I want to. I really want to. I want to be able and sit here and say that Wisconsin is going to go on the road and show the Big Ten that the Cardinal and White are for real.
I want to believe that, come November, this team will still have a shot to make it to Pasadena.
But is there anything concrete at this point in the season, that says this team belongs near the top of the Big Ten?
I certainly haven't seen it. Maybe I missed something in those first four games ... I guess that is possible.
Nonetheless, the fact remains that for the past two years our football program has built up a feeling of hope and anticipation for the fans, only to have our bubble burst when Big Ten play begins.
Last season Wisconsin went into conference play with a 5-0 record and a No. 19 ranking. Lee Evans' return was expected for the Big Ten opener against the Nittany Lions of Penn State and hopes were high that a Rose Bowl appearance might be in the cards. But Evans did not return, and neither did the Wisconsin football team until the final two games of the season.
Two years ago Wisconsin was on the verge of joining the 'Big Three' along with Michigan and Ohio State as the perennial powers of Big Ten football. They were fresh off three straight bowl victories, two of them Rose Bowl victories. Yet once again a sub-par Big Ten season killed the year and cost Wisconsin a chance to play in a bowl game.
So tell me Joe Badgerfan, why should I have faith in our boys? Why should I believe that they are going to march into Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. and beat an Illinois team that has far less talent?
I believed the last two years and look what happened. They gave me hope by coming back to take the lead after trailing 25-7. But then they proceeded to give up the lead for good late in the fourth quarter. And I believed last year when a 3-6 Illinois squad came into OUR stadium. And guess what? Wisconsin never led at ANY point in that game.
Maybe it's just me. It could be because I am from the state of Illinois and I chose Wisconsin over Illinois as my college of choice. It could be because I have been forced to endure Illini fans constantly reminding me that Illinois has had our number the past two years.
I want to think that it isn't true, that it is all just an illusion. I mean, Illinois better than Wisconsin at football? Say it ain't so.
As Alvarez and the rest of the coaching staff will attest to, a win is a win. So come Saturday, I don't care how you do it boys. I don't care if it is by one or by 41. Just get a win, and while you're at it, kick some Illini ass!
Cary Dohman is a junior majoring in history and journalism. He can be contacted at ccdohman@wisc.edu.
