One thing is for certain on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, for a group of 19 Badgers seniors it will be the last time they put on the Badgers uniform and play in front of 80,000 adoring fans. Just don’t expect it to be the final thing this team or those seniors remember about the 2015 season or their time at the University of Wisconsin.
Sure, the nerves will be there and tears are likely to be shed by moms, dads, other family members and even a player or two. There’s also a job at hand and a whole lot to still finish off on their unfinished auto-biography as a class.
“As long as you’re able to look past that and are able to focus on what is important — which is making sure you execute in the game — we’ll be good,” quarterback Joel Stave said.
This class also doesn’t need to be reminded that history hasn’t been kind on past senior days as of late.
In 2012, Ohio State’s Carlos Hyde scored on a short run in overtime for a 21-14 win. In 2013, Stave threw 53 times for 338 yards but Penn State was the better team in a 31-24 victory.
Last season saw the Badgers come back from a 17-3 deficit to eventually retain Paul Bunyan’s Axe. So, you can bet this group has a sense that winning these games aren’t exactly a guarantee.
Going out on a high note isn’t just about winning on Saturday against No. 21 Northwestern though, it’s about leaving behind a legacy of finishing what you started and making sure the young team they leave behind understands exactly what is expected these days for the University of Wisconsin football program.
Oh, the stories this group could tell too.
A select group of the 19 seniors knew head coach Paul Chryst as they began their recruiting journey to Madison, few expected it to end up with Chryst leaving and returning as a head coach before their careers at UW were up.
Yet, this is a group that knows it has a chance to make that first year of Chryst’s tenure as special for him as they’d like their final season to be for themselves.
That’s because there is still plenty for this team to play for in this season and for their careers. As a whole this group hasn’t exactly been pretty, but there are elements that make one smile.
Let’s start with perhaps the best defense UW has ever put on the field. It shouldn’t be any coincidence that three of it’s star players and leaders happen to be seniors like defensive backs Michael Caputo and Darius Hillary, along with linebacker Joe Schobert.
That legacy still has three more games to be tested, and what a legacy it could be.
Currently, this team leads the nation in points allowed (12.3) and has given up 20 points or more just twice all season long. Since the 35 points given up in the opener to Alabama, Wisconsin’s defense is averaging just 9.8 points allowed per game.
Things are even better at home, as that D led by Caputo, Hillary and linebacker Joe Schobert has allowed just three touchdowns to be scored in six home games this season. It’s led to a defense giving up just 5.0 points per game at home in 2015.
Wisconsin enters this contest against Northwestern not only leading the nation in points allowed, it is fifth in rushing defense (97.3 yards per game), ninth in passing defense (174.7) and third in total defense (272.0).
Few, if any defenses can come close to matching that kind of record. In fact, only three other defenses in the country rank in the top 10 of all four of those major categories.
Maintaining that dominance and leaving that kind of legacy behind for a very young defense overall is important for this group. It is also key to laying the future for the Paul Chryst era as it looks towards the second season and beyond.
Offensively, Wisconsin fans will say goodbye to one of the most dependable receivers it has ever had in Alex Erickson and of course will part ways with the man who threw him almost all of his career 127 receptions — quarterback Joel Stave.
Fans may be wildly split on the quarterback, but the record book will reflect on him as not only one of the longest serving, but most productive quarterbacks the Badgers have ever had.
He currently
His longevity may be part of the story, but he’s also leaving a legacy in the University of Wisconsin record books because of his abilities as well. Stave will sit in the top three of just about every career record at Wisconsin, landing
Stave’s debatable legacy and different feelings on his time as the quarterback at UW aren’t lost on him though.
“Those might be a little different — the way I characterize it and the way that fans do,” he said when asked about how the team and fans will remember him. “That’s the nature of the game. That’s the nature of playing quarterback. When you play quarterback, you put yourself on a pedestal for criticism and that just comes along with the position.
“Over the years, I’ve been able to make a lot of very good friends on the team. I’ve been able to earn the respect of my coaches and teammates. And I think I’ve represented myself and the university in a good way. Those were my goals coming in, and from that respect, I was able to reach those.”
Erickson is leaving on a high note, ranking second in the Big Tenwith 63 receptions and averaging 83.1. He’s third in total receiving yards at 831, just two yards from Nebraska’s Jordan Westerkamp for second in all three of those categories.
It’s that kind of production that a very young and inexperienced group can learn from and build off of for their futures at UW.
The numbers are all pretty incredible, but so is what this class has been a part of and gone through.
All this group has experienced are three coaching changes, two Big Ten championships and just about everything in between, meaning this group knows its legacy is far from finished just yet.
A win on Saturday against No. 21 Northwestern and keeping hold of the Axe for the 13th straight year come next weekend provide plenty of motivation. So does a keeping a hopeful eye on the scoreboard for the Iowa score to flash.
There’s also a pretty sweet trip and another double digit wins season for this group to look forward to, but until then, expect this group of seniors to focus on making sure others don’t write that final chapter in their book at the University of Wisconsin.
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