After today’s win over Akron, UW head coach Bret Bielema emotionally announced that defensive lineman Kirk DeCremer suffered a “setback” regarding his back injury, following back surgery over the offseason. “We haven’t finalized everything, but it looks as though he won’t be with us as a football player again,” Bielema said.

1:04 - Zack Brown rushes for his first touchdown of the season and its now 31-10 Wisconsin with just over six minuted in the third quarter.

12:53 - PJ Hill pounds it into the end zone on fourth down to give the Badgers a 24-10 lead with 10:00 left in the 3rd quarter.

12:22 - Halftime score: Wisconsin 17, Akron 10. The Badgers have 158 more yards than the Zips but two critical turnovers are the reason the lead is just seven at the half.

12:20 - Evridge threw a pick in the Akron end zone and after a long return the Zips were able to kick a field goal with :02 in the half to cut the Badger lead to 17-10. That was the Badgers’ second turnover in the red zone today.

11:58 - PJ Hill fumbles the football right before crossing the end zone and Akron gets a touchback after what looked like a sure score.

11:52 - Akron put together its first scoring drive of the game and after a 4-yard touchdown pass its now UW 17, Akron 7.

11:42 - Philip Welch connects on a 32-yard field goal to put the Badgers up 17-0 early in the 2nd quarter.

11:36 - At the end of the first quarter its Wisconsin 14, Akron 0 and the Badgers are once again deep in Zip territory. Allan Evridge is 5-6 so far in his first start as a Badger.

11:20 - PJ Hill did it all himself on the Badgers’ second trip down the field. The runningback scored on a two-yard run after breaking loose for a 42 yard gain.

UW 14, Akron 0, 7:20 left in the 1st quarter.

11:15 - Akron goes three and out on its first possession after defensive end O’Brien Schofield picked up a sack on third and two.

11:09 - First possession of the season was a good one for UW. The Badgers rode PJ Hill down the field before Allan Evridge twice found tight end Garrett Graham, the second time on a 3-yard pass for the first touchdown of the season.

UW 7, Akron 0, 10:37 to go in the 1st quarter.

10:37 - They’ve just announced the starting lineup for both teams and tight end Travis Beckum, deemed “questionable” for the game, by Bret Bielema earlier in the week was indeed listed as a starter. Fullback Chris Pressley, also questionable, was not named. We’ll keep you updated on the status of both as the game progresses.

10:08 - It’s about an hour before the Badgers kick off the 2008 season and the Extra Points blog is back to provide in-game updates throughout today’s contest.

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema addressed the media Monday to answer questions about Saturday’s season opener against Akron. Here are the highlights:

Injuries: Sophomore CB Aaron Henry will not play. Senior LB Jonathan Casillas, senior TE Travis Beckum, senior FB Chris Pressley, and freshman DB Antonio Fenelus are all questionable.

Junior Matt Fischer will handle the kickoff duties and field goals within 15 yards. Freshman Phillip Welch will kick field goals from beyond that point. Freshman Brad Nortman will be the starting punter.

Junior RB P.J. Hill is the Badgers’ feature back, but expect to see sophomore Zach Brown in third down situations and freshman John Clay in short yardage and goal line situations.

Following yesterday’s practice, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema announced his four captains, which were voted on by the players:

FB Chris Pressley RG Kraig Urbik DT Mike Newkirk OLB DeAndre Levy

Yesterday UW head coach Bret Bielema unfolded his depth chart for the Badgers’ opening game against Akron Aug. 30. Here’s what it looks like:

Offense

Quarterback 4 Allan Evridge, 6-2, 212, Sr. 18 Dustin Sherer, 6-4, 213, Jr.

Tailback
39 P.J. Hill, 5-11, 236, Jr. 30 Zach Brown, 5-11, 207, So.

Fullback
44 Chris Pressley, 6-1, 259, Sr. 34 Bill Rentmeester, 6-1, 248, Sr.

Wide Receiver 85 David Gilreath, 5-11, 165, So. 1 Nick Toon, 6-3, 214, Fr. OR 13 Daven Jones, 6-1, 200, So.

Wide Receiver 3 Maurice Moore, 5-11, 167, So. OR 7 Kyle Jefferson, 6-5, 175, So. 6 Issac Anderson, 5-11, 176, So.

H-Back 9 Travis Beckum, 6-4, 235, Sr. 84 Lance Kendricks, 6-4, 227, So.

Tight End 89 Garrett Graham, 6-4, 237, Jr. 36 Mickey Turner, 6-4, 252, Jr.

Left Tackle 68 Gabe Carimi, 6-8, 301, So. 78 Jake Bscherer, 6-7, 294, Jr.

Left Guard 75 Andy Kemp, 6-6, 315, Sr. 60 Jake Current, 6-4, 278, Fr. OR 66 Peter Konz, 6-6, 300, Fr.

Center 74 John Moffitt, 6-4, 323, So. 76 Bill Nagy, 6-4, 300, So.

Right Guard 63 Kraig Urbik, 6-6, 332, Sr. 70 Kevin Zeitler, 6-4, 285, Fr.

Right Tackle 71 Eric Vanden Heuvel, 6-7, 324, Sr. 67 Josh Oglesby, 6-7, 328, Fr.

Defense

Left End 50 O’Brien Schofield, 6-3, 232, Jr. 45 Dan Moore, 6-2, 280, Jr. OR 97 Brendan Kelly, 6-6, 230, Fr.

Left Tackle 91 Jason Chapman, 6-4, 285, Sr. 95 Patrick Butrym, 6-4, 264, Fr.

Right Tackle 54 Mike Newkirk, 6-3, 264, Sr. 79 Jeff Stehle, 6-6, 290, Jr.

Right End 92 Matt Shaughnessy, 6-6, 253, Sr. 99 Kirk DeCremer, 6-5, 230, So. OR 93 Louis Nzegwu, 6-3, 228, Fr.

Sam Linebacker 11 DeAndre Levy, 6-3, 228, Sr. 42 Erik Prather, 6-3, 227, Jr.

Mike Linebacker 47 Jaevery McFadden, 6-3, 220, Jr. 15 Culmer St. Jean, 6-1, 228, So.

Will Linebacker 2 Jonathan Casillas, 6-2, 226, Sr. 27 Blake Sorensen, 6-1, 217, So.

Left Cornerback 23 Mario Goins, 6-1, 186, Fr. 7 Aaron Henry, 6-0, 191, So. OR 26 Antonio Fenelus, 5-10, 175, Fr.

Strong Safety 12 Jay Valai, 5-9, 197, So. 8 Aubrey Pleasant, 6-1, 198, Jr.

Free Safety 25 Shane Carter, 6-2, 202, Jr. 21 Chris Maragos, 6-0, 189, Jr.

Right Cornerback 17 Allen Langford, 5-11, 189, Sr. OR 29 Niles Brinkley, 5-10, 177, So.

Special Teams

Punter
98 Brad Nortman, 6-3, 215, Fr.

Placekicker 96 Matt Fischer, 5-11, 179, Jr. OR 18 Philip Welch, 6-3, 190, Fr.

Long Snapper 81 Dave Peck, 6-5, 246, Sr. 57 Drew Woodward, 6-4, 228, Jr.

Holder
21 Chris Maragos, 6-0, 189, Jr. 98 Brad Nortman, 6-3, 215, Fr.

Punt Returners 85 David Gilreath, 5-11, 165, So. 3 Maurice Moore, 5-11, 167, So.

Kickoff Returners 85 David Gilreath, 5-11, 165, So. 3 Maurice Moore, 5-11, 167, So.

Notes:

After a disappointing spring and summer, WR Kyle Jefferson now sits behind Maurice Moore as the starting wideout opposite David Gilreath, despite having an impressive freshman campaign.

Following a solid summer camp, LB Jaevery McFadden will be starting between seniors Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy. Elijah Hodge sits third in that spot behind Culmer St. Jean.

Not surprisingly to those who watched spring practices, Jay Valai beat out Aubrey Pleasant for the starting strong safety spot.

Former Badger running back Lance Smith was sentenced to 20 days in a Dane County Jail on counts for an incident that took place in July of 2007.

Smith was charged with disorderly conduct and battery after an altercation between him and his girlfriend took place outside the Open Pantry on Regent Street in Madison last summer. According to Judge Stuart A. Schwartz, who presided over the hearing Thursday, Smith repeatedly choked his girlfriend and threw her to the ground, an act Smith’s attorney called “ugly and inappropriate.”

“What I did was wrong,” Smith admitted to the judge Thursday.

After the incident, Smith was enrolled in the First Offender program, but failed to meet several of its requirements, including missing two scheduled services and failing to pay program fees.

Despite Smith’s actions a year ago, Schwartz feels Smith “has made some positive steps” but noted that cases of battery and disorderly conduct “are not to be minimized.”

Smith will begin his sentence August 20. The time for the two charges will be served concurrently.

According to the multiple sources, suspended running back Lance Smith has been kicked off the Wisconsin football team. Smith was suspended July 24 after “‘continued non-compliance’ of program requirements” of the first-offender program, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

The Badgers began practicing Monday in Madison, but Smith, along with cornerback Josh Nettles (academic reasons) and offensive lineman Chris Garner (family issues) were not in attendance and are presumably will not be with the team this fall.

“I really believe that he feels a fresh start is going to be in his best interests,” head coach Bret Bielema said of Smith.

Smith is apparently looking at his options to continue playing college football, including transferring to a Division I-AA school. If he transferred to a lower division, he would not have to sit out a year like he would if he transferred to another DI school.

A follow up from today’s earlier post: head coach Mike McCarthy and the Green Bay Packers will hold an open competition between Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers for the quarterback position.

Also, Favre will not be make it to Lambeau Field in time for tonight’s Packers Family Night, although it was originally believed he might.

Favre’s reinstatement was not made official today, as the NFL’s offices are closed on Sunday. But he will be granted reinstatement Monday and added to the Packers’ active roster.

This will surely not be the last news on Favre and the Packers, so stay tuned to see what else develops.

According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, Brett Favre was reinstated early Sunday morning by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Favre now plans to fly to Green Bay to make it in time for the Packers’ Family Night at Lambeau Field, where 60,000 fans are expected to pack the stands for the team’s intra-squad scrimmage.

This comes after Goodell said he would wait until Monday to make a decision on Favre’s reinstatement, but said he wanted to speed up the process that has been dragging on for weeks.

It’ll be interesting to see what the reaction from the Packer faithful will be tonight if Favre indeed does make it to Lambeau. Stay tuned for the next chapter of the Favre saga.

The Wisconsin football team was ranked 12th in the country in the preseason USA Today coaches poll.

They were ranked as the second-highest Big Ten team behind Ohio State, who came in at No. 3. Illinois (19th), Penn State (22nd) and Michigan (24th) were also selected in the top 25. UW faces Michigan on Sep. 27 and OSU and Penn State in back-to-back home night games on Oct. 4 and 11. They’ll also host Illinois Oct. 25, which is UW’s homecoming weekend.

Wisconsin’s opponent in week three—Fresno State—rounded out the poll at No. 25.

Georgia earned this season’s top spot, with USC, OSU, Oklahoma and Florida filling the other top-5 rankings.

In the latest twist of the Brett Favre saga, ESPN’s Ed Werder is reporting Favre is considering staying retired after the Green Bay Packers offered him $20 million over the next ten years if he does not play.

Check out the video here.