaking in,” Paul said.

“Sometimes there’d be an open gate, but you still had an idea you shouldn’t be in there. But the gate was open.”

He paused.

“Every now and then you’d find a way to make it an open gate,” Paul said with a knowing grin. “That’s about as mischievous as we got.”

Chryst and Co. typically made their way into Camp Randall on summer weekends.

Did the future Division I college quarterback always call the plays in those games?

The Chryst family has an on-field link to UW football going back to at least 1955 when George came to play center and guard for then-coach Ivy Williamson.

A year later, Williamson became the Wisconsin athletic director and Milt Bruhn, a neighbor of the Chrysts, began his 11-season run as coach.

George was a graduate assistant for Bruhn in 1959 when the Badgers won the Big Ten Conference title, the first of two league championships under Bruhn.

All told, the Chrysts have associations with every Wisconsin coach from 1955 to the present, with the exception of John Coatta (1967 to ’69).

George was recruited by Williamson, played for Bruhn and coached with John Jardine (1972 to ’77).

Paul played for Dave McClain (1978 to ’85), Jim Hilles (1986) and Don Morton (1987 to ’89) and coached with Barry Alvarez (1990 to 2005) and Bret Bielema (2006 to ’12).

As for Gary Andersen, who coached the Badgers from 2013 and ’14, he bought Chryst’s home in Hawks Landing after Chryst left for a three-year stint as the head coach at Pittsburgh.

One of Chryst’s first big moments at Camp Randall came in 1983 when he helped guide Platteville to a 16-6 victory over Mosinee to claim the WIAA Division 4 state crown and cap a 12-0 season.

“It meant a lot playing for the state championship,” he said. “It was a big deal. The town was behind it. It was cool.”

During a recent reunion of UW football alums, Chryst said a highlight was meeting and talking with men who played with and for his father, who coached football and served as athletic director at UW-Platteville after leaving Madison.

“It spanned a long time,” Chryst said of the many voices. “Pretty cool.”

George Chryst was 55 when he died in his sleep from anaphylactic shock in 1992. The condition was triggered by the oils from fish and cashews, foods he’d eaten before going to bed.

Paul Chryst said he was better equipped to handle that devastating situation given what he experienced one spring day at Camp Randall in April of 1986.

He recounted how he and his roommate, Brian Anderson, had just retrieved their meal cards and were on their way to the locker room when they came upon a jarring scene at the sauna.

McClain was being tended to after suffering a fatal heart attack.

“I was a little bit older when my dad died, so I think that (moment with McClain) probably impacted my life more because I had a greater sense of what all was happening,” Chryst said.

If you ask Paul Chryst for his favorite Camp Randall moment as a kid growing up in Madison, it was watching the Badgers topple fourth-rated Nebraska 21-20 in 1974.

What about his playing career at UW? The Badgers won 12 of 33 games from 1985 to ’88.

“It’s a short list,” Chryst cracked.

He ultimately chose a 14-7 victory over Minnesota on Senior Day in 1988, the only victory for the Badgers that season (1-10).

All told, Chryst’s college playing career reflects the depth of his influence on the program. On offense he scored a touchdown rushing and receiving, attempted nine passes and 14 rushes and recorded 18 receptions. On defense he totaled seven tackles and a fumble recovery. On special teams he returned four kickoffs and was the holder for field goals and conversion kicks.

Chryst said every ensuing UW team he helped coach — including Big Ten titlists in 2010 and ’11 — had its own cache of favorite memories at Camp Randall.

He hopes to hear them first-hand someday.

“Each group is so different and that’s their moment,” Chryst said. “You just try as a coach to have them have those moments.”

A big one is yet to come.

[daleko]

Wisconsin: 2020 schedule released

vs. Indiana, Sept. 5
vs. Syracuse, Sept. 12
vs. Southern Illinois, Sept. 19
at Michigan, Sept. 26
vs. Notre Dame (Green Bay, Wis), Oct. 3
vs. Minnesota, Oct. 10
at Maryland, Oct. 24
vs. Illinois, Oct. 31
at Northwestern, Nov. 7
at Purdue, Nov. 14
vs. Nebraska, Nov. 21
at Iowa, Nov. 28

Wisconsin: 2021 schedule released

vs. Penn State, Sept. 4
at Syracuse, Sept. 11
vs. Notre Dame (Chicago), Sept. 25
vs. Michigan, Oct. 2
at Minnesota, Oct. 9
vs. Army, Oct. 16
at Illinois, Oct. 23
vs. Northwestern, Oct. 30
at Rutgers, Nov. 6
vs. Purdue, Nov. 13
at Nebraska, Nov. 20
vs. Iowa, Nov. 27

[bamorin]

Sept 13, 2017 10:55:47 GMT -5 daleko said:

Wisconsin: 2020 schedule released

vs. Indiana, Sept. 5
vs. Syracuse, Sept. 12
vs. Southern Illinois, Sept. 19
at Michigan, Sept. 26
vs. Notre Dame (Green Bay, Wis), Oct. 3
vs. Minnesota, Oct. 10
at Maryland, Oct. 24
vs. Illinois, Oct. 31
at Northwestern, Nov. 7
at Purdue, Nov. 14
vs. Nebraska, Nov. 21
at Iowa, Nov. 28

Wisconsin: 2021 schedule released

vs. Penn State, Sept. 4
at Syracuse, Sept. 11
vs. Notre Dame (Chicago), Sept. 25
vs. Michigan, Oct. 2
at Minnesota, Oct. 9
vs. Army, Oct. 16
at Illinois, Oct. 23
vs. Northwestern, Oct. 30
at Rutgers, Nov. 6
vs. Purdue, Nov. 13
at Nebraska, Nov. 20
vs. Iowa, Nov. 27

I see you clowns are avoiding us for another 2 years.......