Badger Observer's crazy week covering Wisconsin football, volleyball

Take a look at where we've been and what's stood out from Wisconsin Athletics.

Wisconsin volleyball players Charlie Fuerbringer, left, Grace Egan, middle, and Carter Booth during prematch introductions at the Kohl Center ahead of the Badgers’ season-opening win against No. 14 Kansas. Credit: Jake Kocorowski

It’s been a busy week at Badger Observer, but I’m still pushing strong as we enter our second month live.

I returned home from a two-day trip down to Florida in the wee hours of Monday morning, enduring around three hours’ worth of rain and lightning delays to cover University of Wisconsin football commits Jayden Petit and Ryan Hopkins days prior. Thankfully, I got out of Fort Myers on Sunday night before another approaching storm could have dampened my return back to the Midwest.

Badger Observer’s been at Camp Randall Stadium, the Field House and now the Kohl Center to cover the Wisconsin football and volleyball programs in the last six days. The party won’t stop either during this Labor Day weekend, as I’ll be back down at the Kohl Center when coach Kelly Sheffield and the No. 8 Badgers face No. 5 Texas on Sunday.

It’s been a great month unveiling the potential of this new publication dedicated to independently and authentically covering these teams, and thank you to those who have supported and subscribed thus far.

I promise you all that Badger Observer’s only getting started, and I wanted to show what fans receive when signing up for paid subscription (now only $69 for an annual subscription, or pay $7 monthly!).

Check out the new (Future) Badger Observer series

The plan next week is to cover Wisconsin linebacker commit Ben Wenzel and Appleton North on Thursday, then swing down to nearby Verona on Friday to check out 2027 offensive line target Ethan McIntosh (yes, son of current Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh) who play against Janesville Parker and 2026 Minnesota offensive line commit Gavin Meier (who was recruited by the Badgers before choosing the Gophers).

I’m currently looking at and evaluating other long-distance trips, so stay tuned for announcements there in the coming weeks.

But for now, here’s what to expect from this series when covering Wisconsin football recruiting, which includes an early scouting report of what each player could bring to the program.

Breaking down 2 Wisconsin Badgers wins

Coach Luke Fickell and Wisconsin overcame another injury to another QB1 in their 17-0 win over Miami (Ohio) on Thursday night. We had plenty of previews prior, from areas to watch during the game (ahem, please forget that score prediction) to a deep dive into the new-look RedHawks.

Here’s what stood out from the victory, which included a defensive performance reminiscent of days past and some freshmen already contributing to the program.

All-American Mimi Colyer dominated the first set of Wisconsin’s eventual five-set win over No. 14 Kansas, though those pesky Jayhawks battled throughout the match. Badger Observer was there to break down an exciting season-opening victory.

Why you need to keep tabs on 2 legal cases involving Wisconsin football

Shout out to Sam C. Ehrlich, assistant professor at Boise State and the founder of the College Sports Litigation Tracker, for talking about Nyzier Fourqurean’s battle with the NCAA over eligibility and Wisconsin’s lawsuit against Miami regarding defensive back Xavier Lucas.

FREE Badger Observer interviews

Badger Observer’s Instagram channel has been churning out consistent content since its inception. Be sure to follow for photos and snippets of recent interviews.

Wisconsin fans also can check in on our YouTube channel (free to subscribe!) for all postgame or post-match interviews from Badgers football and volleyball. Here are just a few videos from the past week.