SBNation.com User Blog: Adam Hoge

B5Q Announcement: Today, I Sadly Say My Goodbyes

Adam Hoge — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 19:49:00 -0000

In January of 2009, Bucky's 5th Quarter was born. I started it on the Blogger platform and to be honest, it was really just supposed to be a place where I could keep writing. I was working at WGN Radio in Chicago and freelancing at the Big Ten Network and suddenly my writing habits had disappeared. Bucky's 5th Quarter was simply a place to keep those skills sharp.

At least that was the idea.

Just over a month later, SBNation approached me about adding B5Q to their network of blogs. They had one for nearly every Big Ten school and wanted Wisconsin to be represented. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up and suddenly, the site took off. Nearly four years later, Bucky's 5th Quarter has developed into a legitimate Badgers news source and a great hub for Badger fans to come together and discuss football, basketball and hockey. We have made great personnel upgrades in recent years and that change continues today.

I give you this history lesson because today is my last day at B5Q. Over the last year and a half, I have been working as the sports editor for CBSChicago.com where I write columns, cover Chicago sports and serve as a fill-in host on WSCR 670 The Score. Since I started the job, it has been hard for me to keep up with the daily duties of maintaining Bucky's 5th Quarter. You have probably noticed that I haven't been around as much since last football season ended. This year, I have added responsibilities covering both the Big Ten and the Chicago Bears, which will make it impossible for me to cover Badger football games every week as I have done the past three years.

As a result, I have come to the decision that B5Q deserves more attention, which is why I am handing the site over to four very capable site managers. You already know Phil Mitten, who has done an outstanding job with our basketball coverage the last two seasons. You also know Andy Johnson, although you might not realize it because he's been using the pen name Chuck Schwartz since he joined the site. No one is as connected as Andy is when it comes to Wisconsin hockey and he will continue to bring his great coverage to the site. Also joining B5Q are Andrew Rosin and Mike Fiammetta, both of whom know Badgers sports inside and out and will keep the site growing.

There will also be a few other new faces at B5Q that are yet to be determined. The bottomline is that Bucky's 5th Quarter is going to have the largest staff it has ever had, meaning it will have more coverage than ever before. I am confident that I am leaving B5Q in great hands.

Of course, the site would be nothing without our loyal readers and commenters, which is why I would like to send by sincere gratitude to you for helping making B5Q what it is today. The best part of the SBNation platform is the ability for fans to contribute to the site and that is not changing. In fact, upgrades are coming to SBNation that will make the entire network stronger, including Bucky's 5th Quarter.

I am sad to be leaving today, but I won't be too far away. As I mentioned, my duties in Chicago include covering the entire Big Ten and my role on that beat will expand this season. In fact, I am in the middle of previewing the entire conference with daily team previews and just yesterday, I previewed the Badgers. I'll be covering some of the more important Big Ten games this season, and that will likely include Wisconsin's home games against Michigan State and Ohio State. If you don't already, follow me on Twitter at @AdamHogeCBS to keep track of my Big Ten coverage.

Again, thank you for the last 3.5+ years and please don't go anywhere. Bucky's 5th Quarter's best days are still ahead.

- Adam Hoge

Is Wisconsin Overrated In NCAA Football 13?

Adam Hoge — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:07:58 -0000

The Badgers are pretty much at the point where they are going to have high expectations every season -- especially when they have a Heisman Trophy favorite coming back.

But does Wisconsin deserve to have the highest rating in EA Sports NCAA Football 13?

The game has the Badgers tied with LSU, Oregon, Texas and USC with an overall team rating of 99 -- the max rating.

Now, the overall ratings are based on the cumulative player ratings -- we'll get into those in a moment -- but it's hard to believe the Badgers should be among the highest rated teams considering they lost the best quarterback in program history in Russell Wilson. That's something that should be obvious to EA Sports considering they couldn't even figure out Wisconsin's quarterback situation (Jon Budmayr has an 87 rating, while Danny O'Brien -- we're assuming that's who No. 7 is -- earned just a 71 rating).

But again, the overall ratings are done by adding up the player rankings and there are a number of players who rank highly for Wisconsin:

RB Montee Ball - 98
LB Chris Borland - 94
C Travis Frederick - 93
LT Ricky Wagner - 93
TE Jacob Pedersen- 93
WR Jared Abbrederis - 91
RB James White - 91
LB Mike Taylor - 89
RT Rob Havenstein - 89
G Casey Dehn - 89
LB Derek Landisch - 88
G Ryan Groy - 88
P Drew Meyer - 87

It's hard to say Ball is overrated after what he did last season and he deservedly is tied with USC QB Matt Barkley and Notre Dame LB Manti Teo for the highest rating in the game.

I also don't have any issue with where Borland, Frederick and Wagner are. It is, however, easy to argue that Pedersen and White are little high -- especially considering White's quiet season last year.

But the last five guys all seem too high. I don't doubt their talent at all, but most of them are unproven. Havenstein has the most experience and should be the highest rated of the final five, but Landisch and Meyer are basically untested, while Dehn left the team last season and came back. Meanwhile, Groy showed inconsistencies last season.

Again, I think all five of those players will be good assets to the Badgers this season, but have they proven enough already to be rated in the high 80s?

The cumulative effect was the Badgers earning a 99 as a team, which seems a little high. What do you think?

This post was sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 13. Check out the video for the game below.

EA SPORTS NCAA Football 13 TV: "Son" (via EASPORTS)

Who is Wisconsin's biggest Heisman snub?

Adam Hoge — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 00:03:48 -0000

EA Sports NCAA Football '13 is all about the Heisman Trophy this year as you put any previous Heisman winner on any current team.

Last week, we asked you which former Heisman winner you would want on the Badgers. This week, EA Sports wants to know which UW non-Heisman winner should have won the trophy.

For me, we don't have to go too far back to get the answer. In fact, we only need to go back about seven months. Last December, Montee Ball received a trip to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist but didn't win the award. I'm not sure I necessarily disagree with Robert Griffin III winning it, but Ball was certainly worthy.

Ball finished the year with 39 touchdowns scored (33 rushing, six receiving), smashing the Big Ten record of 26 touchdowns with two regular season games remaining. He even threw a touchdown pass that didn't count towards that record.

Ball led the nation with 1923 rushing yards and finished with a staggering 6.26 yards per carry average. While Alabama running back Trent Richardson received most of the praise nationally, it's hard to argue that there was a better running back in the country than Ball.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin's stud tailback didn't win the Heisman. The good news? Ball came back for more in 2012 and has a very good chance to do it this year.

This post was sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 13. Check out the video for the game below.

EA SPORTS NCAA Football 13 TV: "Son" (via EASPORTS)

Which Heisman Trophy Winner Would You Have Loved To See On The Badgers?

Adam Hoge — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 02:17:09 -0000

EA Sports NCAA Football '13 is out and this year's game includes an interesting new feature where you can put past Heisman Trophy winners on any team.

So, with that in mind, which Heisman Trophy winners from other teams would have loved to see play for the Badgers?

For me, Desmond Howard's name immediately jumped to mind, but ultimately, I think I would go with Barry Sanders. No one was as electric as Sanders and he would have fit in perfectly with the legacy of running backs Wisconsin is currently building.

Of course, Sanders' records are the ones that always seem to come up when we talk about Montee Ball, who will make another run at the Heisman Trophy this season.

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This post was sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 13. Check out the video for the game below.

EA SPORTS NCAA Football 13 TV: "Son" (via EASPORTS)

Badgers In The Olympics: What's Your Favorite Moment?

Adam Hoge — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:35:57 -0000

As the olympics creep closer, Yahoo! is asking us what our favorite olympic moments are.

To keep a Badgers spin on this, my favorite olympic moment didn't happen too long ago. The 2010 gold medal game between the United States and Canada in the winter olympics was truly an electric event. Working at 670 The Score in Chicago (where neither hockey nor the olympics are huge), it was really cool to see that game take over the airwaves that weekend. Everyone was into it as the Americans made a run to the gold medal game before ultimately falling to Canada in Vancouver.

Four Badgers played in that game as Dany Heatley won the gold with Canada and Ryan Suter, Brian Rafalski and Joe Pavelski won the silver for the United States.

Canada and the United States also met in the women's ice hockey gold medal game that year, a game that featured nine -- yes, nine -- Badges. Meaghan Mikkelson and Carla MacLeod won the gold for Canada and Molly Engstrom, Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight, Erika Lawler, Jessie Vetter, Kerry Weiland and Jinelle Zaugg won the silver for the U.S. The amount of Badgers in that game says a lot about Mark Johnson's program. Very impressive.

The summer olympics get underway in London July 27 and run through August 12. What are your favorite olympic moments?

Celebrate the most compelling moments in Summer Games history with 'Memorable Moments' on Yahoo! Sports. Re-live moments such as Nadia Comaneci's perfect 10s in Montreal, Michael Phelps' record eight gold medals in Beijing, Carl Lewis' unforgettable four gold medals in Los Angeles, the spectacular success of the 1992 US Dream Team, Muhammad Ali in Rome and Atlanta, and any more!

These special moments are showcased through exclusive video, iconic photos, and stories on Yahoo!'s hub dedicated to the coverage of the Games. Enjoy the unique storytelling from Yahoo! Sports' award-winning writers and experts, as well as through the lens of Yahoo!'s users themselves.

Check out Memorable Moments on Yahoo! Sports!

What's Your Favorite Badgers Highlight Of The Year?

Adam Hoge — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 03:31:43 -0000

Over the last few weeks, Samsung has been asking SBNation readers about their favorite highlights of the year. This week, the college sites are up.

Unfortunately, the Badgers were on the wrong end of what might have been the highlight of the year when Michigan State beat Wisconsin on a Hail Mary in East Lansing. Fortunately, quarterback Russell Wilson came back with his own Hail Mary-like highlight against the Spartans in the Big Ten Championship Game that landed the Badgers back in the Rose Bowl.

That goes down as my favorite highlight of the past school year. What is your favorite highlight?

LISTEN: Future Badger Sam Dekker joins ESPN Madison

Adam Hoge — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:40:22 -0000

LISTEN: Future Badger Sam Dekker joins ESPN Madison

Sam Dekker will be joining the Badger basketball team next year and he certainly has fans excited after he scored 40 points (including 12 points in the last 44 seconds and the game-winning three) in the Wisconsin state championship game Saturday.

Dekker joined Jim Rutledge and Tom Lea on the Badger Hour Monday. Listen to the interview by clicking on the headline above!

With Melo out, which team has the edge in the East now?

Adam Hoge — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:39:38 -0000

This post is sponsored by Yahoo! You can support Bucky's 5th Quarter by heading over to Yahoo! Tourney Pick 'Em to submit a bracket in the Yahoo!/SB Nation "Wisdom of the Crowds" bracket challenge and/or set up their own bracket league.

The biggest news in the NCAA Tournament thus far was the revelation that Syracuse center Fab Melo would miss the entire dance with an academic issue.

That development has many people re-thinking the East Region and with the Badgers on the same half of the region with the Orange, it was certainly a break for Wisconsin. CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm even went as far as to say Syracuse likely would have only been a No. 2 seed had the committee known Melo would be out.

So which team has the edge in the East now? To help answer that question, here's how I rank the top five teams in the East region in terms of their chances of making the Final Four.

1. (2) Ohio State Buckeyes - The Bucks were close to getting a No. 1 seed anyway. Despite the loss in the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State is playing well right now and is my favorite to represent the East region in the Final Four.

2. (3) Florida State Seminoles - The 'Noles won the ACC Tournament and went through Duke and North Carolina to do it. Now on a five-game win streak, Florida State seems destined for the Sweet 16, despite a somewhat tricky matchup against A-10 Tournament champion St. Bonaventure in the first round.

3. (1) Syracuse Orange - Before anyone tries to make the argument that the Badgers have a better shot at the Final Four than Syracuse now, let's keep in mind that the Orange still only has two losses this season. It lost at Notre Dame without Melo earlier this year, but the Irish were playing well and it was a road game, not a neutral game. This is still a really good team.

4. (4) Wisconsin Badgers - The door is certainly open for the Badgers with Melo out. If UW can make threes against Syracuse's zone, they'll win. But getting to the Sweet 16 won't be easy. Vanderbilt is playing well and we saw what happened when Wisconsin met an Ivy team (Cornell) in the second round two years ago. And Harvard is even better.

5. (5) Vanderbilt Commodores - Vandy seems to be everyone's sleeper just because they won the SEC Tournament. Meanwhile, everyone is ignoring how bad the SEC is and the fact that Kentucky clearly wasn't all that motivated in the championship game. Don't be surprised if an under-seeded Harvard team takes the 'Dores out Thursday.

Yahoo! Tourney Pick'em supports SBNation and the best college sports tournament of the year. Join the bracket pools of Drew Brees, Michael Phelps, and Lil Wayne-- all while competing in the $5 million Perfect Bracket and $10,000 Best Bracket Sweepstakes. Be part of the best and biggest Yahoo! Sports tourney game yet – sign up today!

What history tells us about how far the Badgers will go

Adam Hoge — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:29:27 -0000

We know how frustrating it can be to predict how far the Badgers will go in the NCAA Tournament. It's great that they are in the tournament every year, but they hardly ever make a deep run.

Yet, every year, you're wondering if this is the year Bo Ryan finally leads his team to the Final Four.

And every year, there's at least one big name expert who has Wisconsin in their Final Four. This time, it's Joe Lunardi.

Let me give you some advice: Don't put the Badgers in the Final Four.

That's not to say I don't think they have a shot, but if you're goal is to win your bracket pool, you probably don't want to go in that direction.

In the same breath, however, here's some more advice: Don't use Montana as your Cinderella this year.

Look, it's the NCAA Tournament, so anything can happen, but history tells us two things with the Badgers: 1) Bo Ryan doesn't lose in the first round and 2) Bo Ryan doesn't make the Final Four.

In his 10 NCAA Tournaments at Wisconsin, Bo Ryan is 9-1 in the first round with his only loss coming as a No. 9 seed against No. 8-seeded Arizona. Those 8-9 games are always toss ups.

That said, as has been well documented, Bo Ryan has also never made the Final Four at Wisconsin.

So how far should you have the Badgers going in your bracket?

Here are some key Bo Ryan records:

Round of 64: 9-1

Round of 32: 4-5

Sweet 16: 1-3

Elite Eight: 0-1

Based on these records, it would probably be a good idea to predict a Badgers loss in either the Round of 32 or the Sweet 16.

This is the third straight season in which the Badgers are a No. 4 seed and while they made it to the Sweet 16 last year, they lost to No. 12-seeded Cornell in the second round the year before that. Thus, based on history, it's a toss up to put them in the Sweet 16, but it would be unwise to put them in the Elite Eight, especially when you consider Bo Ryan is 0-3 against No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

Big Ten Championship Game/Selection Sunday Open Thread

Adam Hoge — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 20:36:10 -0000

Here's an open thread to discuss the Big Ten Championship Game and the NCAA Selection Show.

Looks like the Badgers will end up as a No. 4 seed, but we'll find out for sure at 5 p.m. CT on CBS!

VIDEO: Rob Wilson After Dropping 30 On Minnesota

Adam Hoge — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:36:35 -0000

VIDEO: Rob Wilson After Dropping 30 On Minnesota

After the game, Rob Wilson told teammate Jordan Taylor, "I don’t know the last time I took 16 shots."

Click on the headline above to see the full video!

2012 Big Ten Tournament Bracket

Adam Hoge — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:31:23 -0000

Here's your 2012 Big Ten Tournament bracket:

(Click on the bracket for a larger view.)

(Courtesy Big Ten.)

Introducing the SBNation YouTube Channel

Adam Hoge — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:46:30 -0000

SBNation is launching its own YouTube channel and it all starts Thursday.

Personalities like Bomani Jones from Around The Horn and Amy K. Nelson will have their own shows on the channel which will be based out of SBNation's ridiculously impressive TV studios.

In addition to Bomani Jones and Amy K. Nelson, you'll also get a solid dose of college football on the Shutdown Fullback, which will star Spencer Hall from Every Day Should Be Saturday and Jason Kirk, SBNation's college football editor.

Here's a trailer for their show:

It all starts Thursday. Subscribe to the channel here!

Bielema questions Urban Meyer's recruiting

Adam Hoge — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:52:55 -0000

Bielema questions Urban Meyer's recruiting

When asked about Urban Meyer possibly changing the landscape of recruiting in the Big Ten, Bret Bielema took the opportunity to make it known how he feels about the new Ohio State coach's tactics.

Alvarez comes up short in statement regarding Chadima allegations

Adam Hoge — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:25:05 -0000

Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez released a statement Wednesday night in the wake of the allegations of sexual assault by former senior associate athletic director John Chadima on a male student.

The word "alcohol" is notably absent in his statement and while Alvarez acknowledges he knew about "similar gatherings" in the past, he claims he didn't know about this one. How convenient.

Here's the statement with my reaction following:

I am saddened by the allegations that have resulted in the resignation of John Chadima. John worked for the University of Wisconsin Department of Athletics for 22 years, many of them under my direct supervision. He was a trusted and valued employee and someone I relied upon. To my knowledge and, as the findings of the review team show, this was an isolated allegation. That being said, it represents highly inappropriate behavior and I am disappointed in John’s conduct.

I am pleased that the review team found that our athletic department staff acted appropriately and swiftly in reporting the allegation. We have stressed to our employees the importance of reporting any allegations or incidents that involve staff members or occur in our facilities and I am glad the proper action was taken. I also commend our staff for their continued support of the individual who brought this allegation forward.

This allegation occurred during a gathering of athletic department staff. I am aware that similar gatherings have taken place in the past; however, contrary to the findings of the incident review, neither Sean Frazier nor I was aware that this year’s event had taken place until hearing about this allegation. The gathering in question was John’s way to recognize many of our staff who work behind the scenes and are not invited to other bowl-related events. I did not know that some of our student employees were involved. That is unacceptable and our staff will be educated about the inappropriateness of such behavior.

Considering the alleged presence of alcohol purchased with donor money and underage students at the party (not "gathering"), I simply can't comprehend how Alvarez -- or whoever wrote it -- released a statement without addressing this secondary issue -- you know, the issue that directly involves Alvarez.

Also, I find it really hard to believe that he didn't know about this party when he admits he knew about previous ones. That's just my opinion. Take it or leave it.

The bigger issue here is that Alvarez admits to knowing about these parties and they weren't stopped. As a result, something really bad happened with Chadima allegedly sexually assaulting a student. What's more, Chadima is accused of abusing his power.

In Alvarez's case, he didn't use his power. He could have prevented these parties from happening and he didn't.

While this case is certainly less severe than what happened at Penn State, the root of the problem is still the same: People with power at universities are abusing it and others with even more power are turning their head when they see something wrong.

To his credit, Chadima admitted wrongdoing, acknowledged his problems and apologized.

Unfortunately, Alvarez did the opposite.

READ: UW's incident report on allegations of sexual assault by John Chadima

Adam Hoge — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:05:18 -0000

Below is the report from Judge Patrick Fiedler's independent review team on allegations of misconduct by senior associate athletic director John Chadima.

READ: John Chadima Rose Bowl Incident Report
(If you have trouble opening the document, right click and "Save As" to your computer.)

In the report, Chadima's actions are referred to as "sexual assault" and the findings are quite disturbing.

The report alleges that while in Los Angeles for the Rose Bowl, Chadima threw a party "for the staff and student employees who worked 'behind the scenes' in support of the football team," as he has done before at least the last four bowl games. This party took place Dec. 30 in Chadima's suite at the J.W. Marriott in downtown Los Angeles where the Badger football team and traveling party stayed during their trip.

At the conclusion of the party, Chadima allegedly asked one student to stay in his room as everyone else left. The student was a male described as "John Doe" in the report. The report says Chadima allegedly accused the student of being gay before he "reached over and removed Doe's pants belt and then inserted his hand inside Doe's pants on his genitals."

After the student slapped Chadima's hand away, Chadima said, "I thought you liked it" and "What are you going to do about it?" and "I could have you fired," according to the report.

Chadima released a statement Tuesday night in which he admitted to a problem with alcohol and says, "I was wrong in these decisions, and once again, deeply apologize to all those affected."

READ: John Chadima Statement On The Report Findings

Obviously these are disturbing allegations and carry an enormous amount of weight after what has been revealed at Penn State the last few months.

If there's any bright side, the report details a very well handled response to the allegations by the University of Wisconsin. There doesn't appear to be any kind of cover-up. In fact, the report says that the student reported the allegations to a superior immediately that night and it was the student's request to wait until after the Rose Bowl to pursue action.

The report includes an attached document from the University of Wisconsin Police Department to the university's deans and directors that specifically mentions the Penn State scandal and details UW's crime prevention objectives and reporting obligations.

Clearly, the Penn State scandal had an impact on how this incident was handled by the University of Wisconsin.

Obviously, it's great to see this awful situation handled so well by UW, but one can only wonder if it would have been handled the same way pre-Jerry Sandusky/Penn State.

We can only hope so.

Badgers ranked No. 14 in SBNation's early 2012 BlogPoll Top 25

Adam Hoge — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:35:20 -0000

Those of us who vote in the BlogPoll Top 25 participated in an early 2012 version and the Badgers ended up No. 14.

Apparently, I'm not giving Wisconsin enough credit. I ranked UW No. 18 and ended up with the second lowest "biased score", which measures the difference between where a team is ranked compared to where the blogger representing that team ranked them.

Here's my full ballot (and yes, I have Purdue ranked):

Bucky's 5th Quarter Ballot - Week 17

Rank	Team	Delta
1	USC Trojans	6
2	LSU Tigers	2
3	Oregon Ducks	--
4	Georgia Bulldogs	11
5	Arkansas Razorbacks	--
6	Alabama Crimson Tide	-5
7	West Virginia Mountaineers	9
8	Oklahoma Sooners	13
9	Michigan Wolverines	3
10	South Carolina Gamecocks	1
11	Ohio St. Buckeyes	--
12	TCU Horned Frogs	2
13	Florida St. Seminoles	9
14	Kansas St. Wildcats	3
15	Nebraska Cornhuskers	10
16	Stanford Cardinal	-10
17	Michigan St. Spartans	-8
18	Wisconsin Badgers	-8
19	Virginia Tech Hokies	--
20	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	--
21	Texas Longhorns	--
22	Clemson Tigers	1
23	Boise St. Broncos	-15
24	Auburn Tigers	--
25	Purdue Boilermakers	--
Dropouts: Oklahoma St. Cowboys, Baylor Bears, Houston Cougars, Southern Miss. Golden Eagles, Northern Illinois Huskies

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "

For the full Top 25 and a breakdown of the poll, click here.

We're going to do a few of these throughout the offseason. The next one will come after signing day.

Report: Bostad leaving Pitt already to join Bears

Adam Hoge — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:54:26 -0000

Report: Bostad leaving Pitt already to join Bears

My radio station, 670 The Score in Chicago, is reporting that former UW offensive line coach Bob Bostad is leaving Pitt already to become the offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears.

Considering Bostad left Wisconsin just a few weeks ago to join Paul Chryst at Pitt, I think this qualifies as a shocker.

UPDATE: A Bears source assured me that this move is not a done deal, but a Badgers source says not to rule it out despite Bostad's loyalty to Chryst. My updated story.

XFINITY Presents: The Ultimate Sports Social Media Job Contest

Adam Hoge — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:41:41 -0000

If you're looking to get started in sports with a social media job, our friends at Comcast have a great opportunity for you.

Have you ever wanted a shot at winning your dream job in sports social media? Here’s your chance – XFINITY is launching a nationwide contest to find the next sports social media star to serve as the voice of XFINITY behind-the-scenes at the biggest sporting events nationwide in 2012.

The contest is called "Xfinity Presents: The Ultimate Sports Social Media Job" and runs from January 13^th through March 25^th. The winner will receive a one-year salary, all the electronics for the ultimate sports pad, and will have the opportunity to share thoughts, insights, and content with fans nationwide via the @XFINITYSports Twitter handle on a daily basis. This is truly a dream job opportunity for anyone looking to make a name for themselves in the world of sports and social media.

Here’s how it works:

From January 13 – February 6, you can log on to Facebook.com/XFINITY and submit a :30-2:00 video on the Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest tab that shows why your sports knowledge, social media expertise, personality, and passion for Comcast products and services makes you the perfect candidate for the job.

The top video submissions will be featured on the Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest tab located on Facebook.com/XFINITY for fans to vote on from February 9-19. The five entrants who tally the most votes will advance to the final round of the contest where they will cover one of five premier sports events the weekend of March 8-11. Following that weekend, a panel of judges will evaluate each performance and announce the winner of the contest by March 25th!

Head today to Facebook.com/XFINITY and click on the Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest tab for all the details, as well as contest rules. Enter soon, as February 6th is the deadline for video submissions! Thanks to Bucky's 5th Quarter's partner XFINITY for bringing this opportunity to our readers.

There will be two more posts in the future reminding you of this opportunity, but don't wait! Sign up today.

B5Q Turns 3 Years Old: A Thank You From The Editor

Adam Hoge — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:49:44 -0000

Happy birthday to us.

On January 12, 2009, I officially launched Bucky's 5th Quarter on the Blogger network. About a month later, we joined SBNation and the rest is history.

It's hard to believe it's been three years and I can't believe how much we have accomplished in that time.

The site started as a one man operation. Today, we have four editors and eight total contributors bringing you the latest Badger news every day.

In an age where journalism is evolving faster than anyone can realize, I believe Bucky's 5th Quarter represents that change more than any other Badgers news source. We walk the fine line between straight reporting and blogging, but I believe that is to our credit and not our fault. If you haven't noticed, newspapers are starting to revolutionize their content to mimic the blogosphere and not the other way around. We were ahead of the game in game analysis, daily link compilations and, maybe most importantly, Twitter.

But I have never considered Bucky's 5th Quarter to be a straight fan blog like many of the other great sites on the SBNation network. While I went to Wisconsin and started this site about eight months after I graduated, I came straight from UW's Journalism School and created B5Q with the goal of keeping my writing skills fresh while I got started in the radio and TV business at WGN Radio and the Big Ten Network. Because of that, the "fanatic" analysis has mostly been left to you -- our readers -- in the comments, FanShots and FanPosts sections.

That said, all of our contributors are Badgers at heart and it's only natural for that emotion to show itself at times. Thus, I believe Bucky's 5th Quarter has evolved into somewhat of a "sports radio meets the blogsphere" medium where discussion and strong opinions are welcome at all times. We've combined this with hard news reporting at games, giving the Badger fan a unique place unlike any other (this includes most of the SBNation network which is much more fan driven).

Of course to do that, we need access, and we greatly appreciate that the Badgers have given us that access. Many universities and professional sports teams have been reluctant to distribute credentials to web sites like ours (in fact, we might have the most access across the entire SBNation network) and we're lucky that Wisconsin has embraced this unique connection to their fan base.

Honestly, I never expected Bucky's 5th Quarter to become what it has. We've covered two Rose Bowls, three Big Ten Tournaments, two full football seasons and three full years of Wisconsin basketball (all while our contributors have been attending school or maintaining full-time employment elsewhere). This year, we also introduced our hockey coverage, which has been a great success. And, of course, we've published an in-depth 128-page football magazine each of the last two seasons.

But we are not content. We plan on continuing to make the site better and we'd love to hear from you on how we should do that (feel free to leave your suggestions below).

Finally, the last thing I want to emphasize is that our content will always be free to you. We have never charged you a subscription fee to access our content and we never will. If you haven't noticed, even the newspapers are starting to charge you to read their online stories. Not us.

So, on behalf of Phil, Chuck, John, Jake, Adam, Louis and Sam, I'd like to thank you for being here with us over the last three years.

We hope you'll stick around for at least three more.

Final BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot Of 2011 Season

Adam Hoge — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:39:19 -0000

Below is my final BlogPoll Top 25 ballot of the 2011 season. There will be a 2012 poll next week looking ahead to next season.

Bucky's 5th Quarter Ballot - Week 16

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	1
2	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	1
3	Oregon Ducks	2
4	LSU Tigers	-3
5	Arkansas Razorbacks	1
6	Stanford Cardinal	-2
7	USC Trojans	1
8	Boise St. Broncos	-1
9	Michigan St. Spartans	1
10	Wisconsin Badgers	-1
11	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
12	Michigan Wolverines	--
13	Baylor Bears	--
14	TCU Horned Frogs	2
15	Georgia Bulldogs	--
16	West Virginia Mountaineers	4
17	Kansas St. Wildcats	--
18	Houston Cougars	5
19	Virginia Tech Hokies	-1
20	Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	2
21	Oklahoma Sooners	--
22	Florida St. Seminoles	2
23	Clemson Tigers	-9
24	Northern Illinois Huskies	1
25	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-6
Dropouts: Penn St. Nittany Lions

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "

BCS National Championship Preview: Who Has The Edge?

Adam Hoge — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:49:18 -0000

BCS National Championship Preview: Who Has The Edge?

Here's a story I wrote for CBSChicago.com today. Everything you need to know before tonight's big game between LSU and Alabama. Includes my prediction.

Rudolph Leaving For Pitt Too

Adam Hoge — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:37:16 -0000

Another one bites the dust.

Joe Rudolph has officially joined Paul Chryst and Bob Bostad at Pitt.

The move suggests Bret Bielema was not going to offer Rudolph the offensive coordinator position at Wisconsin, because this is an otherwise lateral move, although Rudolph is from the Pittsburgh area.

Bielema now only has one remaining offensive coach on his staff: running backs coach Thomas Hammock.

Rudolph also served as Wisconsin's recruiting coordinator and his departure is a huge blow in that regard. It will be very interesting to see if any Badgers verbal commits change their mind before Feb. 1.

Peter Konz Watch - Friday, January 6

Adam Hoge — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:02:07 -0000

So Paul Chryst is leaving and Montee Ball is staying. What about center Peter Konz?

He's next on our watch list and there seemed to be some confusion regarding his future earlier. The Wisconsin State Journal was at one point this morning reporting that Peter Konz was both leaving for the NFL and staying at Wisconsin. Now, I've never heard of any player playing in both the NFL and college football, so one could only assume Konz would be the first player ever to pull that off.

Kidding of course, but Badgers fans will probably not find it funny that Konz is likely heading to the NFL.

11:35 AM - Andy Baggot cleared up his earlier tweet about Konz staying with a follow-up:

My apologies for misinterpreting a text earlier today regarding Peter Konz's plans. Good luck to him in the NFL draft.
— Andy Baggot (@AndyBaggotWSJ) January 6, 2012

Still no official word from Konz or the Badgers, but he's a goner.

9:20 AM - The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is also reporting that Konz will declare for the NFL Draft.

9:15 AM - Tom Mulbern now has a story on Madison.com about Konz leaving. Looks like that is the verdict.

9:13 AM - It started with Tom Mulhern writing on Twitter at 8:49 a.m. that Konz was leaving:

#Badgers center Peter Konz is declaring for NFL draft. Story up shortly.
— Tom Mulhern (@TomMulhernWSJ) January 6, 2012

Then, three minutes later, Andy Baggot reported that Konz was staying at Wisconsin:

And then there's this: RT @AndyBaggotWSJ: A source says Peter Konz staying with Badgers. Three great captains now: Ball, Borland and Konz.
— Adam Hoge (@B5Q) January 6, 2012

Now, I had to embed my own retweet of Andy's tweet because he has since deleted it. What does that mean? Well, unfortunately for Badger fans, it probably means the State Journal is going with Mulhern's report that Konz is leaving.

We'll keep you updated with any developments right here so keep checking for more.

Ball to announce decision at 3 PM press conference

Adam Hoge — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:32:52 -0000

Ball to announce decision at 3 PM press conference

Montee Ball will announce his decision to stay at Wisconsin or leave for the NFL in a 3 PM CT press conference at Camp Randall Stadium.

The press conference will be broadcast on BTN and available online at BTN.com and InsideBadgerSports.com.

We'll also have you covered on Twitter at @B5Q.

Assistant Coach Watch - Wednesday, Jan. 4

Adam Hoge — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:42:07 -0000

On what started as a day in which we thought we'd just be watching for an announcement from Montee Ball, we are now watching a parade of assistant coaches leave the Badgers.

We'll update this story throughout the day as situation develops.

8:15 PM - The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Joe Rudolph is "solid" on returning to Wisconsin and will not leave before the start of next season. Rudolph, who will take over as offensive line coach, will also be the running game coordinator, according to the report. Keeping Rudolph is important because he has had a lot of success as the team's recruiting coordinator.

Meanwhile, the report also says center Peter Konz will be more inclined to stay at UW for his senior season if Rudolph stays on the staff.

3:10 PM - The Badgers made it official with DelVaughn Alexander's move to Arizona State:

Good luck to former WRs coach DelVaughn Alexander! Moving on to @SparkyArizonaSt
— Badger Football (@BadgerFootball) January 4, 2012

3:02 PM - According to the Wisconsin State Journal, linebackers coach Dave Huxtable is leaving Wisconsin to take the defensive coordinator job under Paul Chryst at Pitt despite saying last week that he was "100 percent" staying in Madison. In addition, wide receivers coach DelVaughn is headed to Arizona State, but it's unclear what position he is taking in Tempe.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State co-offensive coordinator Jay Norwell has emerged as a candidate for the vacant offensive coordinator job at Wisconsin, according to the paper. He is a Madison native and has talked to Bielema about the job. Of course if Bielema hires Norwell, he could also lose recruiting coordinator Joe Rudolph who is set to take over as offensive line coach and is candidate to be the offensive coordinator at UW. Rudolph is close to Chryst and reportedly has an offer waiting for him at Pitt.

Former offensive line coach Bob Bostad has already announced he is joining Chryst in Pittsburgh.

All four departing coaches' names (Chryst, Bostad, Huxtable and Alexander) have been removed from the Badgers' official website.

LIVE GAME THREAD: No. 10/11 Michigan State at No. 18/19 Wisconsin

Adam Hoge — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:24:29 -0000

Big Ten Men's Basketball No. 10/11 Michigan State at No. 18/19 Wisconsin
	vs
13-2 (2-0 Big Ten)		12-3 (1-1 Big Ten)
Jan. 3, 2012 6:00 PM CT Kohl Center (17,230), Madison, Wis.
TV: ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen & Dan Dakich) Radio: 101.5 FM / 1310 AM (Matt Lepay & Mike Lucas)
All-time Series: Wis leads 77-76 Last Meeting: UW won 62-59 (OT), (2/9/11)

Big Ten Men's Basketball

No. 10/11 Michigan State at No. 18/19 Wisconsin

13-2 (2-0 Big Ten)

12-3 (1-1 Big Ten)

Jan. 3, 2012 6:00 PM CT

Kohl Center (17,230), Madison, Wis.

TV: ESPN2

(Bob Wischusen & Dan Dakich)

Radio: 101.5 FM / 1310 AM

(Matt Lepay & Mike Lucas)

All-time Series: Wis leads 77-76

Last Meeting: UW won 62-59 (OT), (2/9/11)

Better late than ever. We're all still in Southern California or getting back from Southern California so my apologies for getting the game thread up a little late today.

The basketball team has a huge game tonight against Michigan State. Can't afford to drop your first conference home games in the Big Ten.

We unfortunately don't have any live coverage from the Kohl Center, but feel free to discuss the game below.

Big Ten Men's Basketball No. 10/11 Michigan State at No. 18/19 Wisconsin
	vs
13-2 (2-0 Big Ten)		12-3 (1-1 Big Ten)
Jan. 3, 2012 6:00 PM CT Kohl Center (17,230), Madison, Wis.
TV: ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen & Dan Dakich) Radio: 101.5 FM / 1310 AM (Matt Lepay & Mike Lucas)
All-time Series: Wis leads 77-76 Last Meeting: UW won 62-59 (OT), (2/9/11)

Big Ten Men's Basketball

No. 10/11 Michigan State at No. 18/19 Wisconsin

13-2 (2-0 Big Ten)

12-3 (1-1 Big Ten)

Jan. 3, 2012 6:00 PM CT

Kohl Center (17,230), Madison, Wis.

TV: ESPN2

(Bob Wischusen & Dan Dakich)

Radio: 101.5 FM / 1310 AM

(Matt Lepay & Mike Lucas)

All-time Series: Wis leads 77-76

Last Meeting: UW won 62-59 (OT), (2/9/11)

Better late than ever. We're all still in Southern California or getting back from Southern California so my apologies for getting the game thread up a little late today.

The basketball team has a huge game tonight against Michigan State. Can't afford to drop your first conference home games in the Big Ten.

We unfortunately don't have any live coverage from the Kohl Center, but feel free to discuss the game below.

B5Q Film Session: Breaking Down Oregon's 3-4 Hybrid Defense & Special Teams Advantage

Adam Hoge — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:31:25 -0000

Greetings from American Airlines flight 1155 with service from Chicago to Los Angeles. Internet on airplanes is truly awesome.

Yesterday we broke down Oregon's zone read offense and today we're going to take a look at the Ducks' 3-4 hybrid defense as well as their apparent advantage on special teams.

Their defense is called a 3-4 hybrid because there are really only three true defensive linemen on the field, but they will almost always have at least four players lined up on the line by bringing a linebacker or two up. If you look at their depth chart, you would actually think they are running a 4-3 because it lists two defensive ends, two defensive tackles and three linebackers. The catch is that one of the defensive ends is really in the mold of a linebacker.

At 6-3, 265, Terrell Turner is listed as a defensive end, but his height and weight put him right in the middle of being a linebacker and a defensive end, thus he's a "hybrid" player. Tony Washington also gets time at the position at 6-3, 262.

With this hybrid player, Oregon has the ability to disguise blitzes very well and cause a lot of confusion for the opposing offensive line. At times, they'll drop Turner/Washington into coverage and blitz a different linebacker. Sometimes they'll put as many as six guys on the line, rushing some but not all. This makes it hard for the offensive line to know who to block and they often get caught guessing.

It also can confuse the quarterback, which I'll show you below.

In this play, Oregon linebacker Dewitt Stucky intercepts Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck because of the confusion the Ducks caused at the line of scrimmage.

Let's take a look at how they lined up defensively:

As you can see, Oregon has five guys on the line of scrimmage. Turner, the hybrid linebacker/defensive end, is the guy circled on the left. Linebackers Michael Clay (middle circle) and Stucky (right circle) are also on the line of scrimmage. But as you'll see, when the ball is snapped, all three drop into coverage and only two linemen rush the quarterback with a cornerback blitzing from the right side.

With not a whole lot of pressure, Stanford actually blocks the rush well, but Luck is confused by the coverage and it's 3rd-and-9 so he has to unload a pass. After looking left, he decides to check down to the right, where Stucky is ready to jump the pass.

The image quality here isn't great, but Stucky successfully jumps the route and intercepts Luck's pass. He returns it 30 yards to the 20-yard line and sets up Oregon's first touchdown of the game.

This is the type of confusion the Ducks will try to inflict on Russell Wilson and the Badger offensive line. Oregon's cornerbacks aren't great and they are battling injuries so if the Badgers can figure out the coverages, Nick Toon and Jared Abbrederis could have a big day. That's a big "if" though, as I think UW's pass protection has been overrated this year. It's important for Peter Konz to play and the offensive line to perform well. Of course, Wisconsin's stellar running game should help keep the Badgers out of 3rd-and-long situations in which these defensive packages can be so dangerous.

So, Oregon scored a touchdown off this interception and that immediately leads us to special teams. The obvious disadvantage is De'Anthony Thomas vs Wisconsin's kick coverage unit, but we'll get to that in a moment. After scoring this touchdown against Stanford, the Ducks went for two. Watch for yourself:

This is the kind of trickery that Wisconsin has to watch out for and considering how the Big Ten Championship Game went (remember, Michigan State converted a two-point conversion on a fake extra point) it could be tough. Of course, remember Bret Bielema faked a punt in last year's Rose Bowl.

And then there's De'Anthony Thomas. Not much to breakdown. Just watch for yourself and try not to have nightmares leading up to the game:

Jump Around to be played at Rose Bowl

Adam Hoge — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:35:19 -0000

Jump Around to be played at Rose Bowl

The Wisconsin State Journal's Adam Mertz has confirmed that Jump Around will be played at the Rose Bowl in between the third and fourth quarters.

To accommodate Oregon fans, they will also play "Shout" in between the third and fourth quarters. Shout is an Oregon fan favorite, but little do they know that it's played at most Wisconsin home games as well.

B5Q Film Session: Breaking Down Oregon's Zone Read Offense

Adam Hoge — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:29:45 -0000

By now you've probably heard a little about Oregon's "complex" offense. Over the last few days, I've spent a lot of time watching some Oregon film, spending the most time on their win over Stanford and their loss against USC.

After watching the film, I've made some general conclusions:

Oregon's offense isn't as high-powered and daunting as you might think.
It's also not as complex as you might think. The Ducks actually run the same formations and plays a lot, but the players are free to improvise after the snap. A run up the middle out of one formation, might go to the outside out of the very same formation the next time, just because the running back reads the defense that way. But that's what makes it so hard to defend: They keep the defense guessing.
While I'd say Wisconsin's offense is more potent than Oregon's, the Ducks' playmakers are a bad matchup for the Badgers.

The offense is mainly a "zone read" spread offense. This is a term you might be familiar with because Wisconsin has seen these offenses before. Most plays start with quarterback Darron Thomas showing a handoff to the running back (usually LaMichael James or Kenjon Barner). Thomas reads the backside defensive end and makes a decision to either give the running back the ball or keep it himself.

Most of Oregon's running plays are either an "inside zone read" or an "outside zone read". The only difference is where the play is designed to go -- either inside the tackles or outside.

Looking at some older film, the Ducks would actually show whether they were running an outside or inside zone read based on the formation they were in. They did this on purpose to try to get the defense to overload to one side. If the running back was lined up to the side or off-set and slightly in front of the quarterback, then they were running an outside zone read. If the running back was off-set behind the quarterback, then they were running an inside zone read. This seems to have changed this season, specifically recently as Oregon has been running both reads out of the same formation with the running back almost always off-set about a yard behind Thomas.

(Note: The running back is almost always lined up off-set to one side of the quarterback. Sometimes in power sets there will be one lined up behind Thomas, but not often.)

Below is an example of what an inside zone read typically looks like:

As you can see, James is off-set to Thomas' right, about a yard behind him. The side he is lined up on is called the backside, while the other side (the side the play is designed to go to) is called the play-side. If Thomas gets the ball, he'll usually run inside the left tackle. That can cause defenses to overload to that side, creating holes elsewhere. This is exactly what the Ducks want because James has the ability to shift quickly and find those holes, or Chip Kelly will run a play out of the exact same formation designed to find one of those other holes.

Here's how the actual read works:

At the point of the handoff, Thomas is reading the backside defensive end. If the defensive end stays put (like he is here) then he hands the ball off to the running back. If the defensive end comes up to make a play on the running back, Thomas keeps the ball.

Making the correct reads is the most important job Thomas has and sometimes he struggles at this. Early in both the Stanford and USC games, he struggled with making the proper reads and the Ducks offense sputtered in the first quarter. In fact, this is a common theme for Oregon and if the Badgers can cause some confusion for Thomas early, the Wisconsin offense may be able to build an early lead.

Now let's look at the outside zone read:

I mentioned earlier that Oregon used to show the outside zone read before the snap with a different formation, but that has mostly changed based on what I watched. You'll see above that this formation is pretty much the same as the one they used on the inside zone read above. In this case, however, Oregon will pull the center and left guard (like Wisconsin loves to do) and the running back can bounce outside the tackle for a big gain. The play above went for a touchdown.

Of course, Oregon doesn't just run the ball all day. In fact, Thomas will throw a lot. And while Oregon's offense looks a lot different than the Badgers, the Ducks use the same basic concept: run the ball to set up the pass. A lot of Oregon's passing plays will look the exact same as the two runs I showed you above:

Thomas will fake the handoff to the running back and in this case, it sucked in the safety (circled) and dangerous true freshman wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas ran right up the middle of the field and was wide open for a touchdown.

This is the type of big play that should worry Badger fans. They've been pretty good against the run this season and have faired much better against option offenses than in the past, but they've had a number of coverage breakdowns leaving guys wide open. De'Anthony Thomas is a home run threat and the safeties have to keep him in front of them at all times.

What I've shown you above is just the basic idea of what Oregon runs. It's what you will see the most, but the idea of it is to set up other plays. At times you'll see two running backs in the backfield and they'll run some triple option and some power runs. They keep the defense guessing and they compound that by speeding things up and getting the defense tired.

If Wisconsin can get stops though, this plays directly into the Badgers hands. Oregon is dead last in time of possession and if UW can force three-and-outs, the Badgers can play their game and control the tempo.