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Braun: Weak schedule makes Saturday’s win unimportant
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Also by Jonah Braun:
- Volleyball hopes to end 5-match streak (November 19, 2009)
- Braun: Hughes final piece to basketball puzzle (November 16, 2009)
- Offensive woes continue as losing streak reaches 5 (November 16, 2009)
- Badgers look to get on track against Hawkeyes (November 11, 2009)
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Some could look at the Badgers’ 37-0 win over Purdue as a huge win for both Wisconsin and Bret Bielema following two consecutive losses.
But is that really a big win? Well, it is and it isn’t.
Coming off a bye week, as my colleague Michael Bleach mentioned earlier this week, it was absolutely imperative that Bielema and Co. come out with a win against a much less talented Boilermaker squad.
Simply put, if the Badgers didn’t beat the Boilermakers, not only would it eliminate them from participating a worthwhile bowl game but it would also put a huge target on Bielema and his coaching staff.
Instead, we’re looking at a 6-2 team that has the chance to finish out the season without losing another contest.
But at this point in the season, the football team’s original plan to win the Big Ten has been shot down — and nobody should really be surprised. After winning its first five games, we overestimated the football team as it began to play its toughest opponents.
Think about it. Unlike last year, when the Badgers’ schedule with riddled with the toughest opponents at home and especially difficult challenges on the road, the Badgers have an easy route to a 10-2 finish and a chance at a meaningful bowl game.
But will it be a deserved accomplishment? That’s where things get iffy, and that’s what makes the win over Purdue a not-so-important achievement.
Even if something miraculous happens and the Badgers end up at the top of the conference, they will only end up playing a team that’s more talented than they are. Based on their only two games against truly better opponents this year, I would be willing to bet they couldn’t beat USC or Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
Winning out would make the Badgers among the best teams record-wise in the country, but it would be giving Wisconsin undeserved credit for dominating an easy schedule. Looking at the rest of the year, the Badgers will probably be favored in their remaining contests.
But their record alone doesn’t indicate how inconsistent this team actually is and how it really was not able to keep up with top-tier programs. Facing a good SEC team or even a top Pac-10 team in a January bowl would simply expose how broken certain parts of the Badgers actually are.
Obviously, that hypothetical situation almost certainly won’t happen, which is why at this point, the rest of the season can only be a means to an end in a later year.
A 10-2 record would be a remarkable feat for such a young team and could lead to better results in the following season. With its core offensive players like Scott Tolzien and John Clay so young, the Badgers have a chance to be a dark horse next year in the Big Ten.
Also, while I disregard the importance of the Badgers’ victory on Saturday, I can’t help but commend Bielema’s ability to avoid upsets at home.
Since he took over for Barry Alvarez in 2006, Bielema has lost only three games at home, which alone is an impressive feat. Those three losses came against No. 14 Ohio State, No. 6 Penn State and No. 11 Iowa. Considering the amount of teams that have come into Camp Randall over the past three and a half seasons, it is remarkable that the Badgers haven’t lost to a team worse than the 14th-ranked team in the country.
However, the beat down the Badgers gave the Boilermakers doesn’t indicate just how much work the football program must do to be able to contend with the Big Ten’s best, or perhaps just as important, the ability to compete with teams in other, more talented conferences.
But before they can beat those Pac-10 and SEC teams, the Badgers must prove they can beat better teams in their own conference. At this point in the season, even with a 6-2 record, the Badgers have yet to show that they have achieved that goal yet.
When they are faced with the same challenges next year, Wisconsin can once again prove it is worthy of a big-time bowl game. Until then, every win is just a number on the left-hand column.
Jonah is a junior majoring in journalism and Hebrew and Semitic studies. Is the Badgers’ remaining schedule meaningful or irrelevant? Send your thoughts to jbraun@badgerherald.com.
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Jonah, I get where you’re coming from but your comclusion is misguided. Beating a Purdue team 37-0 that just beat OSU is not important? If Tolzien didn’t self destruct in our game vs. OSU we would have won that too. Now does that mean we can compete with USC, Texas, or Florida? No. But you have to realize that before the season started expectations were not that high. Come on dude, did you think we’d have a chance at 10-2 even with the schedule we had? This young Badger team has performed well beyond expectations and for writers to have such a poor attitude toward the program after a completely dominating win is just silly. We WILL win the B10 next year. Enjoy it man!
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http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/polls/119
SOS: #8.
Try again.
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So we didn’t beat OSU @ OSU and lost by 10 to a Top 5 team. It happens. As above, the computers say that our SOS is fine. And I’d say that Iowa is better than us, so they probably should go to the Rose Bowl.
And I wouldn’t mind playing USC, but that’s not going to happen since it’s all but mathematically impossible for them to win the Pac-10 at this point.
All in all, if they win out, which they should, they get 10 wins and are probably playing on New Year’s Day in Florida. Since we’re not realistically better than Iowa to the point we deserve a Rose Bowl bid, I see nothing wrong with that.
Root for Ohio State to lose to Iowa and Penn State.