Sports: Column

Badgers defeated in wake of loss

The image of OSU running back Chris Wells pulling everyone to the right side of the field, cutting back and leaving Wisconsin’s defense in his wake keeps repeating in safety Aubrey Pleasant’s mind following the game.

He should have made the play. That’s all the sophomore can think about.

He should have been there, even though it wasn’t his assignment.

To him, Wisconsin let a win slip away en route to a heart-wrenching 38-17 loss after holding a 17-10 advantage.

Watching the players slowly file out of the stadium toward the visitors locker room with their heads hanging in sorrow, any observer could see that this loss shredded the Badger players’ pride and left them in utter despair.

They were slow coming out for postgame interviews, likely still in shock from being so close to saving their season, yet finishing so far from it. You could see it in Pleasant’s eyes when he finally came out for interviews; this was Wisconsin’s Rose Bowl. This was its shot at redemption. And it let one slip away.

Now the Big Ten title is a mathematic impossibility. Even Wisconsin’s newfound January home in Orlando (the Capital One Bowl) will be rented out to the highest bidder. In reality, the best-case scenario would be a trip to Tampa Bay for the Outback Bowl, but more likely the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

To be fair, Wisconsin was up against tremendous odds.

Entering the game, Ohio State had allowed five offensive touchdowns all season and had the best scoring, pass and total defense in the country led by All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins. Only Washington managed to put up two offensive touchdowns on what has been an untouchable OSU defense.

Its offense, behind Wells and quarterback Todd Boeckman, makes few mistakes and was second in the Big Ten, averaging a shade lower than 35 points per game. Wells was second in the Big Ten in rushing yards (in conference play only) and Boeckman was leading in passing efficiency by more than 30 points.

Since Jim Tressel took over as head coach in 2001, the Buckeyes have gone 71-14 (.835) overall and 44-4 (.917) at home. They were also riding a Big Ten record-tying 19 consecutive conference game winning streak and a 27-game regular season winning streak (which they obviously extended to 28 Saturday to equal a 104-year-old record set by the Wolverines of Michigan).

On top of Ohio State’s grocery list of reasons why it’s nearly impossible for anyone to beat them, Wisconsin wasn’t exactly bringing its “A” team to Columbus, Ohio.

Two of Wisconsin’s top offensive threats were out for the game. Luke Swan, UW’s top possession receiver coming into the season, is out for the year after tearing his hamstring against Illinois, and P.J. Hill couldn’t go due to a lower leg injury. Wisconsin’s second option at running back, Lance Smith (who is averaging 6.4 yards per carry), wasn’t available because he is serving a suspension for all Badger road games. Not to mention the absence of starting right guard Andy Kemp and the three starters who got hurt during the game.

Effectively, the Badgers were pushed into a blazing fire equipped with nothing but eye-droppers; the game was unwinnable.

The notion that Wisconsin held its own with the best team in the land for 40 minutes and exploited some weaknesses in the Ohio State defense that no one thought existed is reason enough for the players to hold their heads high, not hang them in solitude.

The defense too. Unlike Wisconsin’s first two losses against Illinois and Penn State, its defense played well enough. It didn’t force any turnovers but it kept the Buckeyes at bay until that forgettable fourth quarter when the better team asserted itself and won.

Although UW left everything on the field, I get the feeling that wasn’t good enough (Wisconsin let one slip away). And that’s not fair. Pleasant shouldn’t beat himself up over the little things, like not making a tackle someone else should have been in position to make. Instead, he should understand that this team finally is who we thought they were going to be at season’s start.

No, the expectations aren’t the same as then — while the 1-0 philosophy works and I do believe the players believed in it as well, many of them must have had Rose Bowl aspirations on their minds — but whatever bowl game the Badgers are playing toward, they can’t lose sight of what we witnessed Saturday.

If they can replicate that performance by leaving their hearts and everything else they know out on the field this weekend against Michigan, there’s no such thing as failure.

 

Kevin Hagstrom is a senior double majoring in journalism and economics. Want to talk about Saturday’s game or the rest of the football season? He can be reached for comment at khagstrom@badgerherald.com.