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Boy did the addition of Russell Wilson change expectations, especially after the rout of Nebraska in the first B1G game of the year. We looked unstoppable. As it would turn out, Nebraska wasn’t as good as advertised, especially on defense. Heck, some pundits thought they could with the conference in their first year. We all know how that story ends, with Nebraska getting killed in their bowl game. But I digress.

This year was supposed to be different than others. I’ve long lamented the fact that many Wisconsin fans regard the Rose Bowl as the pinnacle of college football. It’s a big game, but it’s not the biggest game. For the first time in the Alvarez era pundits and fans alike were talking about Wisconsin as a possible national title contender. It was not meant to be.

In all three losses we were within a score of tying or taking the lead as the clock reached zero. The Badgers’ average margin of defeat was a measly 5.6 points. An extra third down conversion here, one less turnover there, and things might have played out differently.

It begs the question, can the Wisconsin program ever make it to the big dance? Will the Rose Bowl forever be as good as it gets? Don’t get me wrong, two consecutive Rose Bowl appearances would be a mark of success for most programs in the country so I don’t mean to minimize the team’s accomplishments. But in a year with one of the best QB/RB combinations in the country, something Wisconsin has arguably never had before, it just seemed like this team was destined for more.

The recent shakeup on the coaching staff is a little scarey, but I’m going into it with a glass half ful approach by viewing this as a great opportunity to bring in some great new coaches. Plus Montee “Money” Ball will be back next season and who knows, maybe he’ll bring home the Heisman this time.

See you at Camp Randall in the fall!

This will sound sappy, but I really believed the hype this year. I ran out (via the Internet) and bought a Russell Wilson jersey after clobbering Nebraska. This year was going to be different, I told myself. It was not like past years when we were clearly ranked too high early on only to get upset by some unassuming opponent. This year we seemed to have all the pieces to do something really special. (Sorry, I am not one of those Badger fans who pretends the Rose Bowl is the top of the mountain).

Then we went to MSU. I still remember in 2004 when we were undefeated and in the driver’s seat for the Rose Bowl when we lost to them. There was the 2008 debacle and then our only loss last year coming at their hands. Who would have thought MSU could provide so much heartbreak in recent years? I would honestly rather play OSU given the way we have matched up with them lately. On top of it all we had to lose the way we did. A blowout would have clearly told us that once again the Badgers were ranked way beyond their weight class, but the game was decided on a single play.

This one will sting for a while.

Could the last four months be the best in Wisconsin sports history? I think it may have been.

- Oct. 16, 2010: #1 ranked Ohio State is soundly beaten at Camp Randall, paving the road to the Rose Bowl for the Badgers.
- Jan. 1, 2011: #4 Wisconsin plays #3 TCU in the Rose Bowl.
- Feb. 6, 2011: The Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl XLV.
- Feb. 12, 2011: #1 (and undefeated) Ohio State visits the Kohl Center. Florida is the only other school to knock off a #1 (also Ohio State) in both football and basketball in the same academic year.

So soak it up Wisconsin sports fans; who knows if we’ll ever see something like this again.

What a great year for Wisconsin football!

Go Bucky!
Go Pack Go!

Sigh.

So close and yet so far.

We made the trek out to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl and had a great time up until the final score.
- Thursday: Went down to Santa Monica Pier for the Badger Pep Rally. There were tens of thousands of folks clad in red down there with the band, team, and former greats like Ron Dayne. To get the crowd pumped up they played a nice highlight reel from the season as a curious state patrol helicopter buzzed overhead. There were plenty of opportunities to meet up with far flung friends, too.
- Friday: We went down to Old Pasadena to check out the parade route. I was expecting it to be a little more quaint, but it was very touristy with just about every national chain you can think of stacked on top of one another. We didn’t stay up until midnight because we were getting up at 5am for the parade.
- Saturday: We had heard from numerous sources that traffic heading into the parade route would be insane so we should leave really early. Our hotel was five or so miles down the freeway and we decided to get a cab at 6am, which was a solid two hours before the parade started. We made it there in five minutes and had over two hours to kill before the parade started. I amused myself by walking around in my gamebibs and a sleeveless shirt as all of the locals were wrapped in winter gear as they tried to survive the frigid 40 degree temperatures before the sun came up. (I got a lot of stares and comments about how I must be from somewhere cold). I went to get some street meat to kill some time, which actually worked out well as it took me about 45 minutes to get my food. The LAPD stopped by and told the folks running the tent that the generator they were running was “illegal” and that it had to be shut down. Luckily I got one of the last burritos off the grill before everything went dead. (PS – Getting into shouting matches with the LAPD or any PD for that matter, is a losing battle). We ducked out of the parade a little early so we could make it to the Badger tailgate, which was a great time as we met up with lots of friends. I have nothing else to say about the game. Overall a really fun season and I can’t wait until the fall.

This video isn’t as much fun after the loss, but it’s still pretty good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K03W8UAlRgw

Madison, WI

In my ten years of hanging out at Camp Randall this was by far the best victory I’ve experienced. The 2003 Schabert/Evans touchdown pass was epic, and OSU was just coming off a national title win, but that game was far closer than this one. Wisconsin scored on the opening kickoff and retained the lead throughout despite a very good rally attempt by the Bucks in the second half. My hope is that this win shook the rust off of some of our fans and made them think that maybe we can go to the Rose Bowl or contend for a national title (someday). My takeaways from the game:
- Tressel is now 4-4 against Wisconsin.
- OSU allowed their first 100 yard rusher since 2008.
- Tolzien was sacked six times by OSU last year. This year, zero.
- There were a number of high level recruits in attendance Saturday night. One can only hope they walked away with a favorable impression of Madtown.
- Wisconsin is 41-4 at home over their last 45 games.
- Wisconsin has won 26 of their last 29 night games.
- The OSU defense was ranked third in the nation heading into the game. Not anymore.

Are we seeing a theme here? We were ranked too high too early, suffered a sloppy early season defeat, and were unceremoniously ushered out of any chance at belonging in the upper echelon of college football this season. We’ve been stuck in a decade long rut and I don’t know what it will take to break out of it. Maybe this is where we belong; a non-elite winning program that quietly makes its way into decent bowl games each year and nothing more. We’re quickly approaching 11 years since Wisconsin last appeared in a BCS game and there seems to be no reason to believe that in another 11 years we won’t all be sitting around remembering the 2000 Rose Bowl.

www.patrickdaley.com

I’m sad to have learned of Paul Pohle’s passing this week. Our alumni chapter here definitely would not be one of the most vibrant in the country if it weren’t for him. I hope wherever he is there’s a TV that gets the Badger games.

What a great weekend.  We were in Madison for the Michigan game, which the Badgers won handily, improving to 8-2.  Before the game the Sports Illustrated/Nissan Heisman Tour was set up on the practice field and it was awesome.  The Heisman was there in all its glory and Dan Patrick and Ron Dayne were there to sign free autographs.  The previous week my ears kept perking up during Dan Patrick’s show as he was continuously ending a commercial with the information “see me in Madison on Nov. 14 as Michigan takes on Wisconsin”.  The problem is that I was never paying attention to the beginning of the commercial and only paid attention when I heard him say he would be in Madison.  On Friday night after doing some Google searches I finally figured out what was going on.  I of course made it a point to get down there early, missing most of the chili breakfast at the Field House, but it was totally worth it.  I got a picture with Ron Dayne and his autograph.  I don’t know if I can think of a piece of Badger memorabilia that I’d rather have.  The Packers are shaping up to win against the Cowboys with eight minutes left in the game, too.  Great Wisconsin weekend!

A house near Camp Randall. Nice.