A once proud Badger football team left Ryan Field in Evanston Saturday, hanging their heads and wondering what might have been. After falling to Northwestern 16-7, Wisconsin is picking up what is left of a season that once held so much promise.

Even after falling to UNLV in mid-September, the Badgers showed a lot of passion in returning to reel off four straight wins, including the season’s centerpiece, a 17-10 upset over defending national champion Ohio State.

But Saturday, the Northwestern faithful scattered across the empty bleachers of Ryan Field could be heard asking, “This is the team that beat the Buckeyes? This is the team that hung with Purdue, wire to wire? This team was ranked in the top 25?”

And these have become familiar questions for anyone who has ever followed Barry Alvarez and the Badgers over the last four seasons.

Promise was high after back-to-back Rose Bowl victories, and Wisconsin was to ride the coattails of Ron Dayne to land the blue chip recruits and move into the big time status among college football programs. But year in and year out, the Badgers find themselves in the middle of the Big Ten season looking up at the top of the conference.

And year in and year out, this complacency with the mushy middle finds its way to the Wisconsin sidelines. Last year, in the midst of a 2-6 conference season, this contentment with mediocrity seemed to find its way into the post game interviews after every disheartening loss. The Badgers entered 2001 on the lower end of the AP rankings, but after losses to Oregon and Fresno State, the team again seemed to take a turn for the worse.

Is it coaching or talent that has kept the Wisconsin football program from reaching the heights it had set its gaze on almost half a decade ago?

If Saturday was any indication, coaching and preparation can definitely be seen as a fault. Not only did Wisconsin look completely and utterly unprepared for the Wildcats on both sides of the ball, they looked lifeless and complacent, never finding the passion that they had harnessed so well in wins earlier this season.

Play calling was conservative, to stay the least, possibly as means to keep untested quarterback Matt Schabert from playing outside of his capabilities. At times, however, it seemed as though Brian White and the rest of the offense thought they could beat Northwestern without getting aggressive.

Failure to test the middle of the field and uninspired play calling on third and fourth down in a key series late in the game might stand out, and the defense again seemed unaware on many plays derived from the Wildcats’ spread offense. We won’t even mention the plague that has become special teams.

And while Alvarez and the rest of the team seemed genuinely upset and disheartened with their last two losses, one questions whether the Badgers can comeback in these last three games, all against ranked opponents, and turn their season around.

I’m hard pressed to blame the talent for Wisconsin’s fall from what was supposed to be their season to once again contend, although the secondary isn’t the bastion of ability that it once was. But the Badgers have too many experienced players to let the season fall by the wayside. Impassioned and seasoned players like Jeff Mack and Lee Evans have that will to win and won’t let their teammates fall off the wagon.

At the crossroads once again, the Badgers must be thankful the bye week has landed where it has. The team cannot once again fall into the funk that they have become so partial to. A week to recuperate, review and then reconvene might be just what the doctor ordered. Hopefully they can find the prescription for what ails them. Otherwise it’s time to start booking your tickets for the Motor City.