The mindset going into the season for Wisconsin players comes with a major chip on their shoulder. All offseason, they've talked about how the losing streak to end the season wasn't going to carry over into this season. They recognize that it creates a narrative that Wisconsin is on the way down, not the way up. The players have embraced this chip and plan to use it.
Jake Renfro is the latest to vocalize the mindset that the team has going into tomorrow's game against Miami (OH). It's used as fuel to channel into an aggressive approach to the season and the game. This is precisely what Jeff Grimes wants: the offense needs to be attacking, bring the game plan to the defense, not react.
In Renfro's media availability yesterday, Renfro said this fiery quote:
"Nobody's talking about us. No one cares about us. That's okay. That's totally fine. We know what we did last year, we know what happened but this is where we show the world what we are, who we are, and what we can do. "Jake Renfro
The Wisconsin football team ended the season with five straight Big Ten losses, not only missing bowl eligibility but also losing the Paul Bunyan Axe to the insufferable Minnesota Golden Gophers. The season ended with a very bitter taste in Wisconsin fans' mouths.
Wisconsin have extra fuel to prove the doubters wrong this season
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Fickell identified the problems and set out to solve them. He's bringing in a brand new offensive coordinator, a deeper quarterback room, and bigger bodies in the trenches. The team feels fired up to take on the season.
For Renfro, he is feeling fully healthy and ready to go for the season, and he feels good about where the team is at. There is a lot of anticipation and excitement going into the opening game tomorrow at Camp Randall.
The Wisconsin Badgers take on the Miami (OH) Redhawks on Thursday, August 28, at 8 pm CST. The game will be aired on the Big Ten Network. Read more about the details of the game here.