Notes from Camp Randall
I had my first experience at Camp Randall yesterday, and thought I would share a few notes/observations. Overall it was a great experience and I'd highly recommend that anyone interested make the trip.
- The game day atmosphere at UW is pretty amazing - Madison and the UW campus essentially remind me of a larger version of Ann Arbor/UM. The blend of city and campus is nice and UM fans/students should feel right at home here.
- The university sells beer in the student unions, which in turn makes them a great hangout spot the day of the game. This is something that I found to be a unique and welcome difference from UM.
- Wisconsin fans were extremely friendly overall, with negative experiences limited to one drunk frat bro hanging out the passenger side of a car yelling "MICHIGAN TRIED" at me. Whatever bro, Wisconsin "tried" last year too.
- Camp Randall is a great place to watch a game. We had nosebleed seats near the goal line but the view was still great at all points on the field. The fans around us were friendly and joking the entire time.
- People say that Michigan Stadium is quiet, but I honestly thought Camp Randall was quieter (and it's not even close), especially for a big game. This could be due to the fact that we were high up in the stadium, however.
- Jump Around was fun, but not a life changing experience as some would lead you to believe.
Overall, I'd say Wisconsin has been my favorite B1G away game experience thus far (having been to roughly half of the other stadiums in the league). Madison is a ton of fun, and the fans and campus are great.
/coolstorybro
And while I have my soap box, a minor aside and some notes about the team:
I'm kind of shocked that the response to losing this game seems to be more negative than losing to MSU. Playing at Camp Randall is always tough, and this time we were playing agaisnt a top 5 team. We outclassed them on offense and defense while Peters was still playing the game. I don't really find this loss that disappointing given the context.
This year is more or less playing out like most reasonable fans expected. The only thing thus far that upsets me is the MSU loss. I know a lot of people want coaching changes on the offensive side of the ball, but I don't really see the point. I see our offensive struggles more as a result of the young personnel rather than coaching, and I feel that hitting the reset button on offense for 2018 will do more harm than good. I look forward to next year - this team has the bones of a competitor and just needs another year of maturity.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:34 AM ^
I thought Camp Randall was loud (row 20 of the lower bowl), but it is artificially aided. And was on par with the lower parts of the Big House for big games. Their speakers are set very loudly and they play piped in music every single down. I wish Michigan played slightly more piped in music, but not as much as what was going on in Madison. Great atmosphere, fun game, but a lot more NFL-y than college. Their band did next to nothing.
Great college town, stadium and awesome Jump Around though.
Fans generally thought Michigan was a good team and were very nice to us. Left telling everyone to beat OSU in Indy.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:43 AM ^
Michigan Stadium is pretty much playing piped music every down these days--what more do you people want, aside from completely destroying the collegiate atmosphere of the greatest stadium in college football?
November 19th, 2017 at 9:48 AM ^
Wants: people to cheer all the time when Michigan is on defense. And I mean loud. Non-stop. And I don't want anyone to tell me to sit down and stop being loud.
That's the list.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:03 AM ^
I would give anything for Michigan Stadium to be an everyone standing, Arrowhead feel - but it will never happen. Too many fans that are too detached from any sport that isn’t polo or horse racing.
November 19th, 2017 at 12:09 PM ^
The previous Utah FB coach called the Big House attendees a 'symphony crowd' some years back. Every time I go I see people sitting there passively watching. Me, my voice is shredded after every game I attend. I'm sure I annoy some of the people arround me with my yelling.
November 19th, 2017 at 1:39 PM ^
had that feel for the MSU game this year. Almost every section was standing throughout and it was LOUD!
November 19th, 2017 at 2:16 PM ^
Exactly. Nobody stands or yells when the opponent is Rutgers. Of course it will be loud for Michigan. Apples to apples...
November 19th, 2017 at 3:27 PM ^
My problem with the cheering at the Big House is it does happen when we are on D but only on 3rd down let's be loud this weekend and beat the Cooler Poopers
November 19th, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^
it seemed the home crowd was mostly taken out of the game until late in the thrid quartrer and fourth when Wisconsin throttled Michigan with Peters out.
I've only been to one game against Wisconsin at Michigan Staudium, and their spectators then were very polite and mostly responsive to positive plays of their own team. As a fan base, judging only by contrast with other foreign visitors at Michigan Stadium, I found Badger fans to be on a far diffferent plane than say Iowa fans, who are incredibly negative and insecure. But hey, I haven't been to a game since the Carr era, so things change.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:41 AM ^
Was the half-empty student section as cool as it was on tv?
November 19th, 2017 at 9:58 AM ^
it filled up by the end of the 1st half.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^
They let them in literally one at a time and direct to the next available seat so it takes some time.
November 19th, 2017 at 3:29 PM ^
What's up with that I don't remember them doing that a few years ago
November 19th, 2017 at 10:41 AM ^
Game started at 11:00 am in Madison...pretty early for college kids. Student section eventually filled.
November 19th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^
11:00 AM and college kids is never a good mix.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:42 AM ^
The OL in particular is not very good. UM also needs a WR coach. Too much talent there to be so unproductive.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:46 AM ^
Favoritism, nepotism and friendship are not good indicators when choosing a staff
Harbaugh has issues with all
November 19th, 2017 at 2:18 PM ^
How does Frey fit into your narrative? Or Don Brown? What coach doesn't bring staffs with him? That's an MLive-worthy comment.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:16 AM ^
Junior/Senior DPJ doesn’t come down I the end zone with one foot out of bounds. He’d get the foot that’s clearly going to be in down first. At least Peters threw a good fade route which is something hardly seen this season.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^
Freshman wide receivers are producing at other schools all over the country, and non of them were the consensus #1 recruit.
UM NEEDS a WR coach.
November 19th, 2017 at 11:14 AM ^
There was a great post last week statistically proving that freshmen receivers generally are not producing all over the country. That being said we definitely need a specialized receiver coach. Crawford and McDoom are 2nd year guys who are not good at receiver things. Drake Harris and Mo Ways are upper class guys who can't beat out multiple true freshmen. The guys that do play do not get open, they all have drops on the year, and they get out muscled consistently in contested catch situations. These young guys should improve but so should of Ways and Harris and that didn't happen. We need help here.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
The DPJ play was big. Saying there is "too much talent" for the production we are getting seems wrong. Perry is our only experienced receiver, and it still seems as if he is hurt, as he is just not getting many targets and not playing like he used to on the few targets he gets. Kekoa Crawford does not seem like a great talent to me. That leaves totally inexperienced players. Black was looking great until he got injured. DPJ is looking better every week.
Next year, with luck, our OL will be Newsome - Bredeson - Ruiz - Onwenu - JBB (or better if one of the talented freshman is able to beat him out). At that point, we should be in business. All five fill the "road grader" requirement, and maybe JBB will improve at pass protection in the off season (or be passed).
November 19th, 2017 at 11:27 AM ^
Newsome being a reliable starter next year seems less likely than more likely. If that is the case we have JBB, as you mentioned could be passed due to pass blocking woes, and ? at LT. Either Ulizio re-enters the line up or 1 to 2 RS freshmen have to step up in a major way. Bredeson possibly could kick out but he also drastically needs to improve his pass blocking.
November 19th, 2017 at 12:04 PM ^
Aren't freshmen and none of them are doing much this year. Perry was fairly productive early in the year but he's almost disappeared the second half of the year.
November 19th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^
Perry was the cause of at least 1 maybe 2 timeouts lining up wrong. I didn't see him much after that.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:19 AM ^
Defensive staff - competent professionals
Offensive staff - friends & family
November 19th, 2017 at 3:34 PM ^
Black being out for the season hurt us at WR it went unnoticed when we couldn't throw the ball but sticks out a little more now DPJ will mature and fight thru the chucks and the physical DBs but I think he will be very good, the OL could be bolstered by the return of Newsome and the development and game exp. that Ruiz and Bredeson are getting
November 19th, 2017 at 9:54 AM ^
I guess it's reasonable when we actually run the ball often on 3rd and long.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:48 AM ^
Spot on. Great town. Great atmosphere. Tragic we don't play there every other year. People were 98% great. Stadium was loud, but not deafening. 11am start plus sluggish game seemed to be major factors. Student section eventually filed-in 100%, which is better than us for most games. I'd happily send my boys to Wisconsin, if they got accepted and wanted to go.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:43 AM ^
Wiscy the next 5 years in a row, 2 of which will be in Madison.
November 19th, 2017 at 7:14 PM ^
Wiscy now known as "Sconnie" in Madison.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:54 AM ^
I caught a ride to my hometown one Thanksgiving (1998 I think) with a guy from my town who graduated in the 80's. He said the Michigan Union sold beer back then too, which sounded awesome.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:04 AM ^
and, yeah, the U Club used to rock. Lotsa cheap booze and good music.
November 19th, 2017 at 12:45 PM ^
I remember the reggae nights there in the early '80s.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:56 AM ^
Some osu fans wanted Urban fired after the Iowa game. Every fan base has a few lunatics.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:57 AM ^
How dare you say that Jump Around is not a life changing experience. Don't you know IT'S ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING TRADITIONS IN ALL OF COLLEGE SPORTS TODAY?????
November 19th, 2017 at 12:56 PM ^
Overrated for sure, but I enjoyed it yesterday. I didn't realize that the whole stadium participates. (I thought it was mostly a student thing.)
I hadn't been to Madison since the '90s. Signs of affluenza abound, but there are still several "quirky" stores on their State Street and nearby that you don't see much in Ann Arbor anymore.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:02 AM ^
I concur that this is a great town as it mixes University and vibrant city along with being the state Capitol. Game Day atmosphere here is very good, but there is not near as many places to tailgate (they do more bar crawl here). The stadium is great when you get inside, but the concourse is so tiny you can not move around, and God forbid if you have to goto the bathroom. It is a great college football atmosphere, but it's no Michigan Stadium.
November 19th, 2017 at 11:05 AM ^
The concourse is indeed terrible, as is getting into the stadium. On that front, worst I've seen in the Big Ten (never thought anyone could steal worst concourse crown from Sparty, but Camp Randall is rough).
Once you're in your seats though, awesome.
November 19th, 2017 at 7:17 PM ^
Surprisingly, since it is a (relatively) small stadium, Minnesota concourses are crowded and claustrophobic.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
F them all
November 19th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
I want to know - did anyone try to pile drive your head into the ground and then continue to shove your head and shoulder along the ground after you were knocked unconscious?!?!?!
November 19th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
I'm kind of shocked that the response to losing this game seems to be more negative than losing to MSU.
Some is just typical post-loss venting, but some of the angst is probably due to Peters's injury and the realization that we're probably in for a tough time next Saturday.
It just really sucks that the Game last year didn't go our way in the end. A win there and we're (most likely) 2016 Big Ten champs and in the playoff, and then there would have been much less pressure placed on this year's team. Instead, fans transferred their frustration onto the 2017 team, which even when healthy was probably not going to win the league, given its youth and lack of depth.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:10 AM ^
That OSU loss lingers.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:27 AM ^
Considering program momentum it was the worst loss in all my 46 years. Fuck.
November 19th, 2017 at 2:57 PM ^
Yeah, I think '15 MSU, '16 OSU and '17 MSU are the main games affecting perception right now. I will say from a coaching standpoint my only problem is with the lack of innovation within the offensive scheme. As little good as it did him, Mike freakin Debord broke out all the new stuff against the rivals. Harbaugh and Co. seem to think the more you put on tape the better, but I like having a completely different plan for the big games. Also, can we please bury the wildcat unless we're going to run single wing next week (which actually might be a good idea)?
November 19th, 2017 at 10:06 AM ^
know that is what a fraternity member hanging out of the car? Did he have his greek letters on or tell them out?
November 19th, 2017 at 10:14 AM ^
His looks and demeanor were enough to know.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^
I see. and if I said that about any other class of individual what would you call that?