Mondays With Matt Presented By Middleton Ford - Monday November 13th

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
One A one point five ibafm somain c DC on this Back to Work
Monday, also a Mondays with Matt, presented by Middleton for the Voice of
the Badgers, Matt lepe he iswith us. Matt's how are you going?
It is going okay today, Solet's dive right into this past Saturday,
a loss for the Badgers twenty fourto ten to Northwestern, surprising Tanner

(00:21):
Mordecai. He was back under centerfor the Badgers. But Matt, I
was kind of thinking a lot aboutthis on Saturday, and I don't maybe
you have some insight into this.How did the program? How did this
team maybe over the course of theseason get to where it's at right now
after a loss this past Saturday whereit was almost like, I mean,
they showed up, but there wasn'ta lot of that intensity. And we'll

(00:44):
get to Hunter Wohler in his commentslater in this interview, but how did
we get here? I think bigpicture, Taush and I were talking about
this as the game was winding down. The one thing that you have to
look at it with a wide lens. This team hasn't been rate for the
last four years, and on offenseit has not been good period for the

(01:06):
last four years. You know.They started in the COVID year. They
had the Big Night, Grandmarch,the big night against Illinois. They and
COVID pause. They go to MichiganBoat Race, Michigan. You're thinking,
Wow, this is a it's aprogram coming off you know, a Rose
Bowl season in twenty nineteen. Youthink, and it's really ascending. But
then after that the Wheels fell off. It was all they could do is
score ten points. You know forthe remember most of the rest of that

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season twenty twenty one, they wereon the brink of after a bad start,
they were on the brink of playingfor the Big Ten championship, but
lost it in Minnesota. Last year, we all know what happened. They've
just been it's been a little bitof a spinning Wheels program the last four
years. Now, guilty is charged. I thought this team would be better

(01:51):
than what it is becoming this season. I said all along that you would
expect it to be clunky, especiallyoffensively in the early going. But what's
disappointing right now is that it isn'tgetting better. In fact, it's getting
worse on offense now. To befair to the team without three of your
most established guys on offense. That'snot an excuse, that's legit. You

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don't have Braileen Allen, you don'thave Chess, but Lucy, you don't
have chimay DK. But you know, I was reading and hearing where people
were saying it was the most dishearteningeffort, you know, in years.
It means this last year against Illinois, you know where people within the program
admitted that they quit. I mean, so it's but I do think with

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the expectations were lofty, and manyof us fan the flames, and that
makes what's going on more disappointing,I think for the fan base. But
if you look at it again fromyou know, sixty four thousand feet or
whatever, you know, the wideangle lens. Yeah, really what's going

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on This program hasn't been all thatfor a little while. So to expect
a quick fix. We were thoseof us who were thinking they could be
really, really good. We're beingunrealistic, Tager. The Voice of the
Badger is Matt lepe Mondays with Mattpresented by Middleton Ford and I be af
and want to jump into some ofthe postgame comments from Badger safety Hunter Waller

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in exact quote here, we don'tneed people here that don't give their hearts
to this team. There's going tobe some weeding outs that will have to
happen. So with the transfer portal, and we know how college football and
really college athletics work at this point, maybe this is a radically different roster
team next year with all you knowthat may have to be done to get
players in here that give the heartand soul. Because to me, this

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is even more frustrating because after theIndiana game, we had heard, you
know how coach Fickel really for thefirst time had laid into the guy's post
game. Then they came out againstNorthwestern kind of laid an Egso to hear
that from Hunter Waller, I thinkit's really telling about these you know this,
Yeah, they're being challenged if ifit's coming from the head coach or
coming from guys who are you know, the best players on your team and

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maybe emerging into leadership roles. Whenyou hear it from you know, when
one teammate hears it from another,that that can tend to resonate, to
be sure, and and look,you're they're trying to do anything they can
to get themselves to play as wellas they can down the stretch. I
you know, I get it.I mean Hunter reported his heart out after

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the game. And let's see whathappens this week. Let's see what happens
in the final two regular season games. And when when there's a coaching change,
when you're going through stuff like this, I think, you know,
people expect there to be a massexodus, and whether there is, who
knows. There wasn't one upon thecoaching change last year. Even given all

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the emotion of the players and theirtheir love and respect for Paul Christ and
Jim One, you know there wasn'tThere was not a mass excident exodus.
Then well see, you know,I want to let this thing play out,
you know, see how they finishedthe end of the season. But
you know, I get I getthe frustration, certainly get it from the

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players, and definitely definitely get itfrom from the fans. But I guess
I would provide the cautionary tale too, when you're talking about a massive,
sudden, massive flip and your roster, you better be careful about that too.
If you paid attention to Colorado lately. I was just going to bring

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this up four and six and they'velost six of their last seven games,
including four in a row, sobe careful what you wish for. Yeah.
Yeah, And they were the youknow people when they were off to
that great start. People around here, why don't you do like those clients,
Well, how about just tapping thebrakes, let it play through.
You know, they were exciting,they were a great story. I said

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back then. If they could,you know, get the six wins,
go to a ball game. Thisguy's you know, national coach of the
year, at least in the conversationfor it. You know, not a
not a lead pipe sense to winit, but in the conversation for it.
But all those you know, thosebig ratings and all that, it's
kind of backpedaled now because they can'twin a game. Yeah, it's been

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It has just been interesting to kindof see that because the media honed in
right away in Colorado they were threeand oh after coach Prime and all of
that. So, I mean,it takes time to build a culture.
It takes time to build a programtoo. In the year twenty twenty three,
you know, everybody wants results now, but that's not how it works
in team sports. Man. Imean, you've seen this for how many
years covering Wisconsin football and basketball.It takes time, does it not?

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It does? But but I willgo back. This was not a dumpster
fire. It was not a trainwreck. It was just it became mediocre.
I mean, we got to callit what it is. I try
to live in a fact based world. And I'm not saying that I wanted
to see people get fired. Idon't. Paul christ is a friend,
and he's a hell of a footballcoach, and you know, Jim Leonard
is a hell of a football coachand a really good guy. But changes

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were made and this group has comein, and Luke Fickle's a hell of
a guy and a hell of approvencollege football coach. But I think for
all of us, and look again, I reiterate, the marketing campaign was
aggressive over the summer. You know, we were all in the media,
the overwhelming majority of us in themedia were really excited for what we thought

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we might be able to see it. I wasn't expecting this team to win
the Big Ten. I wasn't expectingit to be a playoff contender, but
I expected it to be better thanthis. And the other thing I said
on the air on Saturday late,and I've said it with other topics that
have happened in Wisconsin's sports over thelast week. The hardest thing for sports

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fans to do a lot of timesis to hear the truth. When I
say sports fans, I'm talking notjust you or you know, the guy
sitting in row twenty, all ofus, sup. We're covering sports.
We're sports fans. But sometimes thehardest thing to do is to hear the
truth, because sometimes the truth sucks. And the reality is this is going
to take a little bit of timehere, and maybe more time than we

(08:13):
all thought. I you look atnext year, then this team could be
considerably better. Maybe it will beconsiderably more talented, but it might be
tough to have a record that reflectsit. When you're playing Alabama here,
you go to SC. I knowUSC has stumbled a bit, but they've

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got pretty good offenses. Right.You got to Oregon coming here, you
got Penn State coming here. It'sa whole new world. But they are
trying to go for it here.They are trying to run with the biggest
of the big dogs. But you'renot going to be able to do that
overnight. And that solbering truth hashit home for all of us. Yeah,
and really for these last two gamesthe season, we'll see if there's

(08:56):
a ballgame. It's just kind ofall about finding you know about or finding
out the guys that are going tobe with this program next year. Moving
forward. So as we kind oflook toward that the Badgers welcome in Nebraska
this coming Saturday night, that gamewe'll kickoff at six thirty. Our coverage
here on IBAFM starts at four thirtywith the Badger Radio Network. But Matt
preview of Nebraska new head coach thisyear in Matt Rule, better than they've

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been. They're five and five,which is defensively, they give themselves a
chance. They're very, very stubbornagainst the run, vulnerable against the pass,
but they teams don't run on Nebraskaand on the flip side, they
don't pass it well, but theyhave a very good run offense. It's
what's really remarkable to me been aboutNebraska, and I like the shy away

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from a ton of numbers here,but this just jumps. Their turnover margin
is minus fourteen. They've turned itover twenty seven times this season. So
the fact that they're five and fivesays a lot about their defense, because
when you're minus fourteen in college football, that screams three and seven or two

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and eight, but they've managed tobe five and five. They lost a
heartbreaker on the final play to Marylandin Lincoln last Saturday. But you know
they're a program too. I mean, this is Nebraska we're talking about.
They've gone they've had six straight losingseasons for crying out lout. That is
still hard for me to wrap mymind around. But they're one went away

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from going to a bowl, whichfor that program right now would be a
major step in the right direction.So they're trying to get there. And
look, Wisconsin, this group ofplayers, they don't want to be that
team that ends the ball streak thetwenty one straight. I mean, they
need to play better football, allthat stuff, but they've got the longest

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streak in the Big Ten, thethird longest in the country. And while
we're not talking about a major bowlhere, you don't want to be part
of that team that couldn't get toone. So they still got two more
shots to get to that sixth win. But they also they know the clock
is ticking. Yeah, a loton the line Saturday night again Wisconsin and

(11:11):
Nebraska from Camp Randall. Our coveragepregame gets going at four to thirty.
Kickoffs set for six thirty on IF. But chatting with a voice of the
Badgers Matt lepe Mondays with Matt,presented by Middleton Ford. As we transitioned
from the grid iron to the hardwood. I still I don't know, it's
just crazy for me to already betalking about basketball. Bought the two games
under the bolts of the Wisconsin men'sbasketball team. They scored a single game

(11:35):
record at the Cole Center last Mondaynight when they took down Arkansas State one
oh five to seventy six, andthen they found to Tennessee this past Friday
night Matt seventy to eighty. ButI think something important to take away from
the game this past Friday night.Although it was a loss, the badgeris
had four players score in double figures. This was a team last year that
was offensively challenged, to say theleast, so that had to be promising.

(11:58):
It is it was, And it'sinteresting that it's a really good observation,
or at least we share it.Maybe it's good we do share the
observation because I walked out of thebuilding thinking, you know, they didn't
play particularly well, but they werestill right there with a really good Tennessee

(12:20):
team, one that many believe canwin the SEC. One that was in
the you know, got to thesweet sixteen last year and they think it
really do some damage this year.They're very versatile, they're deep, They've
had a couple of significant additions throughthe portal. We're seeing a Wisconsin team
that can score I mean to getseventy that you know, you're not lighting

(12:41):
the board up, but against theTennessee team that kind of are. Because
they've under Rick Barnes especially, theyhave been known as a very very sticky
team on the defensive end. Sowhen you've got aj store, that opens
up some thanks for you, andyou know the lows, Chucky Hepburn and
the rest of these guys to beable to contribute. But you also think

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a couple of things been in thatgame. They didn't shoot free throws well,
you know, it was a strugglefor Tyler Wall specifically at the foul
and they didn't shoot threes very well. They rushed some of those shots in
the opinion of the coaches. Butdefensively, I think is where they know
they have to get better. Tennesseewas able to get into the paint forty
two paint points, they were ableto drive the ball on them, and

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in our chat with Greg Guard afterthe game, there were just a lot
of basic rules to what they aresupposed to do defensively that they did not
follow. Some of that was youthor inexperience in the program, but they
weren't the only one. So thatwas a pretty significant emphasis in their practice
yesterday. And it's the need tobe against a Providence team that under a

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new head coach there, they're changingtheir style. They want to get up
and down the floor, and they'vegot the athletes to be able to do
it. Yeah, it's a quickturnaround as well. As we mentioned,
Badgers lost to Tennessee on Frior thispast Friday night. They will meet Providence
tomorrow night. Pregame coverage starts atfour, tip off set for five right
here on. Yeah, man,Matt Foy, lets you go. I
got to ask you because after wegot done yesterday or last week, I

(14:09):
should say, we kind of thenews about Craig Council broke after you and
I had sat down to talk.So what is your gut feeling. Now
you've had a week to kind of, you know, take all of this
in. Craig Counsel now the managerof the Chicago Cubs. Not surprise.
Really, I was open minded asto what he would do in terms of
staying in Milwaukee. The surprise,the shock he's now help the manager of

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the Chicago Cubs. We figured itwould be the Mets. You know,
maybe the Guardians, but the Mets. You know, with the connection with
David Stearns and all of that,you think, and yeah, maybe,
but and again that's another thing.Then going back to hearing the truth,
I understand the disappointment or anger towardCraig, but I would I would say

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two things about that. Craig's beenthe manager in Milwaukee for what eight years,
and most of the ninth market hasdictated, at least for now,
that he is the best in thegame. And what he's done that what
he does that he is the bestin the game. They've advanced one time
in the postseason. The organization hasadvanced twice in forty years. Okay,

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those are facts. They've been ona run. They've been on a run
here that has been really, reallyimpressive. For the brewis they matter in
not just opening Day to the fourthof July. They have been at worst
a playoff contending team going back totwenty seventeen. The reality is they've been

(15:37):
a playoff regular and for that,that's awesome what they've done. But if
you're a Craig Council and you usethe terms, you need another challenge.
I think if you people in baseballwithout a dog in the fight and you
are to choose what's a better gig, what do you think the answer would
be? No, we know theanswer. Yeah, but haven't said all

(16:00):
that. It's that people hate hearingthis the business of sports, you know.
And they also found somebody who's goingto pay them eight million dollars a
year and with the resources if theorganization chooses to use it, the resources
to go make splash moves and soits it sucks. I don't like it.

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I don't like it at all,but I understand it, and it
just especially in my time working withthe Brewers, do things would warm my
heart more than seeing the Brewers beatthe Cubs. And it will be the
case again, it will always bethe case. But from a strictly business
standpoint and that's what this is.It is a business. I understand it.

(16:47):
Yeah, I think it just hurtssome more or did hurt you know
when we first found out about itlast week, because he's a Wisconsin guy
and we just we always feel like, oh, he was going to take
the hometown discount, he was goingto stay here, he was going to
do that. I think a lotof fans had kind of follows that sort
of a line of thinking. Butit is so hard. Well, I
mean, he just resets the entireyou know, major League Baseball structure for

(17:08):
managers and how they get paid.Yeah, Bennie, I want to be
really interested to see how much thatreally changes the structure really, I mean
eight, I mean it'll change.It's some but I mean I don't know
if i'd pay a million for amanager, but if you can find somebody
who does great, because it isso analytically driven now, Uh, it's

(17:30):
just it's just a different game inmany respects from what it used to be.
You know, maybe it maybe itchanges it dramatically, but let's wait
and see on that. You know, the Brewer's offer is five and a
half million, that's true. Thatis a very generous offer for which they
need not apologize to anybody for.But if the Cubs are this is you

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know, it's a calculated risk.I guess relatively speaking, it's you know,
with budgets. It's not a breakthe bank kind of move, but
it's an interesting one. But thattells you that they're probably gonna want to
follow this up with making some bigmoves and to get back. You know,
they were a contender last year,the last season until they fell off
in September, so they probably believethat they're not all that far away to

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begin with. And the other thingthat is, there are some who will
do that with the discount. Youknow, we've seen it even here at
the college level, but I thinkthere are more who will do it for
so long and then they'll look,you know that they'll go look elsewhere for
something better. So we are youknow, we're here. We expect everybody
to want to stay here for thelong haul as fans, even as you

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know, media members. But thereality is, when you're in the industry,
a lot of times you're going tolook at it, you know a
little more hardcore, you know,for your own for your own sake,
for your own business purposes than maybewe would view it. Yeah, that
for a series in American family field. This year Brewers Cups is gonna be

(19:02):
very, very fun, hot ticketfor sure. So that is the voice
of the Badgers, Matt Laupe Mondayswith Matt, presented by Middleton Forward Matt.
Thank you for your time as always, Hi Ben, good talking to
you. See you next week.Yes, sounds good again. If you
missed any part of our conversation,maybe you join halfway through. You can
find the podcast very shortly at WYBMdot com and on your free iHeartRadio app.