Badger Bits: Did Wisconsin run up the score?
by John Veldhuis on Nov 15, 2010 5:00 AM CST
in Badger Bits
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PrintIn case you were wondering, Bucky Badger did 573 total push-ups during the game on Saturday. Even for a Badger as muscular as Bucky, that's a lot. However, as Bucky was racking up the push-ups and the Badgers scored again and again against the Hoosiers, a question was bound to be raised: did Wisconsin run up the score unnecessarily on Indiana?
Head coach Bret Bielema doesn't think so. According to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com, Bielema said that none of the 83 points on the board were "style points":
"There's not one style point on that board," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema told ESPN.com late Saturday afternoon. "All those guys did was play football and competed."
Bielema also denied the eventual accusation that hanging 83 on the Hoosiers was an attempt to embarrass them, and said that there weren't any issues with Indiana head coach Bill Lynch:
"There was no issue whatsoever," Bielema said. "He just congratulated me and said a lot of positive things. I thought Coach Lynch was really good after the game. We weren't trying to do anything but just play football."
What do you think: did the Badgers run up the score on Indiana? Or is it ultimately up to the defense to keep a team from scoring, even with their backups in the game? Vote in the poll and give your opinion in the comments!
Football
Aside from making history against the Hoosiers on Saturday, the Badgers were also an example of football efficiency at its best: the Badgers scored on every offensive possession, and only committed two penalties for 25 yards. The Badgers are the least penalized team in the FBS, with only 31 offenses on the year.
Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that the Badgers will have to quickly shift their attention to their upcoming trip to Ann Arbor.
Patrick Herb of UWBadgers.com has posted his "A View From the Sidelines" notes about the Indiana game.
The Badgers were looking to make the most of 'teaching points' and not style points during last Saturday's game, according to Mike Lucas of UWBadgers.com
Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that delegating the special teams duties to different members of his coaching staff has paid dividends for Bret Bielema.
Wrapping up the football links, ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg has posted his 2010 Bowl Projections on the Big Ten Blog. Off Tackle Empire blogger Bama Hawkeye has also published his Post-Week 11 predictions.
Hockey
The Badgers' were swept over the weekend by the North Dakota Sioux, dropping Friday's game 1-0 and then losing the second game 4-2. Andy Baggot of Madison.com writes that the Badgers' inexperience was evident during the two game series.
Chuck Schwartz of Sixty Minutes. No Alibis. No Regrets. says that the Badgers' schedule doesn't get any easier this week when the No. 2 University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs come to the Kohl Center.
Basketball
The Wisconsin men's basketball team opened their regular season with a 99-55 victory over Prairie View A&M. Senior forward Jon Leuer lead the way with 24 points and seven rebounds, and point guard Jordan Taylor added 20 points as well. Notably, freshman guard Josh Gasser didn't wait very long to have a breakout game: in 26 minutes he put up 21 points and nine rebounds.
Rob Schultz at Madison.com also writes that Wisconsin is Jordan Taylor's team now, after taking the reigns last year from departing seniors Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes.
In Conclusion
Only five days until the Badgers make a road trip to Ann Arbor!
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I'm a bit torn about the final score
On the one hand, I feel like the starters should have been pulled about ten (game) minutes earlier than they were. Once up by ~5 scores, it’s probably time to let the young’uns play. The score seems excessive, and I am, quite honestly, a little embarrassed by it.
On the other hand, when a defense can’t stop the fourth-string walk-on QB from lumbering into the end zone, well, it’s hard to not score 83 points. So I can’t fault the Badgers too much for this.
I’m just glad we learned that our offense can score 83 points before we go to the Big House – we may need all those points.
We could have pulled Tolzien a little sooner than we did, IMO
I don’t want him to get hurt before Michigan. As it was, he played most of the 3rd quarter with the game that far out of reach (we led by what, 52-13?).
This is almost what you HAVE to do to a bad opponent. You cannot let them hang in the game. But IU’s defense bent over backwards and Wisconsin’s offense gladly thrashed them.
Beat Northwestern and Michigan, THEN I'll talk Wisconsin in the BCS. But not until that happens.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Nov 15, 2010 7:20 AM CST reply actions
The only reason this game has drawn attention
Is because the Badgers hit 80. But they did so with their fourth-string QB wandering into the end zone, almost as if he was trying to get touched first. The Badgers threw three passes in the fourth quarter. Short of taking a knee every play, there’s not much else they could have done. (And don’t talk to me about the 76-yard TD pass – the deep route was far from the first option.)
I was really kind of bummed about the last two TDs – not because I didn’t like Wisconsin scoring, but because I knew it was going to be perceived horribly. And it was – look no further than this week’s polls.
The Wall Street Journal
says the Badgers acted appropriately:
When a powerful rushing attack like Wisconsin’s or Oregon’s gets into a lopsided game, it can’t hit the off switch because there isn’t one… Although passing teams seem more explosive because of their quick-strike capability, proper blowout decorum dictates that coaches call off the air raid once the game is clearly won… The most outrageous offensive outbursts this season have generally involved running teams that just can’t help themselves, since all they can do in lopsided games is call more running plays.
by Grady The Badger on Nov 15, 2010 9:36 AM CST reply actions
"Because I couldn't go for '3'"
“Bret Bielema on Monday expressed no regrets about his decision to go for a late two-point conversion against Minnesota … with the Badgers leading 41-16 with 6 minutes, 39 seconds left in the game…”
I think there’s a pattern here.
So you're saying that Bielema is going to the Woody Hayes school of coaching?
Sounds good to me.
Bucky's 5th Quarter - All Badgers, all the time.
by Adam Tupitza on Nov 15, 2010 12:37 PM CST up reply actions
That unfortunately entails a long losing streak to a rival coach
wait, Iowa qualifies for that, right?
Beat Northwestern and Michigan, THEN I'll talk Wisconsin in the BCS. But not until that happens.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Nov 15, 2010 2:03 PM CST up reply actions
Score 100 on Michigan?
I have a question for badgers fans.
Would you rather see a close Michigan game with hopes that they can knock off tOSU for you or do you want to take out shoelace on the first play of the game and throw bombs past our freshman secondary for 100 points to inflate BCS numbers?
I’m assuming the latter but curious to see your thoughts as sparty would still need a fall anyway.
We actually don't want Ohio State to lose
The ideal situation from the Wisconsin perspective is the Spartans, Buckeyes, and Badgers all winning out. The highest of the three teams in the BCS rankings then gets the Rose Bowl bid. So the ideal scenario would be a Badger blowout victory over your Wolverines (but no running up the score as Bielema has enough criticism over that as it is). Then, Wisconsin would want a clunker of a game between the Wolverines and the Buckeyes, with Ohio State ending up with a ugly 13-10 victory (though considering we’re talking Michigan here, 47-44 Buckeyes would also be acceptable.)
But honestly, UW will take a win any way they can get one on Saturday. Ann Arbor has not been an enjoyable place for the Wisconsin Badgers over the years.
Bucky's 5th Quarter - All Badgers, all the time.
by Adam Tupitza on Nov 15, 2010 2:03 PM CST up reply actions
The only Wisconsin team to have had good days in Ann Arbor
has been Bo’s squad.
Beat Northwestern and Michigan, THEN I'll talk Wisconsin in the BCS. But not until that happens.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Nov 15, 2010 2:04 PM CST up reply actions
Actually the ideal situation...
…is for Wisconsin go 2-0 and have OSU lose to Iowa and MSU lose to Penn State.
That would be an outright Big Ten title.
Bucky's 5th Quarter. SB Nation's Wisconsin Badgers community.
Gotcha
Yeah that’s the technical “How to win tiebreaker”, but honestly seems MSU is setup to win the BX through tie breakers so the thought of blowing out Michigan and us losing to OSU would make the BX look better and hence Wisconsin’s ranking for BCS.
Sounds as though the consensus is ya’ll will take a win whatever means necessary(be it a blocked punt with 4 seconds to go after 28 pitches). Wisconsin is the clear favorite but it seems more fitting for you guys to say “F the whole state of Michigan” than tOSU given recent games. I think it’ll come down to a dice roll honestly with the house odds in your favor.
Safe to say most Michigan fans are hoping to go 1-1 to end it but realistically hoping/expecting for a pretty looking 0-2 without controversy(I.E. recruits not afraid of a coaching change).
Still confused at your viewpoint here
MSU is only setup to win if tOSU were to lose to Iowa or u guys. They win the tiebreaker head to head with us. We don’t want OSU to lose as the human polls give us the edge with our victory over them, which should be enough to stay ahead in the BCS. Ideally UW wins out, no matter margins of victory on UM or NW, and OSU wins out. The two strongest, imho, Big 10 ten teams will then liklely be in the BCS. I would rather see us and OSU represent us on the national stage then MSU. MSU and Iowa would then take out our buddies in the SEC, which Iowa has had good success against and depending on the matchup MSU should come out with a victory too. A big bowl season with the addition of a BCS team in Nebraska means the Big Ten will be setup for bragging rights against the SEC. 7 legit teams after Michigan and PSU get back to their true winning ways and a championshipe game makes a Big ten winner hard to keep out of National Title games even with a loss.
by buckyinhawkcountry on Nov 15, 2010 6:34 PM CST up reply actions
Wow, GoBlue I read your post again and get it now.
I just said your post a different way with a bigger long term view as well. What are you referring to when you say BX though?
by buckyinhawkcountry on Nov 15, 2010 6:40 PM CST up reply actions
Big Ten
with Roman numeral?
Beat Northwestern and Michigan, THEN I'll talk Wisconsin in the BCS. But not until that happens.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Nov 15, 2010 7:41 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah, like i said I was def slow yesterday.
I don’t usually think in Roman Numerals… I am getting some new lingo now. I always think of them as the BXI.
by buckyinhawkcountry on Nov 16, 2010 3:27 PM CST up reply actions
...if you want the Badgers to go to the Rose Bowl
Unless Auburn loses to Alabama and Stanford goes to the Rose Bowl, I’d rather the Badgers go to a different BCS bowl and play someone like LSU, who paradoxically might be both easier and more rewarding to beat than TCU or Boise State.
Granted, this scenario does carry some risk because it lacks the certainty of the auto-bid.
It was a great selection of awesome.
Def can see your viewpoint
I would much rather face another BCS conference school. I like the Stanford matchup, team wise and from a Rose Bowl tradition standpoint. I cringe at BSU with the lack of reward in beating a team you are supposed to beat. But think its more likely the Rose bowl picks TCU after it all shakes out, which I don’t consider as bad.
by buckyinhawkcountry on Nov 16, 2010 3:33 PM CST up reply actions
I want a W
If we get a pair of 150-yard rushers in the process, yippee!
Beat Northwestern and Michigan, THEN I'll talk Wisconsin in the BCS. But not until that happens.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Nov 15, 2010 2:04 PM CST up reply actions
Possible
I see it more likely though that you guys get 300 in the air if it becomes a shoot-out. However if Mouton and Mike Martin are still out, it could easily turn into a steam roll of our freshman and walk-on red-shirt sophomore defensive squad where Tolzien’s only pass is to the ref after a quarterback keeper into the end-zone.
This game
is going to be close if Wisconsin turns the ball over more than twice and doesn’t get stops of Denard.
I have to admit, it is REALLY making me worry five days before the game! ARGH! Michigan has NOTHING to lose this game or the next game. Nothing.
Beat Northwestern and Michigan, THEN I'll talk Wisconsin in the BCS. But not until that happens.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Nov 15, 2010 7:43 PM CST up reply actions
I just hope we don't get a big head
Michigan, like has been said, has nothing to lose and I don’t like the fact they can win while giving up 5 turnovers, even if its just Purdue. If they reduce the turnovers and have crowd for the last home game, it will be an interesting game. Michigan is one team I wouldn’t ever ease off the gas with when they can score so fast.
by buckyinhawkcountry on Nov 16, 2010 3:37 PM CST up reply actions
Considering Wisconsin's history in Ann Arbor.
I think UW can use all the points it can get. As we know, 19-0 isn’t enough.
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