The Wisconsin Badgers: A Celebration of Mediocrity

Maybe I'm irrational. Anything is possible.

If your favorite team had been trailing the entire game, but made a comeback and won the game by one point in overtime, you would celebrate the win. Any reasonable fan would.

But what if that one point overtime victory was over an FCS opponent? Would you still celebrate the victory like it was the biggest win of the season?

Or would you sink a little in your seat from the embarrassment of such a poor showing against an FCS opponent? Would you question why it took three missed extra points by Cal Poly for Wisconsin to even be in the position to win the game?

The Wisconsin Badgers and their fans at Camp Randall Stadium chose to celebrate.

As a Big Ten fan, I was embarrassed for them.

I don't like that FBS schools schedule FCS opponents. I especially don't like when BCS conferences schedule FCS opponents. It shouldn't be allowed.

I didn't like it when my beloved Buckeyes scheduled Youngstown State as the season opener the last two seasons, though I did understand the reasoning behind it. I still didn't like it and was relieved when Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith and Coach Jim Tressel, in separate press conferences, vowed that it wouldn't happen again.

But, that being said, there is a huge difference between scheduling an FCS opponent as the season opener and scheduling an FCS opponent as the season finale!

I refuse to believe that Wisconsin could not find a FBS opponent that would be willing to play them. The Badgers had a bye week in September and the open date at the end of the season. Between those two dates and 108 other FBS teams, Wisconsin should have been able to find an opponent.

If you are going to schedule an FCS opponent, especially this late in the season, you have to crush them. I don't like that Florida scheduled The Citadel for a late November game, but at least they won 70-19.

The Badgers at one point this season were the No. 9 team in the country. But, four consecutive losses to Michigan (3-9), Ohio State (10-2), Penn State (11-1), and Iowa (8-4) led to a 0-4 record in the Big Ten and a plummet from the rankings.

The Badgers would rebound to win three of their next four games to become bowl eligible heading into the game against Cal Poly.

But, the Badgers would finish the regular season 3-5 in the Big Ten and would go 0-3 against ranked opponents.  

What has happened in Madison?

Their seven wins came against football juggernauts Akron (5-6), Marshall (4-7), Fresno State (7-4), Illinois (5-7), Indiana (3-9), Minnesota (7-5), and FCS Cal Poly.

That's two wins over teams with a winning record and both wins were by three points.  Just about as unimpressive as it gets.

Bret Bielema has the confidence of his Athletic Director, former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez, but the Badger program has regressed. Bielema is 25-10 in three seasons with a 12-1 record in 2006, 9-4 record in 2007, and 7-5 record in 2008. 

Alvarez left the Badger program in good shape, but at the end of year three and with Bielema's recruits starting to see playing time, the Badger program is in turmoil.

The 2008 season was Wisconsin's worst in a decade and Bielema admitted to the press that he had lost credibility with his players when he received a penalty in the Michigan State game. To make matters worse, Bielema called a very questionable timeout at the end of that game giving the Spartans, who were out of timeouts, ample time to set up the game-winning field goal.

In Alvarez's 16 years as head coach, none of his teams received more penalties than the 2008 team.

And now, as if scheduling an FCS opponent as your season finale isn't embarrassing enough, Bielema's team was two missed extra points away from losing to them.

Teams are supposed to get better as the season progresses. Wisconsin has gotten worse and it may be time for Alvarez to find another coach.

Wisconsin and Bret Bielema, you should be embarrassed. A celebration of mediocrity is a shame. 

Maybe I'm irrational, but maybe I'm right.