Clay could be out against Michigan
SIAAP - I looked around and didnt see it.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/11/15/wisconsin.clay.ap/index.html?eref=sircrc
I know their O-Line is great and their backups are good too, but if he can't play, that would be a huge help to this yound Defense.
November 16th, 2010 at 10:33 AM ^
I can't post a topic yet, so I wanted to post here and hope someone else can post it on the front page so everyone will now.
Last Friday, when Dallas Crawford committed, his father passed, very suddenly. It was also his birthday.
This was confirmed.
My condolences to him and his family.
November 16th, 2010 at 10:35 AM ^
That is truly a good day gone terribly bad!!! My condolences to the family as well!
November 16th, 2010 at 12:18 PM ^
Your avatar reflects my reaction. You're in my prayers Dallas and family.
November 16th, 2010 at 12:18 PM ^
Very sad! Best wishes and prayers for the Crawford family!
One of the mods, can we find a news story link and get this promoted to its own thread?
November 16th, 2010 at 3:26 PM ^
Definitely feel sorry for the kid. Sucks losing his Dad at such an exciting time in his life...
November 16th, 2010 at 10:33 AM ^
As you said...their backups are really good.
Ball and White are slightly under Clay but could be starting elsewhere.
November 16th, 2010 at 10:37 AM ^
Both their backups had 100 yards against IU
edit: Montee Ball 22-167, James White 19-144
November 16th, 2010 at 11:10 AM ^
FYI
Umich ran 28 times for 297 yrds against IU for a 10.6 YPC
Ball and White ran 41 times for 311 yards for a 7.6 YPC
Just saying that IU's rush defense is not soo good and Michigan did (arguably) just as well against it.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:28 AM ^
just pointing out they at least have warm bodies on the bench
UW and UM are 2 very good running teams. UW has a better run defense, however, I am not sure they will win the run battle on Saturday
November 16th, 2010 at 11:11 AM ^
I don't think it matters. The only game-changer would be if Tolzien or one of the O-linemen went down...
November 16th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^
It's not going to matter. Wisco is stacked at RB. They always are. Not having Clay will not impact them much.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:59 AM ^
one less fresh set of legs carrying a 248 lb. bruiser to run downhill at us? indeed Wisco's stacked at RB and maybe not much of an impact but if I'm Jordan Kovacs & co. I'm thrilled.
November 16th, 2010 at 12:11 PM ^
Also
Clay leads the team with 929 yards and 13 touchdowns, White has 714 yards and 11 scores and Ball has 513 yards and nine TDs
So Clay missing still hurts Wisky...how much? We will find out in 4 days
November 16th, 2010 at 10:34 AM ^
i don't wish for any of their players to be hurt. also, their backups white and ball have been almost as good as clay.
November 16th, 2010 at 10:38 AM ^
Chance for me to look stupid on Saturday:
I don't think it really matters if Clay is in or out. Their backups are good and performed well in the last game against IU ("well" might be a huge understatement). Likely their o-line is quite good and any decent RB will put up numbers in their offense.
Not trying to take anything away from Clay here - as he is a beast. But the RB position is becoming more of a commodity these days (e.g., less one-back systems, more focus on o-line play, etc.)
November 16th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
I am not trying to take anything away from John Clay as he is obviously a bruising running back, but I do not think that his injury is going to play a very big factor in the game on Saturday. Ball and White are both very good backs and the thing that makes the Wisconsin running game go is their OL, their scheme and great coaching of the big guys up front. Every year Wisconsin has a new 1,000yd rusher who garners some sort of all conference publicity and even a Heisman winner in Ron Dayne. However, every year their tailbacks never go on to have success at the next level and seem to be interchangeable.
The Badgers remind me very much of the Broncos under Shanahan when we would have a different 1,000yd rusher every season and yet those RBs would never have success outside of Denver.
This is not meant to take anything away from Wisconsin's RBs as they have to have talent as well but it is meant to be more of a compliment to the Wisconsin OL year after year for being so consistent.
November 16th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
Not only do some people think White and Ball are better than Clay, they might be better than the starting RBs at every Big 10 school.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
I heard that Clay may have been out of shape coming into the year and that White was actually performing better. 11 weeks of the season has probably changed that dynamic a bit, but White is just another in the long series of dangerous Wisky runners.
November 16th, 2010 at 10:40 AM ^
Those back-ups obliterated IU in convincing fashion. Even if Clay plays he will be at 80% They are deep at RB like we are at QB. Doesn't matter who is in because they can all carry the load. Positive side is that those young RBs won't be at home and hopefully our crowd will be HOSTILE!!!
The problem with Wisconsin is they can set up the run in the first half and drop bombs on our secondary in the second half. I hope our D throws something at them they haven't seen all year!
November 16th, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
The only injury to Wisconsin's offense that would really make a noticeable difference against our defense would be if the first three quarterbacks on their depth chart decided to make a human pyramid for some reason and all of them broke their throwing arm.
November 16th, 2010 at 10:46 AM ^
Whether his backups are better or not, he is not a great matchup against our smaller, speedier defense. We might gan ran on in terms of yardage but we are less likely to get ran over. Last year Tolzein torched us, we can't allow that to happen again regardless of who is running it.
November 16th, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
I don't know, with our tendency to be out of position against the run, I'd almost rather see Clay than the other two. At least with big, lumbering backs, you have a chance to recover after being out of position. I think White and Ball are much more likely to take advantage of a mistake and turn it into a long TD run.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
But our LB play seems to be progressing to the point where we are in the right place at the right time most of the time. While I hate seeing long touchdown runs, there is nothing more demoralizing than watching the opposition chew up the clock forcing us to play defense the entire game.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:13 AM ^
Tolzien to Hendricks, cross-route, through the middle of the D anyone?
November 16th, 2010 at 10:49 AM ^
Well his absence sure didn't stop them from pounding Indiana.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:28 AM ^
Wiscy appears more dynamic with his backup than with Clay. Wiscy's bulk makes them a terrible matchup for a young defense, because they aren't big or strong enough yet to stop a team like Wiscy consistently without playing their absolute best on every play. Wiscy is a team that will make Michigan pay severely for every physical or mental error they commit.
Honestly, I'm more scared of Wiscy than I am of OSU. With our without Clay. It sorta comes down to "rock paper scissors." Wiscy is obviously the rock here. The question is whether Michigan's speed is enough for their paper to cover the holes, or whether their scissors will be flailing away in vain for the entire day.
This may be one of the least certain games on the schedule; the only certain thing I see here is ugliness. Wiscy will either make Michigan look ugly, or Michigan will make Wiscy look ugly. I'm hoping for the latter.
November 16th, 2010 at 7:07 PM ^
speed is enough for their paper to cover the holes, lets just hope that Wiscy's running backs are not running with scissors because that would be dangerous for all involved.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
Montee Ball is a badass. One of the most underrated but greatest plays of the year was that last touchdown run against Iowa. He crushed multiple dudes at the 5 and carried them to the goalline for the score. They reviewed the play to see if he was down and it held up in super slow mo. I'm not looking forward to Montee.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:06 AM ^
Clay, Oglesby, and Borland all in one year.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:15 AM ^
They have good backups. Clay will pound us more, that is for sure.
I get the feeling this is another one of those games we may have to score 40 to win...
November 16th, 2010 at 11:17 AM ^
I actually think I'd rather see Clay than the other two. It's the life-cycle of Wisconsin running backs, the younger, quicker back-ups always seems more dangerous than the huge, hyped starter Back in '08 for instance I was much more worried about Clay than PJ Hill. Now the circle is complete and Clay is the heavily-hyped Heisman candidate.... and other team's fans are secretly hoping he is healthy enough to take the majority of the carries again them.
November 16th, 2010 at 2:33 PM ^
I disagree John Clay is an absolute monster who will wear down the defense which make Ball and White that much more effective. Clay is one of the best backs in the nation its a no brainer that it benefits Michigan if he is unable to play.
November 16th, 2010 at 7:32 PM ^
Wisconsin tailbacks always seem to gain weight over the course of their careers and lose speed. Clay was like 240 as a freshman. Now he's 255.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:36 AM ^
You know what? For as long as I can remember we've had Wisconsin's number (heck even when Sheridan was the QB). So why should next Saturday be any different? I'm not jotting this one down as an automatic loss. With Denard at the helm I think we have a good shot at pulling off this upset. Go Blue!
November 16th, 2010 at 7:23 PM ^
Sheridan never played against UW.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:38 AM ^
Shit! So you're saying the field may look like this? I don't like our chances.
November 16th, 2010 at 11:39 AM ^
With our undersized defese and the oversized Clay, any other back would be better than Clay who will just truck his way through our 3-3-5.
November 16th, 2010 at 12:10 PM ^
I hate the 3-3-5 arugment -- so old. With Roh down on the line, we have a 4-man front quite a bit now.
November 16th, 2010 at 7:10 PM ^
power running teams. I don't think we will see much of the 3-3-5 on Saturday.
November 16th, 2010 at 12:31 PM ^
will take all the help we can get.
November 16th, 2010 at 1:28 PM ^
Clay is unique. For all the talk of BIG10BEEF, Clay is really the only truly large RB that poses a threat. Our young D hasn't faced anyone like him. While the backups are great, at the very least our D has been exposed to speed backs and mid-sized backs all season long. UW's good OL is the true difference here. If Martin can't go we will have trouble all day against the run, even if they hand it off to the 5th stringer. Having LBs that know how to fill will make a world of difference.
November 16th, 2010 at 7:30 PM ^
Wisconsin's backfield is like ours in the early '90s. Their backups are starting-caliber. There is basically zero dropoff from Clay to James White to Montee Ball. The only real issue that might come up is ball security, since White and Ball are less experienced.