During the last two weeks, Wisconsin football head coach Bret Bielema has mentioned a phrase several times that was not out of the ordinary. It wasn't daring or highly controversial. No one even batted an eyelash at it.
The UW football team has started off 0-2 in the Big Ten, causing Bielema to admit that his team needs to get back to playing Wisconsin football.""
Like I said, it seems pretty obvious in nature, and is by no means a shocking thing to hear Bielema - the No. 1 fan of how former head coach and current athletic director Barry Alvarez did things at UW - say.
However, in light of the Badgers' woeful start, the question arises as to what exactly ""Wisconsin football"" is nowadays, and how close is Bielema to rallying the 2008-'09 team toward that goal?
Personally, the idea of ""Wisconsin football"" does in fact revolve around what Alvarez was able to do during his coaching reign at UW.
In his 16-year career at Wisconsin, Alvarez built a 118-73-4 record, as well as an 8-3 record in bowl games. He single-handedly turned around a collegiate team that had been in ruins for as long as most could remember, and within four seasons guided the Badgers to the first of their three Rose Bowl victories during his coaching tenure in 1993.
So based on this, it seems Alvarez had to be doing something right, hence the phrase ""Wisconsin football"" that Bielema now uses so often. But a closer look shows how Alvarez created Wisconsin football and was able to leave such a deep legacy on campus.
For Alvarez, the height of his program has to be the 1998-99 Wisconsin football team, and for Bielema, up to this point, it was the 2006-'07 season.
The 1998 football team was unbelievable. It had one awesome offense heavily built around junior running back Ron Dayne and his 1,525 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, and a defense that made opposing offensive coordinators weep. The Badgers went 11-1 that season, with the only loss coming at the hands of Michigan - who went on to win the Big Ten and defeat Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl 45-31. UW eventually won the Rose Bowl, defeating UCLA 38-31 behind 246 yards and four touchdowns from Dayne.
Bielema's 2006 squad was actually very similar. Going 12-1 in his first season as a head coach, Bielema's Badgers featured a heavy dose of then-freshman running back P.J. Hill, who rushed for 1,569 yards along with 15 touchdowns, and tight end Travis Beckum's 61 catches for 903 yards and five touchdowns.
The '06 team won the Capital One Bowl, defeating Arkansas 17-14 in a defensive battle. Beckum was a small highlight, with five catches for 82 yards and one touchdown.
Offensively, there wasn't much of a difference between these two teams. However, there was a stark distinction on the defensive side of the ball.
The '98 team was full of play-makers, leading off with defensive end Tom Burke and cornerback Jamal Fletcher. Burke had a total of 22 sacks and 100 total tackles. Fletcher led the team with seven interceptions and returned three for touchdowns. Burke, along with linebackers Donnel Thompson and Chris Ghidorzi, had 100 tackles or more.
In contrast, the '06 team was led by linebackers Mark Zalewski, who had 90 total tackles, and DeAndre Levy, who had six sacks. Allen Langford led the team with three interceptions, but only safety Joe Stellmacher returned a pick for a touchdown.
This brings about the latest trend in Wisconsin football.
The offense has slowly gotten better over the last few years, but the defense has slowly gotten worse, at least in terms of playmakers.
The result has been Badger teams that usually have to outscore the opponent. It has usually worked in Bielema's first few seasons, but this season hasn't gone to plan.
The defense of the 2008 team has been the strength, while it is the offense that has faltered. But as seen at Michigan this season, both sides can go through long spurts of mediocre play.
Now, back to Bielema's demand for the return of ""Wisconsin football."" As to how close Bielema is to returning the team to its former glory'¦ the gap seems about as big as the Grand Canyon right now.
Alvarez's version of ""Wisconsin football"" involved running the ball until the field was unrecognizable. The tight ends were basically converted tackles, and a quarterback like Mike Samuels was expected to hand the ball to Dayne and hope that he could carry the load.
Today, it is the offense that is supposed to control the ball. But more and more, it seems UW expects the passing game to play a bigger role, if not the main role, in the offense.
Offensive coordinator Paul Chryst has moved away from the running game at times, and the ability of players like Beckum to do more than just block has completely changed the Badgers offensive mentality.
Compared to Alvarez's football teams, Bielema's current squad looks nothing like it. The only thing that these teams have in common is that both have had success and are expected to win.
After Wisconsin's putrid start to the Big Ten season, Bielema is right about what he said. The Badgers need to return to playing ""Wisconsin football"" because, as history has shown, that's what it takes to win football games here at Wisconsin.
If you think the Wisconsin football team has what it takes to return to its former glory days, e-mail Nate at ncarey@wisc.edu.
