Badgers moves up to No. 8 in AP poll

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MADISON - The University of Wisconsin football team is ranked at Number-eight in the season’s first AP media poll – and the Badgers are ninth in the USA Today-ESPN coaches’ poll. Wisconsin crushed Nevada-Las Vegas 51-17 in their season opener last Thursday night.

The Badgers are now the highest-ranked Big Ten Conference team in both major polls, after surpassing Nebraska in the AP survey. The Cornhuskers are now ranked 10th by both the media and the coaches. The Badgers will host Oregon State on Saturday, and will open their conference schedule against Nebraska at home on October first.

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Oregon State quarterback Ryan Katz will start against Wisconsin on Saturday in Madison. He only played in the first half last week, when the Beavers lost to FCS opponent Sacramento State 29-28 in overtime. Katz started all 12 games last year for Oregon State, which went 5-7 overall and 4-5 in the former Pac-10 Conference. But he had trouble last week against Sacramento State, as he threw for just 87 yards and an interception in the first half. Katz was sacked twice, and he only led one scoring drive in six possessions. Oregon State coach Mike Riley said he was planning to get a look at redshirt freshman quarterback Sean Mannion, who played the entire second half and the overtime last weekend. Mannion jump-started the Beaver offense, leading them to three scoring drives. Riley says he expects both quarterbacks to play on Saturday against the Badgers. Oregon State is projected to finish fourth in the North Division of the new Pacific-12 league this season. They’ll face an eighth-ranked Wisconsin team that crushed Nevada-Las Vegas by 34 points in its opener last week.

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Wisconsin back-up defensive end Jake Irwin was dismissed from the team yesterday. That was after he was arrested last Thursday night for an incident outside the UW-Madison's Red Gym. Police said he faces two possible charges of battery and two counts of disorderly conduct. Irwin, who’s from Waunakee, was not allowed to take part in the Badgers’ pre-season camp for unspecified reasons. And he was not on the camp roster of 105 players. Coach Bret Bielema had said that Irwin could rejoin the team once classes had begun. His roster spot was taken by Brock DeCicco, a tight end who transferred from Pittsburgh. He’ll sit out this season under the NCAA’s transfer rules, and he’ll have two years of eligibility remaining.

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