We've all heard about the accolades and the honors. Eleven wins, best in school history. Bret Bielema, best-ever rookie Big Ten coach. Entering a season with an abundance of question marks, the Badgers somehow answered everything, except that one in Ann Arbor, Mich. But now they sit at an impressive eight spot in the Bowl Championship Series and on their way to a second consecutive Capital One Bowl, right? Well, pretty much. But not really.
There are two rules that the BCS committee takes into account that could apply to the Badgers, one for certain right now. The one that has been most widely discussed in Madison is the rule that prevents the Badgers from going to any BCS Bowl game. With Ohio State sitting pretty at No. 1 and Michigan holding on to the No. 2 spot, this makes a trip to Orlando inevitable, right?
Well, not really. There's also a rule that ensures a BCS bowl game to the top four teams in the BCS standings. I'm pretty sure that when the BCS committee came up with their rule book, they never thought in their wildest nightmares that three teams from one conference would settle into the top four spots.
Bielema will tell you that he doesn't have the answer. He knows the two rules, he has seen them printed in two different spots, but he doesn't have a clue as to which takes precedent.
But Bielema does know one thing: ""I know eight minus four is four,"" he said at Monday's press conference.
Very true coach, but he does have a point. The Badgers must jump four teams to get to that fourth spot. And it's possible. Just eight simple things have to happen for it to occur.
1. The Trojans must beat Notre Dame
It's better if the Fighting Irish are just out of the picture. With a loss to USC, Badger fans can erase one team that UW needs to jump over. With their victory over Arkansas and their ability to shut down Cal's explosive offense, this is the most probable.
2. USC must then lose to UCLA
In what has been a close game in years past, the Badgers need UCLA to take out their rival Trojans. Playing on their home field, the Bruins have a chance to ruin Pete Carroll's national title hopes and send them to the Rose Bowl.
3. The Scarlet Knights have to rekindle the fire
In order for the Badgers to make the jump from ""Ocho"" to ""Quatro"" (Chad Johnson style), Rutgers must come up big with a win at West Virginia. This might be the toughest scenario necessary, because not only does Rutgers not have the raucous New Jersey crowd behind them, not only do they not have the bandwagon fans traveling to the Mountaineers' home turf with their loss to Cincinnati, but also West Virginia running back Steve Slaton has been just about unstoppable as of late.
4. Arkansas has to beat LSU
If the LSU Tigers can defeat the Razorbacks, then LSU might jump the Badgers. It would be that much simpler for UW if the Tigers were out of the way. Then, the Razorbacks could be disposed at a later date.
5. Florida State must take out Florida
Before Florida and Arkansas match up in the SEC title game, Wisconsin needs Florida out of the picture. Florida must lose to their rival Florida State. Being that the game will be played on national television and on the Seminoles' field, expect Bobby Bowden's boys to be fired up.
6. Florida then has to bounce back against the Razorbacks
All Wisconsin needs are for Tim Tebow and Chris Leak to run circles around Arkansas. With the Gators' loss to the Seminoles from a week before haunting them, they'll want to take the monkey off their backs and sneak into a BCS bowl. It might all come down to that.
7. Michigan has to finish No. 2
With USC losing, this pretty much assures a second place finish for Michigan. But without the Wolverines in the championship game, there's no room for the Badgers anywhere.
8. The BCS to pick the right rule
At this point, the BCS committee members' heads will explode. They will have two contradictory rules, and UW needs them to pick the rule that benefits team No. 4.
Whew! I think the most exercise I've gotten this whole semester was writing that out. In fact, I know it is. But that's about it. That's all that has to happen. It's that simple.
So, pack your bags. Pasadena, here we come!
E-mail Sam at sepepper@wisc.edu.
