Solochek: Badgers must put loss in past

by Ben Solochek

Thursday, October 2, 2008 00:00

Since he started as head coach at Wisconsin, Bret Bielema has preached each week his team must go “1-0.” There is no better time in the coach’s career where his mantra must be believed and executed by his team.

As No. 14 Ohio State rolls into Madison to play under the lights of Camp Randall, the Badgers cannot let last weekend’s embarrassment against Michigan come back to haunt them. They must leave the game behind them and concentrate on containing the Buckeyes’ explosive backfield tandem of quarterback Terrelle Pryor and Chris “Beanie” Wells.

However, in the past, the Badgers have let past losses come back to haunt them. Last year, Wisconsin traveled down to Champaign as the fifth-ranked team in the nation. They were supposed to run all over a relatively inexperienced Illinois team and some quarterback who shared a nickname with a breakfast drink. However, led by Isiah “Juice” Williams and Rashard Mendenhall’s 162 yards and two touchdowns, the Illini jumped out to a 17-0 lead and never looked back.

The following week, the Badgers traveled to Happy Valley to play Penn State and got trounced 38-7. The Nittany Lions held the Wisconsin rushing attack to a mere 87 yards while gaining 221 yards on the ground themselves. The Badgers were able to rebound, only losing one more game during the season to Ohio State, who would eventually make it to the BCS Championship game.

The upset hangover happened four years ago as well. Wisconsin, who beat then-fifth-ranked Purdue and Ohio State, fell to Michigan State on the road. The next game, they lost to Iowa, eliminating their chance at a Rose Bowl berth.

This year, the Badgers can’t let their loss snowball as they enter the toughest stretch of the season. After Wisconsin plays Ohio State on Saturday, they must prepare to play the high-powered “Spread HD” offense of Penn State, who leads the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging almost 50 points per game. In two weeks, Wisconsin travels to Iowa, who always plays the Badgers hard.

If the Badgers do get back on course against Ohio State Saturday, they still have a good shot at pulling out on top of the Big Ten. If the Buckeyes lose, they still have to play Penn State, Illinois and Michigan, who will be playing with a chip on their shoulder after losing four straight to OSU.

In the past, there have been several teams who have lost midseason games and still got back on track. Last year, the LSU Tigers lost to Kentucky and Arkansas but still won the National Championship game. Two years ago, Florida was able to rebound from a loss to Auburn to win the BCS Championship against Ohio State.

The Badgers have even done it before as well. In 2006, Wisconsin was in the same situation as they are now. They lost to Michigan in the first game of the Big Ten season, and it seemed like they had a long road ahead of them. However, the team was able to rebound, not losing a game the rest of the year. They finished the season with a victory over Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl.

So there is still hope for Wisconsin. They will probably need to win out and rely on some help from other teams if they are going to win the Big Ten.

To make sure the snowball does not keep rolling, it is the coaching staff’s responsibility to not let the players get down on themselves after last weekend. They, above everything else, have to motivate the players to get over last weekend’s loss and get back on track.

So far it seems the coaching staff has the team heading in the right mental direction in terms of taking Bielema’s “1-0” message to heart. The Wisconsin head coach said in his Monday press conference many of his players, even after their loss to Michigan, were telling the press they must concentrate on going “1-0” every week.

Whether they have actually bought it remains to be seen.

Ben Solochek is a senior majoring in journalism and history. If you feel like discussing the theory of going “1-0” every week, e-mail him at bsolochek@badgerherald.com