No one has forgotten about the monster impact former Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon used to make in Madison for the Badgers. He was a big play waiting to happen, posting countless unreal runs for the Big Ten powerhouse.
A former Doak Walker winner, Gordon was an All-American in 2014 after leading the country with 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns. These days, following a nine-year career in the NFL, Gordon has a bit more time to watch his alma mater on weekends.
Unfortunately, it's been a difficult season for head coach Luke Fickell and his players, as the Badgers are 5-4 on the year, with No. 1 Oregon coming to town on Saturday. Gordon saw the 42-10 final score against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Week 10 too. The Wisconsin legend didn't hold back in saying he was disappointed in how things went via an interview with the WSJ's Colten Bartholomew.
Melvin Gordon will be honored by the #Badgers this weekend celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his 408-yard game against Nebraska.
— Colten Bartholomew (@CBartWSJ) November 15, 2024
Here's our chat about that memorable day, the current state of the Badgers and more:https://t.co/r5hpRyc5kJ
Wisconsin legend Melvin Gordon isn't loving what he's seeing out of the Badgers
"It’s rough. It’s a rough watch," Gordon told Bartholomew. "When you let Iowa drop 40 on you, it's pretty tough, tough year. We'll figure it out. I’m done pointing fingers, done victim blaming. You could say it's the coach, you could say it's the players, but at the end of the day, it's got to be some type of leader in that locker room that wants to take over. I can get in front of the team, I’ll talk to those boys, but I don't think we have a guy that just … every year I've watched Wisconsin, every year I've been at Wisconsin myself, even years after, we've always had a player that it was just like, "If you guys don't want to play, I'll take over.” Whether it was T.J. (Watt), whether it was JT (Jonathan Taylor), whether it was me, whether it was James White, Montee, John Clay, I mean, it's a long list of guys. Ron Dayne, you've always had a guy that would be like, 'you guys don't want to step up to the table, I will, and I'll carry us.' And we don't have that."
No one can argue with that. For great Wisconsin teams in the past, there indeed has been multiple leaders ready to step up at a moment's notice to get the group back rolling. We haven't seen that in 2024, which also has plenty of people, including Barry Alvarez, questioning the identity of the squad.
In the loss to Iowa, nothing went right on both sides of the ball. The guys weren't prepared from the opening whistle, which is on Fickell and his coaching staff. On Saturday, Gordon will be in attendance to be honored for his epic 408-yard showing against Nebraska 10 years ago. He's going to want to see the Badgers play with passion and punch Oregon in the mouth from the opening kick.
What everyone saw against Iowa simply can't happen again. It will be on Braedyn Locke, Tawee Walker and others to answer the call and play at a high level with virtually everyone doubting Wisconsin from even keeping this game close.