Two high-octane offenses, two Rose Bowl berths and two crushing losses.

For the most part, the Wisconsin Badgers have triggered that trio of recent memories in the minds of college football pundits and fans throughout the nation. Within the friendly confines of Madison, the progress Bret Bielema & Co. have made in transforming UW into a brutally proficient dynamo and a consistent Big Ten power is the fallback saving grace for a program once again puzzled by its inability to win in Pasadena.

Three weeks ago, the Oregon Ducks met the Badgers in the 98th Rose Bowl Game and meted out what Wisconsin feared most – another shattering last-minute loss in college football’s oldest bowl game. One year after Tank Carder and Texas Christian denied Wisconsin a late two-point conversion in a 21-19 thriller, the Ducks out-dueled the Badgers in a 45-38 shootout that many saw coming but very few actually comprehended once it was all over.

The spirits of Wisconsin fans were eventually buoyed by the surprising return of Montee Ball for his senior season, but the rest of the nation sees a team that loses arguably the best quarterback in school history, Russell Wilson, as well as a bevy of assistant coaches.

Once offensive coordinator Paul Chryst’s departure for Pittsburgh was revealed not too long before the Rose Bowl, concern started to mount. Chryst, not long after developing a prolific steamroller of an offense year in and year out despite the team’s varying levels of talent in each, then took with him offensive line coach Bob Bostad, linebackers coach Dave Huxtable and tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Joe Rudolph.

Wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander also left for Arizona State, and just a few short days after his second Rose Bowl loss, Bielema found himself without five of his top assistants. Center Peter Konz, with a presumable starting gig in the NFL beckoning, jumped to the pros and left the Badgers with a third offensive lineman to replace for next season.

Of course, Bielema brought in all of these now departed assistants himself, proving an ability to bring in top coaches from across the country. He’s already brought in Matt Canada from Northern Illinois to serve as offensive coordinator and Zach Azzanni from Western Kentucky as the next wide receivers coach. In the coming days, the remainder of Bielema’s staff should be filled, and Wisconsin will have at least some of its pressing concerns quelled.

But the tide of adversity flowing from the Rose Bowl has made abundantly clear that 2012 will be unlike anything Bielema has faced at Wisconsin. To keep pace with a fan base that has shown a hankering for persistent success, Bielema must thrive this season.

Specifically, he must finally win a BCS bowl game.

Wisconsin has a prideful bond with the Rose Bowl, site of the program’s greatest triumphs, but more than a decade has passed since the Badgers have won in Pasadena. That history, forged by the successes of Barry Alvarez, Ron Dayne and the like, put Wisconsin football on the map in the ’90s, but as names like Bielema, Wilson and Ball become more and more relevant, those older Badger teams are pushed further out of mind.

In the days since returning from the Rose Bowl, Bielema’s been busy hitting the road to hold together a recruiting class that could understandably be questioning their commitments to a program once again undergoing significant turnover. Sure, teams throughout the country deal with the same thing – worse, even – every offseason. As a team still solidly positioned to resume its perch atop the Big Ten, especially given Ohio State’s postseason restrictions, the Badgers will have to suffer longer to scratch away the allure recruits see in Wisconsin.

But say Bielema can’t win The Big One in 2012. Say Ball, steady as anyone in the country with an already proven track record of scoring touchdowns, just isn’t enough to compensate for the struggles of any one of UW’s five wildly inexperienced quarterbacks. Say the Badgers discover that without Wilson’s prized mobility and ability to make plays outside of the pocket, the offense is taken down several notches.

What happens then?

The Badgers run the risk of becoming the San Diego Chargers of college football, a team with a championship “window” that was once wide open but closes with every year that passes without a bona fide postseason victory. Wisconsin won the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game, but that’s now more of an expectation than a landmark achievement.

Make no mistake – the last two years of Bielema’s tenure at Wisconsin have been some of the brightest in program history. The win over undefeated, No. 1 Ohio State, the rousing gut-check victory at Iowa the very next week and all the greatest moments of this season have combined to give fans a truly memorable run, unrivaled throughout much of the BCS.

But over time, the mere fact that Wisconsin won is what will matter and what will be remembered. Outside of Madison, where that statement rings even truer, national media and critics won’t be as charmed by the group of impressive characters (Ball, Wilson and J.J. Watt to name a few) Wisconsin has or the ability to resurrect once-lost seasons (i.e. the games against Ohio State and Iowa in 2010 and Illinois in 2011).

Truly elite national powers are built upon wins on the biggest of stages, and for all Bielema has built on Alvarez’ legacy, the number of landmark victories on his r?sum? greatly pales in comparison to his mentor’s.

Both for the sake of himself and the program, Bielema needs a BCS victory in 2012.

Mike is a senior majoring in journalism. What are your expectations for next season? Let him know on Twitter @mikefiammetta.