Leadership on any sports team ultimately comes from the top, and if the Wisconsin football team's 25-24 loss Saturday to Michigan State proved anything, it's that the Badgers are definitely lacking in that department.
Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema made two costly errors in the game, one of which was a coaching error, and the other of which was a due to a character flaw, both of which proved crucial to the Badgers' loss.
Late in the second quarter, with under a minute left in the half, the Badgers were marching down the field. Junior quarterback Dustin Sherer hit freshman wide receiver Nick Toon for a gain of 26 yards, getting the Badger offense down to the 14-yard line of Michigan State. The offense quickly ran to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball with 21 seconds left, all while having two timeouts left.
Why Bielema didn't use one of his timeouts is unclear. The Badgers could have ran a play on first down, instead of wasting it on stopping the clock. Being at the 14-yard line, Wisconsin could have gotten a first down - which would have stopped the clock - without scoring a touchdown.
We knew we had two timeouts,"" Bielema said. ""For second and third down we wanted to have the option to run the football and be able to call a timeout. So we worked it out and got our points.""
Bielema's reasoning doesn't hold much weight. Wisconsin passed on second and third down, incompletions to junior tight end Garrett Graham and Toon, and was never in a conventional running formation.
Considering the final score, one more play could have made all the difference. The Badgers could have run the ball on the first down knowing they had one more timeout and a first down to stop the clock. But by spiking the ball on first down, UW was forced to throw the ball, something Wisconsin was going to do anyway.
""We're obviously happy that we are kicking field goals and scoring points, but we want those things to turn into touchdowns,"" Bielema said.
Being so concerned about scoring touchdowns as opposed to field goals, why wouldn't Bielema use a timeout to give his offense another play to do just that? Bielema's rationale doesn't make much sense, and neither does taking two timeouts into halftime.
However, Bielema's first-half blunder pales in comparison to the unsportsmanlike penalty he received late in the fourth quarter. With Wisconsin leading 24-13 and the Badgers kicking off after a 32-yard touchdown by freshman running back John Clay, the Wisconsin sideline was flagged for a delay of game penalty.
The five-yard penalty was nothing special. But the 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty that Bielema provided the Spartans because of his comments to an official not only gave MSU great field position at the Wisconsin 44-yard line, but also the momentum for the Spartans to continue their comeback.
""When I came down and asked the official what was the call for the foul, he said that he was being interfered with doing his job,"" Bielema said. ""I told him that in my opinion he wasn't really doing a good job and that's what drew the 15-yard penalty.""
Although what Bielema supposedly said to the referee is fairly uncontroversial, the fact remains that Bielema and the Badgers cannot afford such penalties. Michigan State moved down the field easily and scored a touchdown to cut Wisconsin's lead to five. Had Bielema not lost his composure, perhaps the Badgers' defense would have been able to stop the Spartans.
The head coach is supposed to lead by example, and Bielema is setting a horrible precedent for his team.
Wisconsin racked up 12 penalties total for 121 yards, and was constantly giving Michigan State free yards. When asked whether his team was undisciplined, Bielema answered with a resounding, ""absolutely not.""
The Badgers haven't been able to close out most of their games this season, and the team's 4-5 record is a result of that. But with the team's head coach losing his composure, it isn't a shock that the team does as well.
Poor coaching strategies and a lack of leadership are the main shortcomings of the Wisconsin football team, and there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel, as these flaws have been highlighted and exacerbated all season long.
E-mail Nate at ncarey@wisc.edu with any comments regarding his thoughts about Bielema and UW's lack of leadership.
