Wisconsin Football Blog

Wisconsin Football

I think I have written about 50 blogs in the last month, this stuff is fun!

Before I get to the Wisconsin issue, I wanted to say that I am currently blogging on 3 sites, but my main concentration of blogs will be on blogspot, so if you like my sports blogging, check me out there.

Well, with a day of exciting football, I decided to check the standings. Of the 119 teams in the FBS (Division I), there are still 116 teams eligible for a bowl. So I wondered, can Wisconsin make it to a bowl?

If you asked me this a month ago, I would have personally guaranteed it. But today, I am really wondering about this. Let’s examine this debate:

At the moment, Wisconsin is the second worst team in the Big 10 Conference at 0-4. They are tied with Indiana but their overall record of 3-4 is slightly better than Indiana’s 2-5 mark.

What’s going on Wisconsin?

The year started out pretty decent, defeating Akron 38-17. We all saw Wisconsin being a big player in the Big 10, and I thought they would be the second or third best team in the conference.

Mopping up Marshall 51-14 just made things clearer, and even though anyone could argue that they had not played any major games yet, this still was a very strong football club.

But the Fresno State game in California was an eybrow-raising game. Yes it was against a #21 ranked team, so it wasn’t supposed to be easy, but you wondered if maybe it was just the travel that slowed Wisconsin down, or was it something else.

At 3-0 nobody’s gonna complain, but the season was still young.

Then there’s that Michigan game.

I watched that game when Wisconsin was up with a healthy lead, and I swear it just looked like they played not to lose. I realize playing in Michigan during their 500th home game was very emotional for the Wolverines, but I remember sitting in the living room telling someone that if Wisconsin scores anymore points, the game would be over. It was already late in the game and it just looked like Michigan had given up.

And then it just seemed that Wisconsin turned off the “play” button. Michigan came back, and forced the Badgers to scramble for their lives, and even though they tied the game, they ended up losing 27-25. And somehow, I think from the way they played, Wisconsin lost much more than the game…they may have lost their heart.

Folks, this is NOT the Wisconsin team I am used to seeing. Something broke in their machine, and apparently they don’t know how to fix it. And even though they were 3-1, it was a loss that clearly showed some flaws with the team. Remember, the week before, they barely escaped Fresno State.

You could tell that there was some effort to try to get this back when they played Ohio State, then ranked #14. Any wins over Ohio State is a feather in your cap, and with the Buckeyes coming off a loss to USC, they could be quite touchable. This was a home game Wisconsin had to have, but ended up losing a close one 20-17. This is a loss you can actually wear, rather than the loss to a rebuilding Michigan, but no loss has a flavor you want to remember. Now Wisconsin was 3-2, with two losses in their conference. They had to pick it up or they’d be in big trouble.

But the next game was no easy task, playing Penn State. Is Penn State THAT good, crushing the Badgers 48-7? I’ll admit, playing two ranked teams back to back, and conference games at that, can be hard, but with 3 losses the Badgers now had their backs to the wall, and it’s only half way through the season. Surely they can win their next game and get back on track.

But that’s where we are now, a day after Wisconsin loses to Iowa 38-16 and now Wisconsin is on the ropes. With five games left, they MUST win at least 3 to qualify for a bowl….and while I’m at it, WHY are you playing Cal-Poly? What’s THAT about?

So let’s scratch that and say Wisconsin has to win at least 3 of the last 4 games to qualify for a bowl. Of those games, the Michigan State game could be huge because at this moment they are the only team left on the schedule that is ranked. I would like to say that Wisconsin should get 3 wins since they are playing Indiana, Minnesota and Illinois, but I am now assuming that.

If Wisconsin gives up another game they should have won, they may not be going bowling this year. The game against the Spartans is an away game, hard to win at Michigan State when they have big bowl implications too. But the Spartans have stumbled often near the end of the year, so this game is slightly possible. If so, then there is a slight chance that these Badgers could win their last 5 games and finish 8-4. Not bad but below the original expectations.

But be careful. Illinois is pretty decent, and at this moment Minnesota is 6-1. It is theoretically possible they could be 9-1 before they see you…and they’d be standing in your way for a possible bowl. We’ll see how that turns out.

Anyway, gotta fly, check out my blogs on http://raidersaint.blogspot.com