Nebraska vs. Wisconsin: Badgers Ready for BCS Title After Trampling Cornhuskers

I realize how hesitant the college football world is these days to anoint a team from the Big Ten a BCS National Championship favorite, what with the SEC claiming the last five crystal footballs, twice over highly-ranked Ohio State squads.

And I certainly understand the reluctance to crown No. 7 Wisconsin as such a team, given how good they looked going into last year's Rose Bowl, wherein the Badgers promptly lost to TCU.

There's something unmistakably different about this 'Sconsin team, something that separates it from any other that Bret Bielema has yet coached. You could see it in the way the Badgers so rudely welcomed No. 8 Nebraska to the Big Ten with a 48-17 win at Camp Randall Stadium.

And by it, I mean him. And by him, I mean Russell Wilson, among many other improvements.

But mostly, I just mean Wilson. The senior transfer from North Carolina State is far and away the most talented quarterback to play in Madison in years, if not decades. Wilson was once again surgical in his efficiency, piling up 255 yards passing and three total touchdowns, all while embarrassing the Black Shirts with his sneaky escapability and accuracy throwing on the run. 

Wilson isn't a dual-threat quarterback, per se. He's something better; he's a quarterback with an accurate arm, shifty feet and a hefty dose of applicable athleticism.

Oh, and he still has guys like wide receiver Nick Toon and the running back tandem of Montee Ball and James White to make his life easier.

Never mind that the Badgers lost a trio of top-quality offensive linemen to graduation and the 2011 NFL Draft in Gabe Carimi, John Moffitt and Bill Nagy. Never mind that those three, along with tight end Lance Kendricks and defensive end JJ Watt, are all contributing significantly as rookies.

Because, after all, 'Sconsin's O-line is still bigger than that of the Green Bay Packers. Because the defense was still good enough to hold the Huskers nearly 100 yards below their rushing average.

Because, in the end, the Badgers could go undefeated with relative ease, claim the Leaders division, own Michigan in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis and they'd still have to wait behind Oklahoma, Boise State, Stanford and Alabama or LSU.

The Big Ten may be the Rodney Dangerfield of BCS conferences, but the Badgers deserve some respect nonetheless.

They can't help it—their competition is just that inferior right now, and likely will remain so until bowl season rolls around.

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