Wanna know the scariest thing that I saw this weekend?
No, it wasn't some drunken college student disguised as a vampire. It wasn't even those four guys I saw wearing nothing but leopard-print thongs, although, thinking back, the thought of the frostbite those young gentlemen may have suffered is pretty scary.
During this Halloween weekend, the scariest thing I saw was the Wisconsin Badgers' defense, which gave up 42 points and 560 yards to Michigan State. The UW defense had more holes than Swiss cheese, as MSU sophomore quarterback Jeff Smoker torched the Badgers for 326 passing yards and Spartans senior tailback T.J. Duckett pounded out 186 yards of his own on the ground.
UW has always been known as a tough defensive team. During their rise to national prominence in the 1990s, the Badgers used a combination of a strong rushing offense and a crushing defense to beat teams.
But this year, opposing offenses are scoring on the Badgers like it's going out of style. Against preseason favorite Oregon Sept. 1, UW gave up 31 points to senior quarterback Joey Harrington and the high-flying Ducks offense. The following week, UW gave up 32 points'including two touchdowns in the first 2:30 of the second half'in a home loss to Fresno State.
That's not even the worst part. Including Saturday's loss to the Spartans, the Badgers have given up 147 points in their last three defeats. Yes, you read that correctly, folks. Your Badgers have been giving up an average of 49 points per game in their last three losses. Yikes.
Ask any of Wisconsin's players (or coaches, for that matter) why and they don't have an answer. Maybe it's inexperience, seeing how the Badgers lost six defensive starters to graduation or the NFL. Sure, they could blame their new players, but seeing how the Badgers are nine games into the season right now, that excuse is as outdated as poodle skirts and beehive hairdos.
You can blame anything for causing UW's defensive struggles'youth, poor execution, defending top-ranked offenses, acts of God'but the truth is, nobody knows for sure.
Senior defensive lineman Wendell Bryant said so himself after UW's debacle against Michigan State last Saturday.
\I'm even surprised at this,"" Bryant said.
He's not the only one.
