Wisconsin starting inside linebacker Jake Chaney will switch his jersey number from No. 36 to No. 1 this fall, per his recent Instagram post.

After starting in nine of UW’s 13 contests a season ago, Chaney is poised to lead Wisconsin’s left insider linebacker group in 2024. The Cape Coral, Florida native enters his fourth season in Madison as a staple in the middle of Mike Tressel’s defensive unit.

As a junior, the 5-foot-11, 210-pounder tallied 80 tackles in 2023, ranking second in the category behind star safety Hunter Wohler. Chaney registered a career-best 11 tackles against Iowa on Oct. 14 and notched seven tackles in the Badgers’ primetime matchup vs. Ohio State on Oct. 28.

The senior appeared in 12 games as a sophomore 2022, totaling 38 tackles and 4 tackles for loss. He made his collegiate debut at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois against Notre Dame in 2021.

Appears Jake Chaney will be sporting a new number this fall. Love the single digits. pic.twitter.com/jpnSCSsiws

— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) July 1, 2024

Jaheim Thomas projects to be the starting inside linebacker along side Chaney. Christian Alliegro, and transfer additions Tackett Curtis and Sebastian Cheeks project to round out the unit.

With contests against Alabama, USC and Oregon on UW’s 2024 schedule, Chaney and company will have their hands full against some of the nation’s top offenses. Transfer additions of outside linebackers Leon Lowery (Syracuse) and John Pius (William & Mary), paired with returning stars Wohler and Ricardo Hallman, will give the unit a much-needed boost.

The number of workers in Wisconsin who lost their jobs in June decreased slightly from the previous month.

In June, 429 people found themselves out of a job, while in May nearly 800 workers at nine nine companies were laid off, reports filed with the state show.

Despite what was going on with those companies, the economy in Wisconsin is doing well with unemployment at 2.9% in May, below the national average of 4%, according to the state Department of Workforce Development. There were 3,048,000 people working in the state, 6,500 more than a year ago.

“Wisconsin’s economy continues to gain momentum, setting new records in state employment and private jobs,” DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek said in a statement.

“These numbers validate what we know is true: Wisconsin residents are eager to work, employers are eager to employ them, and DWD endeavors to support sustainable employment opportunities for all.”

In the Milwaukee metro area, the economy showed modest improvement in 10 of 23 indicators monitored by Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

“The aggregate number of improved indicators in the metro area increased for the first time in six months, perhaps an early sign that the local economic trend may have turned the corner,” Bret Mayborne, MMAC vice president of economic research, said in a statement. “It’s too early to say anything conclusive but the improvement in the aggregate total as well as a slower decline in overall nonfarm job levels represent positive signs.”

Here are the companies that laid off workers in June:

Charter Communications

On Friday, Charter Communications announced it was closing its regional support center in Fond du Lac which means laying off 122 people. Layoffs are expected to begin August 27.

Sun Nuclear Corp.

On June 25, the Sun Nuclear Corp., a Mirion Medical company, informed the DWD that it was closing its facility in Middleton and laying off 39 workers starting August 30. Sun Nuclear Corp. worked on cancer treatments.

Strauss Bands and Logistics

On June 4, Strauss Brands and Logistics, a natural meat packaging company in Franklin, informed the state and workers that it was going to end production at its facility in Franklin and layoff 70 people. The layoffs are set to begin on August 5.

The company moved its grass-fed beef product line to Ruprecht, an Illinois-based division of Kilcoy Global Foods.

More: Four years after attempting to expand, Strauss Brands is now closing its Franklin facility

Goodwill Manufacturing, Inc.

On June 4, Goodwill announced it plans to close laundry and linen services facility in Milwaukee, laying off 136 employees. The layoffs are scheduled to begin on August 3.

In 1974 Goodwill began offering commercial laundry services to the Naval Station Great Lakes in northern Illinois and expanded it to include hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes throughout northern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin.

More: Goodwill laying off 136 workers, closing Milwaukee laundry and linen services facility

Bon Appetit Management Company

Lawrence University in Appleton let its contract with Bon Appetit Management Company end on June 30 and as a result 60 employees will be laid off on August 3. However, according to the letter the company sent to DWD, a new food service company does plan to offer jobs to many of those impacted workers.

With the move into the Big Ten, the Oregon football program will get the opportunity to meet up with some intriguing foes, including some opponents that the Oregon Ducks are, more or less, already pretty familiar with. While the Oregon Ducks haven’t really met up with the Wisconsin Badgers on a ton of occasions, there have been some pretty intense matchups between these two teams.

These two iconic programs come from different corners of the country, but thanks to the magic of bowl games (shoutout to the Rose Bowl) and now conference realignment (which is a bit of a mess), Oregon and Wisconsin have had a few opportunities to face each other. 

But that should be happening more regularly moving forward (again, thanks to the sometimes delightful mess that is conference realignment).

Let’s go over the history between Oregon and Wisconsin, which includes a couple Rose Bowl showdowns.

The first encounter between the Ducks and Badgers happened in Eugene, Oregon all the way back on September 24, 1977. Unfortunately for Oregon football fans, the Ducks lost that one. And then they lost the next meeting in 1978 in Madison by a score of 22-19.

After a bit of a break, this series picked back up in the early 2000s. And, just as the previous two meetings went to Wisconsin, the Badgers managed to win the third meeting between these two teams. 

Things changed in 2001 though as the Oregon Ducks finally got a win over Wisconsin to the tune of a 31-28 win in Eugene.

After that came the Rose Bowl wins for the Ducks. In two of the most memorable Oregon football games in recent history, the Ducks were able to get some thrilling wins. On January 2, 2012, the Ducks raced past the Badgers in a back-and-forth affair, winning 45-38. Then, in 2020, the Ducks emerged with a closely contested 28-27 win over Wisconsin. 

Now, moving forward, these two programs will have more opportunities to meet up on a more regular basis.