Army focused on finishing the drive to beat Power 5 foe

PHOTO: Army quarterback Tyhier Tyler. Visit my websites homepage, TomShanahan.Report By TOM SHANAHAN Army fans can thank the Big Ten Network. Wisconsin fans hope the reason the Black Knights' followers are grateful Army-Wisconsin is on TV won't be duplicated. Two years ago, Army nearly pulled off a monumental upset at then No. 5-ranked Oklahoma. The Sooners needed overtime to win, 28-21. If not for the heroics of Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, Oklahoma likely loses in regulation. Trouble…

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Barry Alvarez: “I thought Mel got the most out of his kids this year.”

By TOM SHANAHAN Barry Alvarez likes to keep up on former players and coaches, especially ones that graduate to head coach. Sometimes they come to him. A 2006 game that was scheduled years in advance happened to feature San Diego State and first-year head coach Chuck Long playing at Wisconsin against first-year Badgers coach Bret Bielema. Long was Iowa’s quarterback when Alvarez was a Hawkeyes assistant under Hayden Fry. Alvarez was Wisconsin’s head coach (1995-2005) with Bielema his…

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Wisconsin’s “Maestro” applies refreshing facial scrub to college basketball

By TOM SHANAHAN We’re barely a couple weeks into the Big Ten season, but Michigan State coach Tom Izzo’s sounded as if he was ready to name Wisconsin’s D’Mitrick Travis the Big Ten Player of the Year. Izzo called him “The Maestro” of a senior-laden team, intending to draw a comparison to Leonard Bernstein, not to Bob Cobb, Jerry Seinfeld’s Tuscany foil. Wisconsin’s "Maestro" was lightly recruited out of high school and is six years removed from his…

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