Their portal QB didn't set the world on fire and now he is hurt, so tough times in Madison. Luckily they have a manageable schedule and will still make a bowl.
Getting eligible for a bowl is highly overrated in my book. When you only play for real games a year and you have trouble winning six?
I bet he was really surprised that they let him into the hall, but he did face a lot of adversity as a younger man
Mertz is certainly better than expected. He isn’t making mistakes and he is executing most of the plays he is supposed to. I think Napier has done a good job of calling plays within Mertz’s ability. That said, he hasn’t been great throwing deeper passes, and I think from time to time that has hurt us, like against KY. I’m glad this weekend he was at least able to throw some downfield with a couple of catches and a couple of interference calls. As to his high completion percentages this season a lot of those passes are behind the line of scrimmage. If the plays work that’s great but it is basically a successful running play. As I said, he is exceeding expectations and helping to make this year a respectable transition year vs the unmitigated disaster I was kind of expecting.