What a week for college football. After a Saturday loaded with standout performances from Heisman candidates, a handful of shocking upsets and a pair of huge SEC matchups, answers surfaced to some crucial questions and a few more issues came to light.

Leinart may have received a week vacation, but the competition didn’t skip a beat. Purdue’s Kyle Orton, Oklahoma’s Jason White and Georgia’s David Greene combined for 12 touchdown lobs this weekend — could the stage be any more set for a Heisman shootout?

Northwestern stunned the Buckeyes in Evanston, so who said the Latin Club can’t ball? More importantly, how did the Buckeyes get flagrantly over-ranked for a second straight season?

Georgia earned sweet vindication over LSU while Tennessee fell before a red-hot Auburn squad, two games with more than their share of heroes and goats. And on that note, did Vol quarterback Erik Ainge know which team he was throwing to Saturday? Did LSU’s Xavier Carter make the bonehead play of the year missing the end zone on a touchback knee? Last but not least, with freshman tailback Danny Ware and standout linebacker Odell Thurman now back scrapping with the Bulldogs, can anyone stop Georgia?

Finally, the Badger defense continued its dominating ways against the most capable offense it’s faced all year. Anthony Davis made a triumphant return (Hosanna, it’s something like an offense again) as Alvarez’s crew took a seat atop the Big Ten. Many questions met with answers, and as far as I’m concerned, only one remains for UW.

What year is it?

I only ask because looking around Saturday afternoon, I could have almost sworn it was 2002. That year, the Badgers kicked off the season 5-0, Anthony Davis powered the offense almost single-handedly and the boys in cardinal and white looked ahead to a series of tough conference games. Sound familiar?

Also in that year, Badger fans became torn by one of the most argued quarterback controversies in recent memory. The issue of whether Alvarez should turn to the veteran Brooks Bollinger or young-gun Jim Sorgi sparked many a balcony debate and even a couple barroom scuffles. In fact, with the issue on campus trumping even some major political questions, many mused it might have been appropriate to put it on the ballot that fall.

And why not? Maybe something good would have come of that election.

To the dismay of many, the incumbent Bollinger kept his job, dragging a stagnant passing game through a string of tough losses that decimated any early-season hope. It’s somewhat eerie how similar the story has played out in 2004. To that end, it may soon prove necessary to seriously contemplate the quarterback issue in order to curb another tragic finale.

By virtue of a stonewalling defense (5.2 points per game allowed by Bielema’s unit), the Badgers managed to stay afloat in the first five games. With early injuries to Davis, Dwayne Smith, “Dynamite” Walker and Booker Stanley, the otherwise juggernaut Wisconsin backfield appeared all but anemic.

At a time where John Stocco and the Badger passing game could have risen to prove their mettle in dire circumstances, the actual performance proved terribly anticlimactic. Several Big Ten teams entered the season with quarterback issues — unfortunately, Alvarez didn’t have a Bryan Cupito or Chad Henne sitting in the Wisconsin hanger.

Currently the Badgers sit dead last among all Big Ten teams in passing offense at 133.2 yards per game. Not only does Braylon Edwards still hold more receiving yards than the entire Wisconsin wide-out corps, but after this past Saturday, add Taylor Stubblefield and Mark Philmore to that growing list.

Wisconsin over the past five games scored just three touchdowns through the air, also a conference low. And although only three interceptions have been offered up (perhaps Stocco’s saving grace), pass efficiency for the Badgers remains a contradiction in terms, with a rating of just 99.0.

Even by Wisconsin standards, the passing situation appears fairly bleak. Yet it also goes to show the slack picked up by the defense and, to a lesser extent, the running game. But with two road games against Ohio State and Purdue, everyone will soon see whether the Badgers are walking a road to the tournament of roses, or just down a primrose path.

Not by any means does switching to Tyler Donovan (a quarterback more unproven than Stocco prior to the season) ensure a reversal of fortune. It’s somewhat hard to believe the numbers in terms of productivity could get any worse, but there’s still a risk the inexperienced Donovan will prove more prone to make ill-advised decisions under pressure.

Then of course there’s Marcus Randle El, a candidate by pedigree, if nothing else. The freshman brother of former Indiana All-American Antwaan Randle El is yet to throw a pass in college, but in the past has shown athleticism and elusiveness out of the pocket. Alvarez may have designs for Randle El down the road, but at this point he’s not an answer to Wisconsin’s quarterback woes.

Now, despite the urgency of the immediate issue, something else comes to mind in this dilemma: Why does it keep happening?

In Alvarez era, tailbacks the likes of Terrell Fletcher, Brent Moss, Ron Dayne, Michael Bennett and Davis have driven the Badger offense. Since taking over in 1990, Alvarez brought in and developed a number of quality receivers (five drafted in the NFL), offensive lineman (13), defensive lineman (15), linebackers (6) and defensive backs (6).

Yet despite all that recruiting success, Wisconsin consistently retrieves its quarterbacks among the flotsam and jetsam of the prep scene. Part of it lies in the nature of Alvarez’s offense — obstinately run oriented.

As long as the Badgers have high-caliber linemen and tailbacks, no quarterback will ever be able to direct an offense the way Orton does in West Lafayette. But then again, an Orton, Green, White or Leinart wouldn’t be necessary — even someone like Northwestern’s Brett Basanez could make the difference between a Big Ten title and mid-season collapse.

Of the three Badger squads to walk the turf in Pasadena, not one included a quarterback better than mediocre. It’s almost painful to think what could have been, with just one more guy.