Wisconsin football coach Paul Chryst joked that he wanted “everyone to have a piece of the trophy,” but he pleaded ignorance when asked exactly WHAT happened after UW defeated Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Wednesday, 42-28.
It appears the Badger football team may have shattered the trophy.
“I’m not under oath so I don’t know if I have to speak,” Chryst said after the game. “I want everyone to have a piece of that trophy. I didn’t see it. I don’t know.”
Jack Sanborn, named Most Valuable Player in the contest, smiled and offered, “No comment on that one.”
“There’s video proof out there who broke the trophy, and I’m not going to say anything else regarding that,” said Noah Burks, whose interception helped set up a score that gave UW the lead for good in the second half. “Although we did not know the trophy came off.”
Safety Scott Nelson, who also had an interception, pointed the finger at quarterback Graham Mertz.
“I actually was talking to coach (Jim) Leonhard when that happened, so I will remove myself from that conversation, but like Noah said, there is some video proof of what happened. Apparently, we’re getting a new one. I don’t know if that’s a secret; I’m sorry if it is. But I think Graham got a little too excited and thought he could dance a little bit. I try to stay in my lane. I’m not much of a dancer. No good things happen when I dance.”
In the post game virtual press conference, Mertz confessed: “I dropped it. That’s on me.”
“My mama would call it a boo-boo, but it’s all right, we’ll bounce back. It’ll be the last trophy I ever drop, I guarantee you that.”
This, apparently, was the short term fix:
Mertz said he figured the video would be “everywhere” and … he’s right.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
