Wanting to win in sports is as synonymous as yearning to succeed in life. However, when it comes down to the bare essentials, sometimes winning isn't everything.

There is of course the matter of teamwork, competitive nature, being physically active, etc., to consider, but what I mean by that is there's no gut check, no sweeping reform when you're on the right side of wrong.

The Wisconsin football team knows firsthand what I mean. After toying with disaster against several opponents this year, the seal finally broke in the form of a 31-26 slip-up against Illinois.

"A win is a win" mentality, while accurate, inhibited the Badgers like a broken rudder. Since there was no adversity in the form of a one in the loss column, they continued to circle back to the same problems.

Now that the "inevitable" loss happened, much to the glee of national media and fans alike who didn't believe Wisconsin deserved a top-10 ranking, the Badgers are at a crossroads. They can either go behind closed doors to work out the kinks in their armor, or they can blow off the defeat as hogwash and fix nothing. The latter, it seems, was the preferable choice to date as defensively the incessant tentative play has led to the same results each week — tackles missed and big plays allowed.

"I hope this is the point where we realize something has got to happen," junior linebacker DeAndre Levy said. "I think it just comes down to who wants it the most."

While fans of college football and the national media provided Wisconsin with some leverage in the past, only a loss can sway the mountains of accountability.

"Guys are in a little sense of shock," cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu said.

Just like a human doesn't truly understand what it means to be healthy until he or she has suffered disease and illness, so too did Wisconsin not truly calculate what it means to be "a good team" until it suffered defeat.

"We're a Big Ten football team. Ranked that high you've got to come out and do your job every day, every play," Ikegwuonu said. "We can't keep making the same mistakes over and over again. We survived it a few games this season already, making the same mistakes, and today it caught up with us.

"We’ve got to take personal inventory and reevaluate."

Last year the Badgers were inconsistent on offense to start the year. They played close for the better part of three quarters against Bowling Green, beat up on Division 1-AA Western Illinois and got into a dogfight against San Diego State that resulted in a grand total of 21 first downs and 14 points.

The out-of-sync play, related to several new starters on offense learning to play together, led to a 27-13 loss against Michigan. Despite the score, it was a game Wisconsin could have (and perhaps should have) won.

After that time the Badgers rolled, winning out, including notching their second consecutive Capital One Bowl victory, this one against a highly touted Arkansas team.

"Well, I really felt last year we left the field against Michigan knowing that they were a good football team that we could play with and compete with anybody in this conference," UW head coach Bret Bielema said during his press conference Monday. "I think that's still established in our minds."

Granted, this year's scenario is different. The team was ranked entering the season and had fewer question marks coming in (and it was the offense that struggled to come together, not the defense). Yet the same principle applies: Losses, not wins, if applied correctly, lead to improved play.

There's no doubt in my mind that the players want to get better. No one wants to lose.

Whether the Badgers' fall from grace will lead to smooth sailing and wins, or broken rudder circular movement and losses is up to the players.

"I told our kids: I want you to feel the pain of losing because if you ever begin to accept it or are OK with it, it'll become more of a habit, and that's a road you don't want to go down," Bielema said.

It's going to take time, no doubt, for all that is wrong to go right (Bielema admitted that you can't teach a player how to tackle overnight), but there are six games left and the talent is there. We'll see if it's matched by will.

Kevin Hagstrom is a senior double majoring in economics and journalism. To better your ""Tuesday's With Haggy"" experience, contact him at [email protected].