Wisconsin football head coach Bret Bielema blamed a lack of discipline from himself and the team for Wisconsin's fifth loss of the season Saturday against Michigan State. Bielema emphasized Badger penalties, including the unsportsmanlike penalty against him in the fourth quarter, as a learning experience for the team.
This year we're a more penalized football team than ever before,"" he said. ""If you're a football team that's struggling to find a way to win, if you grant them automatic first downs you're never going to be able to get on top.""
The Badgers, who are on of the most penalized teams in the Big Ten, were penalized 12 times, for a total of 121 yards, with eight of the penalties coming in the fourth quarter. Referees flagged a Badger player for interfering with their actions from the sidelines, and then charged the Wisconsin coaching staff with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
""That by far was not the most strenuous or vigorous comment that I've ever made to an official, but the timing of it went against me because of the reaction I received from him,"" Bielema said.
Although he is one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA football, Bielema said he did not think his age had anything to do with the penalty, saying, ""I've seen some very upset 40-, 50- and 60-year-olds.""
""It [doesn't have] to do with age or maturity,"" he said. ""It's a growing experience and a learning experience.""
Bielema confessed that the penalty and his own lack of discipline may have cost him some credibility within the team as he tries to keep them from earning penalties.
""My reaction to that play was a poor example to them,"" he said.
Bielema also defended his decision to use Wisconsin's time-outs late in the game, before Michigan State's game-winning field goal. The call earned him criticism from fans and reporters who saw the timeout as a mistake, given the Spartans' rush to get their kicker on the field with time running down.
After Michigan State's Brett Swenson missed his three field-goal attempts the previous Saturday against Michigan, Bielema said he wanted to affect Swenson's confidence heading into the important try.
""[I] felt that he would probably be on edge in a big game,"" Bielema said. ""When it came down to it at the end of the game I knew I wanted to ice him.""
The decision backfired, as Swenson made the field goal and said after the game that the timeout gave him more time to prepare for the kick than he would have had otherwise.
Looking forward to Saturday's game against Indiana, Bielema said he thinks the team must take stock of where they are as a 4-5 football team, and go into Bloomington with ""the belief in winning.""
""[Winning] doesn't just happen, you've got to make it happen, and we all have to work together to get it done,"" he said.
