WestCBlue

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.

brose

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.

harmon98

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.

Beavis

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.)

C-BusWolve

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.

virgilthechicken

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.

mxair23

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!

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

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.

MGolem

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.

MI Expat NY

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.

MGolem

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. 

Tater

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.

Flying Dutchman

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.

wooderson

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.

Webber's Pimp

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!

Captain Obvious

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.

jmblue

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.