I told myself I wasn’t going to write about Saturday’s game, but there were just too many things about the Badgers’ loss to Michigan that have stuck with me.
As I sat tucked in the corner of the Big House with the rest of the marching band (I play trumpet, if you’re wondering), the only thing I felt at that time was disbelief. Not anger. Not frustration. Just a feeling of disbelief and confusion as I watched the Badgers’ collapse in the second half to surrender a 19-point halftime lead.
As the waning seconds ticked off the clock with the Wolverines’ 27-25 upset victory finally becoming a reality, the crowd of 109,833 began a chant that is still ringing in my ears: “OVERRATED!”
Of course, any time a team beats a higher-ranked foe, their fans often resort to this cry. After all, in this case, the Badgers were the ones with the No. 9 ranking, while the Wolverines looked like a team in the rebuilding process. New coach, new quarterback, new running back — nobody expected anything good to come out of Ann Arbor this year.
But when the maize-clad maniacs continued their chant, I just thought, “It’s true. They are.”
Who’s to argue that Bret Bielema’s bunch was deserving of the top 10 ranking it carried into Saturday’s contest? Look at the two teams ahead of and behind UW in last week’s AP poll: Texas and Alabama at No. 7 and 8, respectively, and Texas Tech and BYU trailing behind at 10 and 11.
If any of those four were to come into Camp Randall, I’m not so certain the Badgers would be the favorites. And if Wisconsin hit the road to take on one of those schools on their turf? Forget about it.
It seems as though the Badgers play better when they’re not expected to win, almost as if the pressure of being the favorite is too much for them.
Take last year, for example. UW traveled to Columbus in early November, where it had the task of facing the No. 1 team in the country — the Ohio State Buckeyes. Although the Badgers were ranked No. 21, it was clear they didn’t stand a snowball’s chance.
So what did they do? They took a 10-3 halftime lead in one of the most intimidating atmospheres in college football against the supposed top team in the nation.
For three quarters, Wisconsin looked like the better team that day. But a 21-0 fourth quarter in favor of OSU turned UW’s fortunes around, sending the team back to Madison with their third loss of the season.
Two years ago, similar story. Same location and timing as three days ago when Wisconsin and Michigan clashed in the Big House in the Big Ten opener. UW came in unranked, while UM, at 3-0, held the No. 6 spot in the polls.
Nobody expected the Badgers to come away with a win, let alone put up a fight against the high-powered Wolverines, led at that time offensively by Chad Henne, Mario Manningham and Mike Hart. But UW took a 7-0 lead after the first quarter and went into the locker room at halftime satisfied with a 10-10 tie.
While the wheels eventually fell off in the second half, unranked Wisconsin put up more of a fight than anyone gave them a chance to.
Unfortunately for the Badgers, Saturday afternoon the tables were turned.
At 3-0 and coming off a statement win against Fresno State two weeks prior, Wisconsin was clearly the top team — though the odds makers only had them as 6 1/2 point favorites. Michigan already suffered losses to Utah — at home, no less — and Notre Dame, with its only win coming against Miami of Ohio in Ann Arbor.
But as they’ve done many times before, UW showed the rankings don’t matter — or rather that they continue to be placed higher in the polls than they probably belong.
Fans have to look no further than last season for another example, when Wisconsin was ranked even higher (No. 5) in its game against unranked Illinois in week six. Instead of coming out and looking like the powerhouse the polls portrayed them as, they instead went into Champaign and came out flat, trailing 17-6 at the half before falling 31-26. That loss dropped them to 19th in the polls — a place that seemed much more comfortable for the Badgers — while the Illini jumped them to take the 18th spot.
Ask anyone on the team if they pay attention to the rankings, and they’ll tell you they don’t, saying any team can beat anyone else on any given day.
Saturday was proof.
Looking back at other comments I heard before this weekend’s game, I can only laugh when I remember what Wolverines fans said to us.
“Take it easy on us tomorrow.”
“Don’t go too hard on us.”
Unfortunately, I think the players must have overheard these remarks and actually took them to heart.
Tyler is a senior majoring in journalism. Think the Badgers don’t even deserve to be ranked after Saturday’s game? Let him know about it at [email protected].
