There are plenty of reasons the Badgers have had success year in and year out on defense. They always play at an extremely deliberate pace (slowest in the nation this season). They're coached well. They're fundamentally sound. They move their feet well. They don't foul. The list goes on and on.

But Ken Pomeroy has identified another, perhaps even more significant reason the Badgers defense has been so stingy. From season to season, Wisconsin's opponents don't shoot a lot of threes (Insider account required), which obviously has a significant impact on the amount of points they score.

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Gordon Gee has something to say about football. Gordon Gee always has something to say about football, which is a curious thing, because as the president of a major university like Ohio State one would think he would have plenty to talk about on the academic side without having to dip into the seedy, icky, money-printing underbelly that is college football. Many college presidents prefer the ivory tower, thumbing their noses at the bored polemical fanbase below. Gee seems to relish the fray, and unfortunately there is no one to tell him "no."

This week, he inserted himself directly into the Bret Bielema V. Urban Meyer kerfluffle with a comment that, if you looked hard enough, you could probably find written word-for-word on a comment section or message board somewhere. His response to Bielema's accusations of behavior unbecoming of today's Big Ten gentleman:

"We hired the best coach and we went out and got the best kids, so get a life."

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Bret Bielema had an unprecedented amount of staff turnover this offseason with six assistants leaving to take their coaching talents elsewhere. With news of the hire of Eddie Faulkner as tight ends coach coming yesterday, Bielema's new staff is complete.

It's clear coordinating experience was one of the main criteria Bielema was looking for during the hiring process, as five of the six new coaches have at least one season of coordinating experience on their resumes. Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Canada has seven (at Butler, Northern Illinois and Indiana), linebackers coach Andy Buh has four (Stanford, Nevada), offensive line coach Mike Markuson has three (Alabama A&M, Boise State, Ole Miss), Faulkner has two (Ball State) and wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni has one (Western Kentucky). Only safeties coach

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There really wasn't any reason why the Badgers should have beaten the Buckeyes on Saturday, on paper at least. Ohio State has quietly made its case as a Final Four contender all season with rangy guards that can actually hit their 3-pointers and a powerful frontcourt led by Jared Sullinger. Yet the feeling after the loss was more like the breath-sapping "ugh" of an upset.

In retrospect, that feeling is probably a good sign. There isn't just hope whenever the Badgers take the court as underdogs against a contender, there is an expectation, especially at home and especially against the Buckeyes, that Wisconsin will make the necessary plays to pull through. That they failed this time is demoralizing to the nth degree, especially because at one point it seemed like the Badgers were going to do it again, just like they always do.

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Just as it was last season, Wisconsin’s home showdown with Ohio State is by far its most hyped game of the season. For the second year in a row, both teams come into the game with impressive winning streaks (UW: six, OSU: 4), and once again, the Buckeyes undoubtedly have more talent. But in the confines of the Kohl Center, they’ll hardly be favorites.

This season though, each team is a bit less highly regarded than it was last season. The Buckeyes, currently the No. 3 team in the nation, were undefeated in last year’s showdown and the Badgers, currently ranked No. 20, were a top 15 unit. Does that mean this game is less meaningful? Hardly.

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Off Tackle Empire put out a rough 2012 B1G recruiting standings based on the composite rankings of 24/7, Scout and Rivals. Not surprisingly, Michigan and Ohio State took the top spots in the conference after pulling in consensus Top 10 classes. Then there's a cliff. Only Nebraska's class cracked the Top 25 in any of the major recruiting services. Michigan State snuck in the Top 40, Iowa came in around that mark, and a mass exodus from Happy Valley to Columbus dropped Penn State all the way to 6th in the conference. Suffice it to say, the SEC we are not (this year, at least).

Wisconsin's class is either low (8th in-conference by Rivals) or really low (11th by Scout and 24/7) on the totem pole depending on whose altar you worship. Quality isn't the issue. The Badgers took in four 4-star recruits according to Rivals, and five according to Scout, which is tied with Nebraska and more than anyone not named Michigan or Ohio State. The problem is size. With just 12 letters of intent faxed in on National Signing Day, Wisconsin came in roughly dead last in the FBS.

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Happy football signing day, Wisconsin fans. This has never been a really big day for the Badgers, as Bret Bielema runs a program that doesn't rely on elite recruiting talent. It's not easy to pinpoint one reason we don't see many five-star recruits put on a red Wisconsin hat this time of year, but I can think of a few reasons why.

Firstly, the state of Wisconsin is not a bastion of high school football talent. And Wisconsin is not like Oregon, a state in close proximity to a football recruiting hotbed in California. Secondly, Wisconsin as a football program does not have the flair that attracts the top recruits. Blame the weather, the boring Adidas uniforms, or the propensity to rely on the running game. Finally, the Badgers want a recruit who will work hard, has a good head on his shoulders, and is academically sound. That eliminates potential recruits who are otherwise extremely talented at playing football. So, Wisconsin won't have a player in the ESPNU 150 rankings unless offensive lineman Jordan Diamond picks Bucky later this week. But the Badgers did take more chances in recruiting this year, backed by Big Ten titles and Rose Bowl appearances as recruiting tools.

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When Jordan Taylor got off to a slow start during the non-conference portion of Wisconsin's 2011-12 season, there was no shortage of excuses. Depending on who you talked to, he was either still shaking off the dust after having his right ankle surgically repaired in the offseason, trying to be more of a distributor to get his less experienced teammates involved or adjusting to life without Jon Leuer.

I don't think anyone doubted Taylor would once again start putting up the kind of numbers that made him a preseason All-American. But now, more than two thirds of the way through season, we're still waiting. We've seen flashes of the old JT -- a 28-point outburst against Michigan State and a nice string of games in the middle of January -- but each time it looks like he's about to turn it around, he has another clunker. He followed up the spirited performance against the Spartans with two straight 12-point efforts and most recently went 5-of-14 from the field for 10 points at home against Indiana.

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