Wisconsin-Hawaii: Trouble in Paradise for the Badgers?

In case anyone forgot, the Wisconsin Badgers are playing football this weekend.

And, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few Badger fans did actually forget. Hockey? Yes. Basketball? Yes. Football in early December? Really?

Not only is the Wisconsin-Hawaii match-up overshadowed by the conference championships occurring that same afternoon, but the game will also start at 10:30 p.m. local time.

However, even though the amount of people watching the broadcast may be down from the normal amount, this game still has some serious bowl implications for Wisconsin.

Coming off their discouraging loss to Northwestern, the Badgers need this game if they hope to have any momentum going into a bowl game.

With Oklahoma State's loss to Oklahoma, either Iowa or Penn State will surely be invited to a BCS bowl, and Wisconsin is all but guaranteed a bid to the Outback Bowl if they can defeat Hawaii.

Even though their surroundings may suggest otherwise, this game will be anything but a vacation for Wisconsin.

No, the WAC Warriors are no powerhouse, but let's not kid ourselves, neither are the Badgers.

Hawaii is averaging 24 points and nearly 500 yards a game, certainly not a good sign for Wisconsin's reeling defense.

Quarterback Bryant Moniz leads the Warrior offense with 2,199 yards passing and 13 touchdowns, with wide receiver Greg Salas hauling in 1,559 of those yards on 103 catches.

Hawaii is only 6-6 and their offense is certainly modest when compared to the Colt Brennan- or Tommy Chang-led versions of a few years ago, but they are dangerous nonetheless.

Wisconsin's offense shouldn't have any problem against Hawaii, but they didn't against Northwestern, either, and we all know how that turned out.

Add in the fact that Hawaii has won their last four games, are playing for a bowl bid, and are playing at home and it's obvious that a repeat of Northwestern isn't out of the realm of possibility for Wisconsin.

Wisconsin still has a chance to achieve a respectable 9-3 record with a victory, so let's just hope they don't sleep through the game like many of their fans probably will.