The Badgers look to prove that this isn't the "worst team ever" to play in the Rose Bowl

Former CBS football analyst Craig James once called the Wisconsin Badgers ''the worst team to ever play in the Rose Bowl,'' despite the fact the team entered the 1999 game with a 10-1 record. Their opponent, UCLA, had been undefeated and was ranked #2 behind eventual national champion Tennessee Volunteers--until a stunning season-ending defeat to Miami in a hurricane-delayed contest. Some complained that Wisconsin’s only loss—27-10 at Michigan—should have disqualified them from playing in the Rose Bowl, but Michigan’s loss the next week to Ohio State and finishing conference play with an 8-3 record hardly indicated it was the “better” team. Ohio State was ranked #1 until it was upset by a mediocre Michigan State team, and finished the season ranked #2 behind Tennessee after beating Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl. Wisconsin, however, beat the highest-ranked team (UCLA was #6 heading into the Rose Bowl) any Big Ten team faced in the postseason. 

But on paper, the 2012 Badgers--who are going to the Rose Bowl for the third straight year--this time would appear to offer justification for calling them the “worst team to ever play” in the game. An 8-5 record by the Big Ten conference “champion” certainly doesn’t reflect well on the selection “process"--but this is a moot point when the two teams ahead of them in the Leaders Division have been banned from postseason play. But numbers can be deceiving; 19 points in five games was the smallest total points differential in losses by any team in the Big Ten. The Badgers lost by 3 points against ranked teams in regulation (Oregon State and Nebraska), and in overtime against Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State. But their destruction of Nebraska in the Big Ten title game—averaging 10.8 yards per rush attempt—would seem to indicate a team that when it is playing its “game,” is still one the conference’s top programs, now twenty years running. 

The Badgers were plagued throughout the year by inconsistent offensive line play and passing game. The new offensive line coach was fired after the loss to Oregon State; his players failed to “catch-on” to his zone-blocking scheme, and this was in part responsible for the astonishing incapacity of the running game in the first half of the season. Last year’s Heisman Trophy finalist, Montee Ball, continued an “eventful” off-season with an equally inauspicious start. Meanwhile, the Badgers’ struggled to find a rhythm in the quarterback position. Danny O’Brien followed in the footsteps of Russell Wilson as another “hired gun.” O’Brien quit Maryland after graduating with eligibility remaining; new Terrapins’ coach Randy Edsall’s offensive scheme didn’t “suit” O’Brien, who preferred the previous regime’s spread offense. Of course, Wisconsin does not run that type of offense either, and O’Brien seemed lost. 

O’Brien was replaced by back-up Joel Stave, who played well with a nearly 150 passer rating; unfortunately, Stave suffered a broken collarbone on the first play of the third quarter against Michigan State with the Badgers in the lead, and was lost for the season. O’Brien came in and was again ineffective in the eventual defeat in OT, and the following week third-string quarterback Curt Phillips—a senior who hadn’t thrown a pass since 2009—finished-up the season. Comparing O’Brien and Phillips’ performances this year to decide who starts in the Rose Bowl looks to be a coin-flip; neither one inspires much confidence. 

In order to beat Stanford—which is clearly not the same team without Andrew Luck—the Badgers’ 13^th-ranked defense will have to play its typical game, while the running game must be at least “average.” The Badger running game has been wildly inconsistent this year, so “average” means somewhere between the 35 yards against Oregon State and the 539 they piled-up against Nebraska. On paper things appear bleak; Stanford has the 3^rd-ranked rush defense, giving up just 86 yards per game. If there is any hope for Wisconsin, it is that Stanford’s numbers were highly skewed against bad teams; in games against the likes of Colorado, California and Washington State, Stanford allowed minus 34 yards rushing total. However, against good teams in their last three games—Oregon and two match-ups against UCLA—Stanford has allowed an average of 233 yards rushing. 

I’m looking for Montee Ball to finish his touchdown record-setting career on a high note and put an exclamation point on what had once looked to be an extremely disappointing season. And coach Bret Bielema--often criticized for making questionable game decisions--can finally distance himself from the long shadow of Barry Alvarez by winning his first Rose Bowl after falling short the past two seasons.

Well, there is a MAJOR postscript to this story: Bielema shocked Wisconsin by word that he is leaving for Arkansas, and would not coach the Badgers in the Rose Bowl--so he won't get his "chance." Some Badger faithful might observe how Bielema betrayed Alvarez, who mentored him and gave him the job with Wisconsin in the first place. I can't even say that I wish Bielema "luck," given that the Badgers could have been more without the many bone-head decisions he made, such as the timeouts he wasted in the third-quarter in last year's Rose Bowl. If Alvarez returns for one more game--and the players seemed to be excited about the prospect--and beats Stanford, his legend status at the school can only be enhanced, and Bielema's reputation relegated to the remainder bin.