Badgers football begins in less than three weeks with a road game against the West Virginia Mountaineers. All will look familiar -- Barry Alvarez on the sideline, the red "W" nestled aside twin stripes down the middle of the helmet, a steady stream of handoffs offensively -- except for one thing: Brooks Bollinger will not be around.
After winning a school record 30 games during the last four years, Bollinger is now plying his professional trade with the New York Jets, at least for the next couple of weeks. So it's Jim Sorgi's show in Madison.
Sorgi, as is well-documented, has never won a game he's started in Madison, an 0-5 blemish on an otherwise solid backup record. He's played in 27 games despite playing behind the most successful Badger quarterback ever, and he enters the year as a senior starter with the confidence of his coaches and teammates.
For the Badgers to reach customary heights -- the Rose Bowl -- this winter, they'll need Sorgi to snap his winless drought. But they'll need a lot more than that.
MAKE IT 11: The Badgers should make it 11 consecutive years with a 1,000-yard rusher in 2003; that's not much of a question. Will they make it eight straight with a 1,400-yard back, as well? Probably. Anthony Davis followed a 1,466-yard freshman season with 1,555 last year, despite suffering a stab wound that kept him out of one game. Dwayne Smith (552 yards) could develop in the same way Michael Bennett did while playing behind Ron Dayne; the brutish sophomore looks like a definite pro prospect.
PRIORITY SHIFT: The Badgers will run -- that's what they do. But with Sorgi's classic drop-back style and a fine stable of wide receivers, we could see some 35-plus pass attempt days at Camp Randall Stadium. The return of senior Lee Evans after missing 2002 with a knee injury is the headline-grabber, but Jonathan Orr (47 catches, 17.9 yards per), Brandon Williams and Darrin Charles are all super sophs. If junior Bob Docherty can become a pass-catching threat at tight end, Wisconsin will top Ohio State for the best receiving group in the Big 10.
TURNOVER: Yes, UW was plus-18 in turnover ratio in 2002, the primary reason they won even two conference games and had a chance to go bowling. But the main turnover this year is on the traditionally steady offensive line. Tackles Jason Jowers and Ben Johnson are gone, as well as center Al Johnson (drafted by Dallas in the second round). Guards Jonathan Clinkscale and Dan Buenning return for a unit that was fairly awful pass blocking last season (46 sacks allowed), which is generally considered a tackle's duty. Center Donovan Raiola saw some time as a guard in 2002, but he'll need to assume the leadership role Johnson vacated at center if this unit is to improve.
WEAKEST LINK: Kevin Cosgrove's defensive team could return to beastly status -- if a sometimes so-so secondary shines. Strong safety Jim Leonhard had 11 picks as a sophomore and moves to free this season, while new SS Ryan Aiello delivers big hits. Can corners Scott Starks and Brett Bell rejuvenate memories of Jamar Fletcher in pass coverage? If they do, a very good defensive line (Erasmus James, Jason Jefferson, Antajj Hawthorne, Darius Jones) and deep linebacking corps (Kareem Timbers, Alex Lewis, Jeff Mack) could make this one of the best defenses in the Midwest.
FOR OPENERS: Yes, traditional patsies Akron and UNLV open the home portion of the Badgers' schedule after the WVU game August 30, followed by ACC foe North Carolina (8-5 last year); 4-0 is the goal. But conference play opens with road games at Illinois and Penn State, both of whom won in Madison last season, and then defending national champion Ohio State visits on October 11. The Badgers were 5-0 before losing their first three games in the Big 10 last season, including a tough one to Ohio State. On October 18, Big 10 title contender Purdue is in Madison. We'll know quickly whether Alvarez's team has a shot at its fourth Rose Bowl trip.
Sports shots columnist Tim Gutowski was born in a hospital in West Allis and his sporting heart never really left. He grew up in a tiny town 30 miles west of the city named Genesee and was in attendance at County Stadium the day the Brewers clinched the 1981 second-half AL East crown. I bet you can't say that.
Though Tim moved away from Wisconsin (to Iowa and eventually the suburbs of Chicago) as a 10-year-old, he eventually found his way back to Milwaukee. He remembers fondly the pre-Web days of listenting to static-filled Brewers games on AM 620 and crying after repeated Bears' victories over the Packers.
