Wisconsin Football: Winners and Losers from the Week 2 Game vs. Oregon State

The Wisconsin Badgers just played Oregon State, looking terrible in a loss to the Beavers.  The Badgers offense was atrocious, with Montee Ball and Danny O'Brien being complete nonfactors.  The offensive line also struggled mightily.

Here's a look at the winners and losers from Saturday's loss.   

Winner: Oregon State

Oregon State was the clear winner on Saturday, as their upset of the Badgers was possibly the biggest win in program history.  Sean Mannion threw all over the Badgers, and the Beaver defense had no problems shutting down star running back Montee Ball.  

Mike Reilly's Beavers dominated Wisconsin in Corvallis, and earned a huge win for the program.

Winner: The Badgers Defense

Even though the Badgers lost to Oregon State, the Badgers defense impressed.  The Badgers offense did the defense absolutely zero favors, and the defense was continuously on the field.  The fact that the Badgers held the Beavers to only 10 points, and just three points in the first half, is incredible.  

The Badgers defense deserves plenty of praise for keeping Wisconsin in the game.  

Loser: The Coaching Staff

The coaching staff was terrible against Oregon State.  The offense was a complete disaster, with the Badgers unable to do anything to move the ball.  There was absolutely zero rhythm, and the Badgers were unable to convert a third down until well into the third quarter; they finished 2 for 14.

The Badgers shouldn't have lost to Oregon State; Wisconsin is too talented.  The fact that they did in such an embarrassing fashion lies solely on the coaching staff.  Bret Bielema and Matt Canada were definite losers on Saturday.   

Loser: The Offense

The Badgers offense was terrible against Oregon State.  A lot of the blame can go to the coaching staff, but at the end of the day, the players didn't execute.  

The offensive line was unable to open any holes, and as a result Montee Ball and company were unable to get anything going.  Additionally, Danny O'Brien and the rest of the passing game also struggled, especially after Jared Abbrederis' injury.  No one stepped up in his absence, and the passing game became nonexistent.  

Incredibly, the Badgers had only 207 yards of total offense.  The offense was clearly a loser against Oregon State.

Loser: Badgers National Title Hopes

Wisconsin's loss to Oregon State almost surely removes them from BCS National Championship contention.  Actually, the Badgers were so bad against Oregon State that it's doubtful that they can contend for a Big Ten Championship.  The offense has to improve, or the Badgers are going to lose games to teams such as Purdue.  There's no way that the Badgers make it through conference play unscathed.  

Conclusion

The Badgers loss to Oregon State was one of the worst in the recent history of the program, and ruined Wisconsin's chance to compete for a National Championship.  The coaching staff, especially Matt Canada struggled, and the offense was miserable.  

The Badgers need to improve if they are going to compete in the Big Ten this year.