As a sports fan, you start to build up some expectations for the teams you support. After two straight Big Ten championships and Rose Bowl appearances, Badger football fans have come to expect consistent success.
And that was not an unrealistic expectation this preseason. Wisconsin was ranked No. 12, star running back Montee Ball was returning for his senior season, it appeared the defense was going to be stronger than last year and Danny O’Brien was slated to take over as the quarterback.
On top of that, Ohio State and Penn State are both banned from postseason play. Wisconsin’s road to the Big Ten championship game was paved in gold.
And then everything started to go wrong.
The Badgers have played three very subpar opponents and probably played worse than all three (the only exception being Northern Iowa… maybe).
Wisconsin’s offense had been so anemic this season that redshirt freshman Joel Stave took over as quarterback in the second half of Saturday’s game.
Don’t get me wrong, the Badgers have had some bad years recently—see the Allan Everidge-Dustin Sherer year—but they still won all of their non-conference games. To put things into perspective, the loss to Oregon State two weeks ago was the first non-conference loss in Bret Bielema’s time as the UW head coach.
I never thought I’d see the Badgers lose to a non-conference opponent.
It is not that I don’t have confidence in the players on the team. They have the talent to make it to the conference championship game and even to a third straight Rose Bowl. What worries me is the coaching staff.
The play calling on offense this season has been very questionable. They are throwing in very obvious running situations and running in very obvious throwing situations. I also don’t believe the coaches are using the talent on the team to the fullest.
One coach has already been fired this year and there may be more to come.
I know we are only three weeks into the football season, but I am becoming very pessimistic about the rest of this year.
Looking at the remainder of the schedule, a schedule some thought the Badgers would go undefeated with, some games really are starting to scare me. I’m not just talking about Nebraska, Michigan State and Ohio State (those games scare the crap out of me). I’m talking about Penn State and, yes, even Minnesota.
I am scared of the Minnesota game. More specifically, I am scared of losing to Minnesota.
Losing to Minnesota is no longer an option for Wisconsin football. The Badgers have won seven straight against the Gophers and fans just expect to win that game.
I know my fear of this game might just be panic turning into hysteria, but it is time to start considering the fact that no game this year is a sure thing anymore.
Do I believe the Badgers can correct things going into conference play? Yes, I do. Do I think they will lose two or three conference games? Yes, I do.
How are they going to correct the ship? Do what they did last year.
Yes, the personnel is different this year with new coaches and players, but Wisconsin needs to go manage the offense the way Paul Chryst did during his time as the offensive coordinator.
The Badgers will not be able to recapture the magic that made last season special. There will never again be a quarterback like Russell Wilson, Montee Ball will not repeat the production he had last season and Wisconsin will not outscore opponents by 30 or 40 points.
But the Badgers can repeat as Big Ten champions, it is just going take some work this year.
This year more than ever, Wisconsin’s “1-0” mindset will be very important. The Badgers have the ability to make it back to the Big Ten championship game and the Rose Bowl, but they need to take this season one game at a time.
