Big Surprise: Wisconsin Stinks Up the Joint

FanHouse gathers around the TV to bring you insights from Bowl Season '08.

Unfortunately for fans of Big Ten football, Wisconsin has done nothing in their last two games to help the proverbial cause.

It's somewhat predictable, given that Wisconsin lost to Michigan and did everything they could to lose to Cal Poly. I mean, even Wisconsin fans knew Wisconsin had no business in a bowl game.

Florida State sent the Badgers back to their cold, snowy home Saturday with a decisive 42-13 win in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Badgers were pathetic in pretty much every aspect of the game, fielding punts inside their five, turning the ball over with not-so-stunning regularity, and getting gashed on defense.

Give FSU credit. They ran well, quarterback Christian Ponder gutted through pain to play very well, and their defense forced turnovers and made plays every time the Badgers got on the right side of the 50. But Wisconsin did their conference and their fans a complete disservice with their performance today. It was truly a fitting conclusion to a season marked by embarrassing losses and dreadful performances.

The game didn't start out terribly for Wisconsin. FSU punter Graham Gano pinned the Badgers inside their five, but Wisconsin got out of the shadow of their goalposts before punting. Gano would pin the Badgers deep in their end like 15 times, and he also did a marvelous acting job on a punt to draw a penalty on a Wisconsin player who never touched him.

That penalty led to a FSU touchdown that made it 28-6, and it was curtains for the zero-dimensional Badger offense.

Normally, Wisconsin's offense is one-dimensional, but turnovers, terrible quarterback play, non-existent special teams, and a tired defense rendered Wisconsin useless with the football. They couldn't run it, they never could throw it, and after a while, all they could do was punt.

The big blow for the FSU offense came in the final seconds of the first half. The Badgers managed the clock terribly, giving the Seminoles a chance to make something happen. They did. Ponder hit Greg Carr on a fade route for a touchdown to make it 14-3, FSU. It was their first offensive touchdown of the game.

The Badgers drove for a field goal in the third quarter, but a 16-play FSU drive made it 21-6, and the rout was on.

A disappointing season ends for Wisconsin, and one has to wonder if head coach Bret Bielema is going to feel any heat regarding his team's terrible defense and special teams. He was a defensive coordinator at Kansas State and Wisconsin, always fielding top-notch units. Since becoming head coach at Wisconsin, Bielema has handled special teams and not the defense.

From a distance, it's pretty obvious that it's time for Bielema to relinquish that role and concentrate on being the head coach, perhaps spending some extra time working with the defense.

For as long as I've been alive, Wisconsin has failed to produce a top quarterback or a highly-rated passing game. If they're going to continue to insist on playing this style in today's quarterback-charged era of college football, they'd better shape up the defense.

Florida State, meanwhile, gets to go into the offseason with tons of good feelings. The warm and fuzzies don't mean anything once 2009 starts, but it's a nice way to go through spring practice and into fall camp. Anyone who doesn't believe me should try being the team that loses their bowl game 42-13.