The Badgers Get Their Quarterback, and the Rematch in Chicago

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates’ wishes last week were granted as the Badgers sign Colton Joseph from Old Dominion. From what we’ve seen, Joseph is a good dual-threat quarterback who had great success in the Sun Belt. He’s seen as a better runner than passer, which does cause a little worry, but he has shown that he can get the ball down field when he needs to. Plus, his running power should fit in nicely with the Badgers’ offense.

Now if only Joseph can stay healthy. He isn’t the first quarterback to come to Madison with some hype behind him in recent years, and all of those other guys fell to injury. But if Joseph lives up to his billing, he should be a good addition for UW-Madison. At least he’ll be paid like it; it’s estimated that most college quarterbacks these days are making between $1.5-4 million dollars. That’s enough that a lot of young guys are looking to stick around in college for as long as possible. All but a select few quarterbacks across the country can never expect that kind of money in the NFL. But still, as long as Joseph plays better than Clayton Tune, it’ll at least be something.

Speaking of the now former Packer, Green Bay will get a big rematch against the Bears in Chicago on Saturday night in the first round of the playoffs. The Packers-Bears rivalry has been going on for longer than any of us have been alive, and historically one team tends to dominate the other for decades at a time. But that might be changing; the Packers are still a good football team and the Bears seem to be catching up. Saturday’s game should be a testament to that as Lucas and Oates see no clear favorite between the two. On the one hand the Packers are a better team, but they have a tendency to lose in the worst ways and are riddled with big injuries. On the other hand, the Bears are healthy and Caleb Williams is on his way to becoming a great quarterback, but their defense is hopeless. Either way, it’s a good thing the game is on Saturday night instead of Sunday so that both states can safely get to work on Monday morning…

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.