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 [email protected].