Afternoon State Sports Briefs: UW won't gin up special Heisman campaign for Wilson

• University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin

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MADISON - University of Wisconsin head football coach Bret Bielema says the UW will not shower Heisman Trophy voters with sales pitches to choose Badgers’ quarterback Russell Wilson.

Bielema says Wilson’s Heisman chances will be determined by what he does on the field. The senior from North Carolina State leads the nation with a passer efficiency rating of 216-point-eight-nine. He has completed 83-of-111 passes in his first five games for 13-hundred-91 yards, 13 touchdowns, and only one interception. The school has a Twitter account and a Facebook page promoting Wilson’s Heisman prospects. But Bielema says a lot has changed over the last decade – and it’s easier to judge the national award prospects for what they do on the field. Two Badger games have been nationally televised so far – the season opener against Nevada-Las Vegas and the October first Big Ten opener against Nebraska. Bielema said it’s important for Wilson to play well each week – and for his teammates and coaches to support him. Wilson is currently Number-two on ESPN’s Heisman list. That one and several others have Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck as the top candidate so far. The Badgers are 5-0 overall, and 1-0 in the Big Ten. They’ll host Indiana on Saturday. Kick-off is at 11 a.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

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The Green Bay Packers say they’ll use what they call a “streamlined” screening process for fans getting into Sunday’s game against Saint Louis at Lambeau Field. Police will continue to use airport-style wands – one of the things that caused long lines at the gates on October second, when hundreds of fans were late getting to their seats. But Packers’ security director Doug Collins says there will be more officers manning a larger number of lines – and the checking process itself will be shorter. Collins says the main objective is the safety of the fans, and the Packers are confident the new process will be smoother. But he still asked people to enter the stadium earlier than normal. Gates open at 10 a.m., two hours before the kickoff. The Packers are also asking fans to use the gates which are listed on their tickets – and limit the amount of items they carry in.

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Madison Edgewood is the leader after two rounds of the Northern Athletics Conference men’s golf tournament. The Eagles shot a 50-over-par 626 on the Irish Course at Whistling Straits near Sheboygan. The Milwaukee School of Engineering is in second place at 12 strokes back. Aurora is third. Zane Dachman of MSOE leads the individuals at seven-over-151 after 36 holes. Andrew Cobb of Edgewood and Colin Winistorfer of MSOE are both one stroke off the pace. The third-and-fourth rounds won’t be played until the spring golf season next April. The champion will be the NAC’s automatic entry in the NCAA Division-Three tournament.

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Two University of Wisconsin women’s soccer players have received weekly honors from the Big Ten Conference. Goal-keeper Michele Dalton was named the co-defensive player of the week, along with Jenna Carosio of Illinois. And Badgers’ forward Cara Walls was picked as the league’s co-freshman of the week, along with Becca Roberts of Minnesota. Walls scored the game-winning goal against Nebraska last week. She now has seven goals this season, the most for a Wisconsin freshman since Laurie Nosbusch in 2008. Dalton was honored for her season-high 11 saves in the Badgers’ 2-0 shutout of Nebraska.

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Morgan Potter of UW-Milwaukee is the Horizon League’s volleyball defensive player-of-the-week. Potter, a senior libero, had 32 digs when the Panthers came from behind to defeat Valparaiso in five sets. In the process, she became the ninth player in UWM history to have a-thousand digs for her career. Kara Koch of Cleveland State was honored as the league’s top player on offense.

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Tom Slusher of Beloit College has been named the offensive men’s soccer player-of-the-week in the Midwest Conference. Slusher, a senior mid-fielder, had a pair of game-winning goals against Lake Forest and Saint Norbert. Andy Sheller of Monmouth won the league honors on defense. In women’s soccer, Ripon College forward Brandi Peltier was named the player-of-the-week on offense. The freshman had two goals and an assist in a win over Lawrence, and she had Ripon’s only two goals in an overtime victory over Knox College. Peltier leads the league with 19 goals this season. Corey Hanson of Illinois College is the defensive player of the week.

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Josh Peterson and Ricky Marteney, both of UW-Stout, are the WIAC’s football players-of-the-week along with Ryan Stefaniak of Oshkosh. Peterson, a junior tight end, had five catches for 110 yards in Stout’s three-point win over Stevens Point. Peterson caught a 72-yard touchdown pass, which was Stout’s longest play from scrimmage this season. Marteney, a sophomore kicker, got the league’s award on special teams for booting three field goals against the Pointers. Stefaniak, a sophomore safety, had two sacks and seven other tackles as Oshkosh rallied from 13 points down to beat Eau Claire.

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The WIAC also recognized Dan Machmueller and Alyssa Duncan, both of Whitewater, in cross country – Austin Saari of Whitewater and Jared Kuehl of Platteville in men’s soccer – Grace Salwasser of Stout and Saskia Taylor of La Crosse in women’s soccer – Ali Sikic of Platteville in volleyball – Renee Nelson of Eau Claire in women’s singles tennis – and Katie Gillman and Taylor Heltne of Eau Claire in doubles’ tennis.

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