I still don't know if he's playing and it's driving me up the wall... I have $300 on Wisky -10. Don't think it will matter if Stocco plays to cover the game, but my 1H play I won't feel as comfy on.
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UW football notes: Stocco's status still uncertain
TOM MULHERN
608-252-6169
tmulhern@madison.com
Amateur psychologists - and University of Wisconsin football fans - could have a field day trying to dissect coach Bret Bielema's comments Thursday about injured senior quarterback John Stocco.Will Stocco start Saturday against Bowling Green, or not?
At one point, Bielema's remarks sure made it seem like junior backup Tyler Donovan, who has held the top job since Stocco underwent minor knee surgery on Aug. 11, would be making his first start.
"John's made steady improvement," Bielema said. "He still hasn't done everything that we needed (to see) to probably see him early in the game."
When told that sounds like Donovan will start, Bielema said, "I really don't know. You guys are going to say that I'm ducking it. It's ... what (Stocco) feels like on Saturday."
In the last couple of days, whenever Bielema has been asked about Stocco, he has gone out of his way to praise Donovan.
"Tyler, I can't say enough about the development he's had in the last two weeks," Bielema said. "Not just from the X's and O's standpoint, but the way he carries himself, the way he breaks the huddle, the way he handles the No. 1 unit.
"His abilities as a football player, (to) do different things with the option game and all he brings to the table, I think it's going to be exciting."
Now, a case could be made that Bielema is building up Donovan, hoping to boost his team's confidence if he plays.
Or is it a ploy to throw Bowling Green off track? Bielema certainly wouldn't be the first coach to try that strategy.
"It's kind of interesting, when we made the decision to have this surgery, the way it was explained to me was, (Stocco) could be without issues, like he was, for two years," Bielema said. "Then something aggravates it.
"He's much the same right now. A week from now, I don't think it will be a decision. But, when you're beginning to come back from a knee surgery of that type, you can have a great day and then the next day, regress."
Could it be that Bielema really doesn't know who will start? He maintains it truly will be a game-day decision.
"A lot of it is just how he feels he is on that day," Bielema said. "Then anything could change during the course of the game.
"I know this: John Stocco is a good football player that I want around for every game that he can. I don't want to damage that in this first opportunity."
Preparing for rain
The forecast for Saturday in Cleveland calls for rain. That's precisely why Bielema had his players practice outside, in the rain, during preseason camp.
"It's exactly why we did it, to prepare for some wet days," Bielema said. "Everybody has to play in it. It's all about the ball. Whoever's got it is going to be able to score. Whoever doesn't have it, is trying to get it."
When asked if the wet conditions could play a factor in a decision to play injured players, Bielema smiled about the veiled reference to Stocco and said, "Nice try, but no. If they can't play when it's wet, they can't play when it's dry."
Trio likely to redshirt
After naming 12 freshman last week who had a strong possibility of playing this season, Bielema backed off on three of them.
He said it now looks like defensive end Kirk DeCremer, defensive back Jay Valai and guard John Moffitt likely will be redshirted.
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Hope everyone is having a good first weekend...