This is the next in the series comparing some statistical rankings between BigTen opponents and UW. This week’s comparison is with the Penn State Nittany Lions. UW last played them in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.

Here’s a list of the previous teams covered:

Composite Ranking Comparison

We again start by looking at the final rankings in the Massey Composite (https://masseyratings.com/ranks) over the last 9 years between the teams.

Wisconsin has finished in the top-25 five times-the same number of times as UW. Twice they finished in the top-10; again, that is the same number of times as UW. And Wisconsin always finished in the top 50 over this recent period. But, their two worst years have been their last two years, which is not a good trend.

SRS

Here is the picture in the Simple Rating System, SRS, (https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2023-ratings.html).

The view here doesn’t look much different. Wisconsin had a very good year in 2017 and finished above UW in 5 seasons.

F+

Here’s a look at the F+ ratings for both teams. As a reminder, F+ is a combination of two advanced stats: FEI and SP+. This should be representative of most of the advanced stats.

Wisconsin was just barely above UW in 2015 (1.17 vs 1.11), and clearly ahead in 4 other seasons. And again you see Wisconsin dropping off the last two seasons.

Talent Comparison

Here is the talent comparison using the average rating by 247Sports for all of the scholarship players. (https://247sports.com/Season/2023-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite/)

Wisconsin has closed the talent gap. And that is continuing with the 2025 class. UW’s average rating is currently 88.36 while Wisconsin’s is 88.20. And when looking at their recent recruiting classes, a large percentage of their top-rated commits are on the offensive or defensive line. For example, in the 2021 class, their top 4 commits were either offensive or defensive linemen.

Final Thoughts

The emphasis on offensive line and defense by Wisconsin has suited them well in the BigTen, especially when there were divisions in the conference. The question now is whether that strategy will continue to work when there are no divisions and with the addition of 4 teams that have had great offenses. It didn’t work out well for them in 2023 when they lost to WSU both times they played. And this year Wisconsin plays both USC and Oregon-two of what should be the best offenses in the country. And Wisconsin also plays host to Alabama this year-and we know that DeBoer should have Alabama’s offense playing well.

UW is scheduled to play at Camp Randall Stadium in 2025. Wisconsin is currently scheduled to play at Husky Stadium in 2028. Despite the drop in performance in the last two seasons, Wisconsin is probably not a team to take lightly.

A historic library in northwest Detroit slated for demolition has been officially opened as the Detroit Police Department’s newest precinct building.

The city has repurposed the former Redford Branch Library on West McNichols Road into the Eighth Precinct Community Annex, a headquarters for DPD’s neighborhood police officers, a special unit that focuses on responding to calls that don’t require an emergency response. The nearly century-old building will also be used for community events and meetings.

The police department began renovations on the building in 2019. The current Eighth Precinct building opened in 2017 after it closed 12 years earlier as part of a restructuring of the police department’s patrol operations, according to WJBK (Channel 2).

Mayor Mike Duggan said at Friday’s ceremony he made reopening the Eighth Precinct a campaign promise.

“I promised the voters in this area that that one way or another, I would reopen the Eighth Precinct right in this area of northwest Detroit,” Duggan said Friday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Detroit first used the building, built in 1925, as the Redford Branch Library when the city annexed part of Redford Township in 1926 into the city limits. It closed in 1971, city officials said, and was reopened for a time as an African American history museum before shutting down again in the 1990s. The building was sold in 2010 as part of a deal that also included the former Redford High School complex.

Duggan credited City Council President Pro Tem James Tate, who represents District 1, for leading the push to preserve the building. Duggan said the city originally planned to demolish it and use it as a parking lot for the Eighth Precinct’s main building.

“It was very clear to me and other members of the community that a building with this level of architecture that you don’t find anywhere should not be demolished,” Tate said. “We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy project and clearly, it wasn’t. It took time, but as we know, important things it take time.”

Police Chief James White, Deputy Chief Tiffany Stewart, Eighth Precinct Commander Dietrich Lever and College Park Community Association President Peggy Noble also attended Friday’s ceremony.

Noble, a retired social worker, said it’s been necessary for her to act as a voice for her community. She said during the 12 years the Eighth Precinct was combined with the Sixth Precinct, residents remained hopeful it would reopen.

“We’ve been waiting for a long, long time,” she said. “You have to have someone in the community to act and make sure things go right.”

jcardi@detroitnews.com

Milwaukee police released footage Friday from a June police shooting on Interstate 43 following a pursuit of a vehicle connected to an armed robbery.

Six teens were inside the vehicle when police fired into the SUV, striking two of them, with one whose pregnancy ended.

Footage released Friday from the June 20 incident shows the driver of the SUV, Calveyon Jeans, reversed the vehicle into a police squad and an officer yanked at the door and yelled commands for him to stop the vehicle. Jeans, 17, then drove forward, as three officers approach the vehicle. He then reversed again and an officer behind it moved out of the way.

An officer then fired into the vehicle, striking Jeans and his pregnant girlfriend Ashley Patterson, 19. The pair’s unborn child did not survive the shooting and police said Patterson received life-threatening injuries, while Jeans had serious injuries.

Jeans’ mother, Nakia Moore, previously told the Journal Sentinel that Patterson was six months pregnant. Four other teens, ages 15 to 18, were also inside the vehicle and a firearm was recovered.

Calvin Jeans, Calveyon’s father, said Friday the footage was difficult to watch, calling it “extremely scary.” He questioned the officer’s use of force.

“I just would not believe that they would use deadly force when he’s simply still just trying to evade police and capture,” he said. “Nothing about his action showed he was trying to hurt any officer.” 

The father said he gets calls from Calveyon while in jail about every other day and is focused on trying to make him comfortable. The police shooting has had ramifications to the rest of his family too, with one of his children now afraid of police, he said.

“I’m just trying to save my son,” Calvin Jeans said.

The officer who fired his weapon remains on administrative duty, per department policy, the police said in a news release.

Use-of-force expert says shooting likely lawful, followed department policy

Tim Dimoff, a police use-of-force expert based in Ohio and former police officer, reviewed the footage and the police policy for shooting at moving vehicles. He said the shooting appeared lawful and that it followed the department policy.

The Milwaukee Police Department’s use-of-force policy addresses discharging firearms at moving vehicles. Officers are prohibited from firing at moving vehicles “unless deadly physical force is being used against the police member or another person by means other than a moving vehicle.”

It continues that “this is not intended to restrict an officer’s right to discharge their firearm at the operator of vehicle when it is reasonably perceived that the vehicle is being used as a weapon against the officer or others” and that it poses a threat of “substantial physical harm.”

Dimoff noted that the car became “very aggressive” once it reverses and hit the police vehicle.

“The car became a weapon,” Dimoff said. “This car kept going back and forth and kept going towards the officers and they gave ample warning. … I think the danger to the officers escalated.”

Dimoff said that use-of-force policies determining when it’s appropriate to shoot at a moving vehicle have become more restrictive in recent years.

Milwaukee’s policy was typical in the nation, he said.

“Justification for shooting at a car has diminished and really centered around if the person in the car is using the car as an aggressive weapon,” Dimoff said.

Teens were wanted for previous crimes, police say

Footage of the chase released on Friday shows the lead-up to the highway shooting.

Officers attempted to stop a white SUV at about 2:23 p.m. near North 17th and West Vliet streets, according to police. The SUV was connected to an attempted armed robbery carjacking and an armed robbery carjacking of other vehicles, which occurred earlier in the day in downtown Milwaukee.

Video shows the SUV initially stopped before speeding off. Soon, the chase led to I-43 where the SUV was being driven recklessly, weaving in and out of traffic, and passing vehicles on the shoulder.

Soon, the driver entered a construction zone where workers were and became stuck after being blocked by a cement truck. The SUV then reversed into a police vehicle, as an officer attempted to open a driver-side door of the SUV and pointed a firearm at the vehicle.

Two additional officers approached with their guns drawn as the vehicle moved forward again, with one standing about a car’s length behind it. As the vehicle began to reverse, the officer behind moved out of the way and another officer fired into the vehicle.

Four of the occupants were charged in adult court about a week after the shooting, including Jeans, Patterson, and two other passengers, Semira Dean, 18, and Tyrone Rogers, 17.

According to a criminal complaint, on June 20, shortly after noon, a visitor from out of state was operating a rental compact car in a parking lot in the 500 block of North Broadway downtown when she was approached by three teens, whom police say were Rogers and two, unnamed juveniles not charged in adult court. She said the teens were driving a white Chevrolet Trax, the same SUV involved in the pursuit and eventual police shooting.

She said the armed teens demanded her keys and grabbed at her hand, but she fought off the teens, who eventually got back in the Chevrolet and drove away.

Less than 30 minutes later, only two blocks away, another person visiting Milwaukee was approached by two teens, whom police say were the two unnamed juveniles. The man said he was operating a rented SUV in the 400 block of East Clybourne Street when a young girl knocked on his window and began asking about restaurants, according to the complaint. The man said he began looking up restaurants on his phone when suddenly a boy stuck a gun inside the vehicle.

The teens demanded the man get out of the vehicle and then the juveniles drove away in the vehicle. According to the complaint, Dean, Jeans, Patterson and Rogers had been watching the robbery nearby in the Chevrolet.

Police said the Chevrolet Trax was stolen by two teens on June 8 parked outside of the McDonald’s at 420 E. Capitol Drive. Also, in September, a Waukesha County sheriff’s deputy had his personal compact car stolen while parked on the 1400 block of East Brady Street on the east side, the complaint states.

Inside the vehicle were the deputy’s duty weapon and personal weapon. When police recovered the vehicle in January the duty weapon was missing, the complaint states. Jeans would later admit that he, Dean and another unnamed teen stole the firearm in September.

Where to find help

Milwaukee’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety recommends these resources for free support:

414Life outreach and conflict mediation support: 414-439-5525.

Milwaukee County’s 24-Hour Mental Health Crisis Line: 414-257-7222.

Milwaukee’s Child Mobile Crisis and Trauma Response Team: 414-257-7621.

National crisis text line: Text HOPELINE to 741741 to text with a trained crisis counselor.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233.