The Haves

Here's my second big takeaway from reading the Athlon preview: the truly elite teams in college football are so far ahead of the rest that it's not even funny. Here's the magazine's preseason top 5, which will probably be very similar to the AP's when it comes out in August, and with which I wholeheartedly agree.

1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Ohio State

Florida is an easy choice, even though they lost Percy Harvin early. But think about who some of these other teams lost.

Oklahoma's offensive line, best in the nation last year, was gutted. Texas lost Brian Orakpo and Quan Cosby. USC lost Mark Sanchez and a bunch of dudes from their nasty defense. Ohio State lost Beanie Wells, Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, Marcus Freeman, and a couple good wideouts.

So even though these teams all suffered significant losses, they are still head and shoulders above everyone else. These aren't Jonathan Casillases and Kraig Urbiks they're losing without skipping a beat, they're All-Americans and first round draft picks. That's no disrespect to Casillas and Urbik, but the point is that nowadays, our best players are topping out at mid-level all-conference picks, and we're going to take a step back without them.

It's not just Wisconsin that doesn't come close to measuring up to these heavyweights. Here are Athlon's #6-#10: Alabama, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss. None of those teams strike me as being able to beat any of the top 5 in a five-game series.

And it isn't going to change anytime soon, as these schools all had top-1o recruiting classes this year, per usual.

In many respects, this isn't unusual at all, as these schools all have tradition, regional advantages, and money. They've had down years or average stretches, yet are no strangers to the top 5. But I can't ever remember the disparity between the elite programs, the second-tier elite programs, and the solid programs being so great.

Draft thoughts

What, you thought I'd given up on this blog? Naw, I was just in Florida, playing the dogs and getting some sun without access to the Internet (okay, we had dial-up, but that doesn't count).

Was very excited to watch the draft -- hoped to have more than four guys picked, and expected to, but at the same time pleased all four Badger draftees went in the third round, and happy with the situation they're in. To recap:

Matt Shaughnessy, Raiders: Terrible team, so there has to be playing time available, right? Derrick Burgess is the only defensive end on Oakland's roster that I've heard of, so hopefully there's some playing time available for Matt right away. It will be interesting to see if Shaughnessy can take his game to another level, from simply above-average to very good.

DeAndre Levy, Lions: Did I say terrible team? Sounds like Levy's going to get a chance to start in the middle right off the bat, which is interesting since I can't remember him going anywhere near the middle with Wisconsin. Ernie Sims is a player, and Julian Peterson a recent acquisition, so there's some talent at the position; Jordan Dizon was a recent high draft pick. And don't forget about Alex Lewis, who manages to stick around in the league while more highly-touted Badgers have packed it in.

Kraig Urbik, Steelers: Can't beat going to the defending Super Bowl champions, right? If I was a lineman, Mike Tomlin seems like the type of guy I'd want to play for.

Travis Beckum, Giants: This is a great situation for Travis. Kevin Boss is a solid starter at tight end for New York, but Becks has to be a better receiver. Plus, the team lost Plaxico Burress, and even after drafting wideout Hakeem Nicks it wouldn't be surprising to see Beckum immediately play an important role in the team's third-down package.

After the third round concluded, I remarked to Jana's Uncle John, who you may recall is a Michigan State fan, "I can't believe this team had so many talented seniors and went 7-6." Oh well, let's just hope these guys carve out solid professional careers that help entice future recruits to Madison.

Draft notes

A couple interesting Badger-related tidbits in the latest Sporting News. The first are related to the NFL Draft:

-Travis Beckum is the second-ranked tight end, Kraig Urbik the third-ranked guard, and Chris Pressley the fourth-ranked fullback.

-P.J. Hill is ranked 36th out of 49 early entry candidates.

-There is a pretty interesting profile of Matt Shaughnessy. The last concert he attended was Van Halen in Milwaukee, with David Lee Roth fronting (Burch approves). answering "I daydream abou my first sack being called by ..." he answered "For some reason, Dick Vitale. I don't know why. He just has a great sports voice."

Dick Vitale doing football is absolutely frightening.

Good bye, seniors

The other day I was taking down the 2008 Wisconsin football poster/calendar in my office to make room for the one Jana made me. Before doing so I looked one last time at the guys on the poster who, for all the disappointments of this season, still contributed to 38 wins in their careers. Not too shabby.

Mike Newkirk
Good contributor for several years. His dad says he's bulked up to 275 pounds and could play in the NFL. We'll see. Part of me thinks if we'd had a really good line, he would have been best suited to be a backup who could play 50% of the snaps swinging between end and tackle.

Jason Chapman
Chappy was never the same after his knee injury. It was a shame, he was so quick off the ball. Every time he'd get whistled for jumping the snap I'd get upset with him, but then remember all the times he got away with it and disrupted the opponent's backfield.

Matt Shaughnessy
Never became the star many thought he would become after his strong freshman year, but always produced. Who knows, maybe his production will increase as a professional. The thing I'll remember about him is he always seemed to be disciplined, staying at home on reverses or quarterback rollouts. And don't forget, he was playing with a heavy heart this year.

Eric Vanden Heuvel
Not a star, but it was obvious the line was at its best this year when he was at right tackle.

Andy Kemp
The memory of Kemp I'll retain is of him chucking his helmet in celebration after the win over Cal Poly this year, out of character for a seemingly quiet kid, but enjoyable to watch. Against the weak non-conference teams we played he had success pulling. Will be interesting to see if he gets a shot professionally.

Dave Peck
I've already got Will practicing long snapping, it can earn you a Division 1 scholarship, and maybe a shot at the NFL. Don't know if Dave is good enough for that, but who would've thought Mike Solwold was?

Kraig Urbik
Only special players start four years on our offensive line. Joe Thomas, Chris McIntosh, Casey Rabach ... Kraig Urbik. Nice to see him get All-American honors from ESPN.com, even if it was sort of a stretch -- not that he didn't perform well, it's just that he was hurt this season.

DeAndre Levy
What I'll remember about Dre was his reaction after our embarrassing loss at Penn State in 2007. It was genuine, heartfelt, and showed that he really cared, which is not always the impression that some of these guys give. He represented the Milwaukee City Conference well, and hopefully inspired some of those kids to take football more seriously.

Travis Beckum
His emergence as a star in 2006 was one of the most pleasant surprises of a pleasantly surprising season, and he kept it up in 2007. That was more important than just on-field production. Becks was one of the most highly-rated recruits we've ever brought in, and had he failed, it would have hurt future recruiting. He was obviously not going to cut it at linebacker -- too tall -- and he lacked the instincts and aggressiveness to play defensive end. Kudos to the coaching staff for finding the right spot for his abilities, and kudos to Travis for making the most of the opportunity.

Allan Evridge
To think: I was expecting and hoping for him to beat out Tyler Donovan for the starting job in 2007. The thought was that a two-year starter would be better than back-to-back one-year starters. Wrong-o, T.

Jonathan Casillas
Anyone who was at the Metrodome for our 2005 game will remember him for his involvement in the greatest blocked punt in UW history. He was a playmaker on defense, too, when healthy. I hope he gets a shot in the pros, maybe he'll make an impact on some team's special teams and maybe get a shot at being a backup safety.

Ryan Flasch
When he transferred in I thought he'd factor into the mix at linebacker, but no.

Chris Pressley
Solid kid for the program. Heard that Bielema said few kids get as much out of playing college football as Pressley has, which is a great compliment. He'll represent UW well in whatever he chooses to do after college.

Josh Neal
Moved around a lot -- linebacker, fullback, defensive line -- wherever he was needed. Seemed to be a favorite of his teammates.

Bill Rentmeester
Favorite memory: his eight-yard run to clinch the Fresno State game. Apparently he was also a killer on special teams, although it never jumped out at me.

Allen Langford
Who would've thought this guy would be the well-deserved team MVP as a senior? What a story. Not as talented as Jack Ikegwuonu, but he wasn't a major liability when teams avoided throwing at Ike. Hurts his knee as a junior, but unlike many guys makes a full recovery in time for his senior season. Thrown out there with two rookie corners on the other side, and the secondary holds its own for the most part. Langford comes off like he was a 10-year NFL veteran, a consummate professional who happens to still be an amateur. He probably won't get the chance to play professionally, but I could see him being a good coach.

Damn, that was a good class. Probably the most individual talent of a departing senior class in a few years. No way they should have lost six games. It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff produces with classes made up of more Dave Pecks than Travis Beckums.

Offensive

Was watching an ESPN bowl preview last night and the guys were pretty overwhelmingly pro-Florida State in their prognostications. In their view, FSU's defense is going to be way too much for us to handle, and their offensive line is like nothing we've seen. The viewers agreed, with 81% calling a Seminole win.

Underdogs baby!

Rich from Chant Rant asked me to give him an overview of our offense with key players, and the below is what I came up with. What do you think, am I close in my assessment?

Overview
For a long time we were run, run, run, but offensive coordinator Paul Chryst has done a nice job of balancing us out. This year, that didn't turn out so hot because of limitations at quarterback.

We're still at our best when we pound the rock behind our large offensive line and keep the passing to unpredictable downs and distances. The run game still functions best between the tackles, although this year converting on third-and-short has been a struggle.

The passing game relies heavily on the tight end, even with injuries to top guys there. The wide receivers are young and developing, but several came up with big performances late in the season. We don't run any Spread, and little if any shotgun.

Most passing plays are at least seven-step drops. We still use a fullback a lot, and have two seniors there. You'll see a lot of two-tight end sets, even with our injuries. At times we'll play a third tackle in obvious running situations.

Quarterback
Dustin Sherer took over midseason for turnover machine Allan Evridge. He struggled a lot at first, showing the rust of not starting for four years. He has a funny throwing motion and low release point, and sometimes tries to force throws into impossible spots or make plays when throwing the ball away would be more prudent. Other times he makes plays with his feet and his throws get exactly where they need to be. He makes me nervous as hell every time he drops back, but he's the best we've got at the moment.

Running back
Junior P.J. Hill ran for 1,000 yards for the third straight season, but for the third straight season was injury-prone. He's a solid back who has improved the shape of his body from really doughy to just kind of doughy, but he finishes runs well, can catch out of the backfield, and pass block. Sometimes he dances too much rather than hitting holes hard.

Redshirt freshman John Clay is the guy many Badger fans want to see get the lion's share of the carries. He's 6-2, 230 and fast, and at times has had troubles with ball security and running too high. But he hits the hole with authority and seems to make more things happen than Hill. Either way, a good 1-2 punch. Florida native Zach Brown is #3 on the depth chart and sees time on third downs. With Clay's emergence he hasn't seen as much time as anticipated, but had some great moments last year as a freshman.

Chris Pressley and Bill Rentmeester are the fullbacks, and are pretty much just extra guards.

Receiver
Tight end Travis Beckum was an All-American candidate coming into the season but suffered through an injury-plagued season before breaking his leg against Illinois. The next week against Michigan State promising tight end Lance Kendricks also broke his leg. This leaves tight end Garrett Graham, an all-conference pick, as our top remaining threat. As you can see, we were as deep at tight end as anyone, and even with the injuries to Beckum and Kendricks, we're still solid there. Mickey Turner is the blocking tight end.

Wide receiver was a question mark coming into the season, and only late in the season did they start making plays consistently. David Gilreath is small but quick. We run a lot of end-arounds to him, and he had over 100 yards rushing against Indiana. Nick Toon is Al Toon's son, and has the prototype build. Isaac Anderson's dad played collegiately at Minnesota, and he's starting to show consistency. My sense is they'll have trouble getting open against the Florida State secondary.

Offensive line
Long a strong point in our program, our line was good again this year, but not as good as billed. Again, injuries played a part, but they were probably slightly overrated to begin with. At left tackle, sophomore Gabe Carimi is an up-and-comer, an athletic 6-8 kid with good feet. They try to get him out blocking little guys on the perimeter like Joe Thomas did. Left guard Andy Kemp is solid, he pulls a lot, even in short-yardage situations. Center John Moffitt is a charismatic, emerging emotional leader who has taken some costly holding penalties this season. He also pulls.

Right guard Kraig Urbik was probably the most consistent lineman, he's a four-year starter. Right tackle Eric Vanden Heuvel is huge, more of a run blocker than anything. None of them are All-Americans, and when one or two of them were hurt this season the offense sputtered, but when they were all together they run- and pass-blocked effectively. Josh Oglesby is the third tackle, he was the top-rated recruit at the position coming out of high school two years ago, but struggled pass blocking at times this year replacing Carimi and Vanden Heuvel when they were injured.

Kicker
Freshman Philip Welch is our kicker, and has done a great job replacing standout Taylor Mehlhaff. His kickoffs are on the short side, but he's been steady on field goals and extra points.

Draft prospects

My Sporting News this week had a list of the top 99 prospects in the 2009 NFL Draft, including underclassmen, and three Badgers were listed.

-Travis Beckum was #30.

-Kraig Urbik was #63.

-P.J. Hill was #76.

The last one was surprising. Is anyone really thinking about P.J. coming out early? He's ranked ahead of backs like Ian Johnson of Boise State and Javon Ringer.

Beckum appears to be the second-ranked tight end, after Oklahoma State's Brandon Pettigrew. Urbik appears to be the second-rankid guard, after Oklahoma's Duke Robinson.

Langford, Graham named All-Big Ten

Congrats to Allen Langford and Garrett Graham, who were named All-Big Ten on Monday. Especially Langford, who was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dreary season.

Always playing second fiddle to Jack Ikegwuonu, Langford was the less physically gifted of the two cornerbacks in his class, but he consistently received praise for his technique and grit. Then he blew out his knee last year, robbing him of the little speed he had. All he did was respond with a near-flawless senior season, leading the conference with 11 passes defended in league play. Seldom was he embarrassed in coverage. Good for him.

Graham probably didn't have the season he would have wished for, but he still led Big Ten tight ends in receiving. He should do some great things next year.

Also receiving all-conference honors were linebacker Jonathan Casillas, honorable mention; defensive lineman Jason Chapman, honorable mention; wide receiver David Gilreath, second team; running back P.J. Hill, honorable mention; guard Andy Kemp, honorable mention; linebacker DeAndre Levy, honorable mention; defensive tackle Mike Newkirk, second team; fullback Chris Pressley, sportsmanship award honoree; defensive end Matt Shaughnessy, honorable mention; guard Kraig Urbik, second etam; safety Jay Valai, second team; tackle Eric Vanden Heuvel, honorable mention; kicker Philip Welch, honorable mention.

Tell you what, that's a lot of honors for a team that went 3-5 in the conference.

Newkirk overachieved this year, he finished fourth on the team in tackles and led with eight tackles for loss. If Shaughnessy was honorable mention -- and that's about what he deserved -- then O'Brien Schofield should have been, too, he had 7.5 tackles for loss and led the team with five sacks. Loved the energy Valai brought to the defense, even if didn't always seem to rub off. And what about Niles Brinkley? He led the team with four interceptions and had nine pass breakups.

Badger classic: Wisconsin 38, Minnesota 34

Here's an anecdote anyone with multiple children can relate to: On June 21 I recorded the 2005 Minnesota-Wisconsin game on the Big Ten Network. On November 11 I was able to devote two hours to watching it.

Very fun to watch it again. Actually, it was the first time I'd seen the television broadcast, having attended the epic with most of the same friends I'll be with at Camp Randall this Saturday.

The thing I couldn't shake was that Minnesota seemed to play much like we've been playing this year. They seemed to have the better players and the better game plan, but kept making mistakes that let the other team escape with a win.

Just think about the last sequence of events. Soft defense allows a John Stocco-to-Brandon Williams touchdown. Stupid facemask penalty lets the Badgers kick off from the 50. Inability to handle the onside kick leads to a weird bounce that Maroney recovers inside the Gopher 10. The Gophers, who had been running at will all day, couldn't convert on third-and-short. Kucek fumbles a perfectly good snap. Their returner fumbles the kickoff.

That's six things that had to go wrong for Minnesota, and right for Wisconsin, for that outcome to take place. And they all did.

What a day!

-It occurred to me during the game that 2008 isn't the first time Wisconsin fans have been skeptical of Bret Bielema. Think back to 2005. In 2004 he came in and completely reinvigorated the Badger defense. Then, in 2005, the defense he coordinated was porous, leading UW fans everywhere to question Barry Alvarez's decision to promote him to head coach. Bielema had a tremendous rookie year in 2006, before a so-so 2007 and a borderline disastrous 2008.

The point is, Coach B has rebounded from tough seasons before, and I have faith he will again. But I think we'd all rather avoid the tough seasons altogether. Maybe this is part of the inescapable maturation process of a young coach thrust into prominence early on.

-The thing is, Bielema's 2005 defense was so decimated by injuries it's hard to tell if he could have done anything to make that unit a plus. Brandon Kelly, who barely saw the field at all last year as a senior, played a lot. Hell, Gino Cruse played a lot.

-A ton of guys who will lace up their spikes for Wisconsin on Saturday played in that game. Kraig Urbik. Chris Pressley. Matt Shaughnessy (who looked so thin and fast). Jason Chapman. Allen Langford. Mike Newkirk. DeAndre Levy (who I never realized recovered the fumble on the last kickoff). Jonathan Casillas, the one everyone remembers for blocking Kucek's punt. Aubrey Pleasant. Shane Carter.

Perhaps that paragraph illustrates why this year has been so frustrating. We've got a lot of guys who have been through a lot of wars, so to consistently lose games because of mental errors defies reason.

-Williams and Stocco had awesome games. Brian Calhoun was an incredible back.

-This has been a high-scoring rivalry this century. Look at the winners' point total since 2000: 41, 42, 49, 37, 38, 38, 48, 41.

-Bryan Cupito missed the game for Minnesota, and you've got to think that if he'd started at quarterback instead of Tony Mortensen they would have hit on a big pass play or two that could have sealed the deal for the Gophers.

-As exciting as the end of the game was, the first half was really boring.

It's going to be tougher to get tickets to see this game in Minneapolis in the future, which is too bad, it's always been fun. Then again, it's seemed to get nastier and nastier over the years, which is good for the rivalry but not the blood pressure.

But even if I never see another Wisconsin-Minnesota game out of state again, we'll always remember that day in the Dome when Kucek dropped the snap.

UW-Michigan State thoughts

I don't even know what to say. Seriously. This week after week of getting kicked in the balls by one thing after another is really starting to have a residual effect on my psyche.

We should have won this game by three touchdowns. Two 100-yard rushers. Holding Ringer to 54 yards. Their quarterback goes 19-for-44 and their butterfingered receivers drop seven passes.

And yet ...

Sigh.

Deep breath.

(Kick wall.)

-Where to begin? How about the officiating? Looks like in the end we racked up 121 penalty yards. I'd estimate that about half of them were no-doubters, about a quarter of them were toss-ups, and about a quarter of them were ridiculous.

-Kudos to Michigan State's offensive coordinator for his innovative game plan of calling passing plays, having his receivers run near our defensive backs, and lobbying for interference calls. It worked marvelously. Better than actually trying to complete passes to a bunch of guys with hands like that guy from the movie Necessary Roughness, I think his name was Featherstone (same color jerseys, too).

-Then again, someone named Blair White (wasn't she on The Facts of Life?) had 164 yards receiving, so they had something working.

-Can someone explain the back-to-back penalties on our coaching staff following the John Clay touchdown that set up their last touchdown? Bielema just said the refs' explanation was that our defense came onto the field too quickly after the play was over, and that he's never been warned or even talked to about a penalty like that before. Oh my god ...

(Break: Listening to the postgame I just heard a McCain ad featuring a stuttering Joe the Plumber and threw the radio through the window.)

-We ice the game with a rare third-and-1 conversion ... and a hold on Moffitt. Iffy call, seems like John got his arm outside the lineman and the guy fell over, but it didn't even need to be that close. We didn't need to hold their linemen -- we ran the ball so effectively it was like Sinbad was on the Spartans' line.

Second straight week something like this happened. Last week we overcame it, this week we crumbled.

-Why in the hell did Bielema call timeout when State was setting up for that last-second field goal? They were rushing onto the field for what was admittedly a very makable field goal, but we gave them time to get things straight. Maybe if he hadn't wasted our third timeout with that foolish challenge earlier in the half he could have called a third straight timeout.

The radio guys just said calling the timeout was a good move because we only had 10 guys on the field. Oh, so that makes it good coaching. Sheesh.

Bitter cloud lifting? Not yet ...

-If Michigan State is the Big Ten's third-best team, then this truly is an awful conference.

-At least the running game got going today, and found that rhythm in the second half. The only thing that stopped it was our play calling or penalties. P.J. looked confident. Clay ran hard and hit holes. His touchdown run was beautiful, especially the blocking. Chris Pressley got a seal on the outside linebacker. Eric Vanden Heuvel and Kraig Urbik doubled down on the edge. Andy Kemp pulled nicely, and Nick Toon held the cornerback at bay. Perfect execution.

On P.J.'s touchdown run Billy Rentmeester and Gabe Carimi had nice blocks.

-Toon showed signs of being a playmaker at wide receiver.

-Final yardage: Wisconsin 431, Michigan State 312.

-Had a feeling that Phil Welch was going to miss that field goal, but didn't think it would come back to be decisive.

-Also had a feeling State would call a fake field goal, but in the first half. Terrible designed play -- snap to a defensive end? Gee, can't believe he didn't catch it.

-Brad Nortman and Daven Jones had great execution on the punt Jones downed at the 1, but the refs thought otherwise. Which one of them saw that as a touchback? Either way, Bielema should never have challenged it, there was no way a replay could have overturned it.

-One holding call on Niles Brinkley was particularly galling. The refs got him for a hold when there was no contact until after the ball was already past the receiver. Unreal.

-Welch's kickoffs were too short for my liking.

-In a way, this was very similar to our win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament. State for the most part outplayed us in that game but foul trouble on their bigs, which their fans would pin on refereeing, let us creep back in, and Flowers' steal stole the game for us late. This was the football equivalent of that, only with us on the losing end. Payback's a bitch ... but I'm glad we got that win.

Another week, another loss like this. If I had any hair left I'd be pulling it out. I can't even take satisfaction with Minnesota and Michigan losing ... maybe just a little.

Jana just handed me Charlie, so I'm wrapping it up. He's smiling, so I guess I should be, too. Our performance today keeps me from wrapping up hopes of doing something else positive this season. But just barely.

UW-Iowa: Lining them up

We sure have passed around a lot of blame lately while assessing the Badgers' three-game losing streak, haven't we? It's quarterback play! It's play calling! It's receivers with the drops! We need to give the freshman running back more carries! Our defense tires in the second half! Argh!

Here's another theory: the offensive line play isn't as good as it could be under new coach Bob Bostad.

The line has not been a weakness, in my mind. They've done an adequate job of creating running lanes and protecting the quarterback.

But they also haven't been a dominant unit, either, and given the holes noted above, they need to be.

For instance, the Badgers are averaging 4.5 yards per carry -- seems good, right? But take away the Akron game -- 404 yards on 63 carries -- and UW is averaging 3.95 yards per carry. Not good.

In the passing game, the line has allowed nine sacks in three Big Ten games. Is the line to blame for all of those? Surely indecisive quarterback play and inconsistent play by a young receiving corps are prime culprits. But Allan Evridge hasn't exactly been sitting back in a protective bubble, either.

These things feed off each other. The lack of a threatening passing game makes it easier for opposing defenses to load up on the run, and at some point there's too many guys in the box for the line to block.

Just like with DelVaughn Alexander and the receivers, I'm not here to throw Bostad under the bus. He seems to be well-liked by the line, and wouldn't have gotten the job if he didn't know what he was doing. But it does make the contributions of former line coach Bob Palcic more appreciated.

The line will have its hands full with Iowa tomorrow, whether Gabe Carimi and Kraig Urbik play or not. Tackles Mitch King and Matt Kroul seem to have been around forever, and linebacker A.J. Edds really played well against us in Madison last year. Their offense doesn't scare me much, but given our recent level of play, that seems like a foolhardy attitude.

It's time to get back to basics. Limit penalties. Carry out assignments. Make the simple play, one play at a time. Protect the ball. Do all those things and we'll have a good chance at returning to the pink locker rooms victorious.

Continue with the sloppy play, and it's a long ride home from Iowa City.

This game is personal for Bret Bielema. Let's hope his team takes a big step tomorrow toward making FireBretBielema.com irrelevant.

Wisconsin 16, Iowa 14

UW-Penn State thoughts

What happened in the second half? I was washing Charlie's bottles and flossing.

Actually, I managed to catch it all, and there's not much to say. This is a team with a broken will. The losses to Michigan and Ohio State were just emotional crushers, and the several times we had glimmers of hope tonight we immediately responded with horrible plays.

We can talk about players and play calling and other stuff, but this is on Bret Bielema to turn this thing around. This team's psyche needs rebuilding, one play at a time, before what started as a season with high expectations turns into an all-time disaster.

More big picture thoughts to come in the week ahead, but here's some thoughts on tonight's mess at Camp Randall.

-Good thing we pushed that Virginia Tech game back a decade, eh? Wouldn't want to endure that tough game and then start Big Ten play 0-3.

-Silver lining: tickets for that Minnesota game November 15 ought to be more affordable, unless the Gopher bandwagon gains its first members after their win today against Illinois.

-We've called out Allan Evridge and P.J. Hill, but how about Travis Beckum? First, he sits out most of the Michigan game, choosing to insert himself into the game after momentum had swung too far, then messes up the two-point conversion. Starting tonight's game, he whiffs on a block on third-and-one on the first drive, setting P.J. up for a loss, and our half of bad field position commences. Then a drive or two later he goes offside. This is the kind of crap that doesn't happen with good teams. He's still putting up good numbers when completely healthy, but he's not playing an all-around game.

-Liked that we came out running the ball, seven straight plays to start the game. It got us into manageable down and distance situations, but we just couldn't convert.

-Evridge started running, which is a skill he was supposed to have coming here from Kansas State but haven't seen so far, and made some plays. The touchdown run was impressive.

Yet also on that drive, on second-and-goal from the 1, we get called for 12 men in the huddle. Yeesh.

-The Evridge follows up that very positive drive with another fumble. Then he almost throws a pick on yet another batted ball on the next drive. It was the right move to get him out of there and replace him with Dustin Sherer.

-That said, I wasn't impressed with Sherer at all. Lucas and LePay, who somehow named him player of the game, are talking right now about how they think he earned more playing time going forward, and when asked, Bielema seemed to agree. What I saw was two good passes coming off the bench (one more than Evridge threw), then a variety of scattershot throws against a soft prevent defense.

Sherer's mechanics were subpar, although some of that might be attributable to the steady pass rush he faced. His feet were seldom set optimally, and his arm slot appeared different from throw to throw. His passes lacked zip and were not particularly accurate. He is slower than Evridge.

In my mind, for all his flaws, Evridge is still clearly the quarterback that gives Wisconsin the best chance to win this season. Which is frightening.

-Here's another little thing: on some play in the second half two Penn State defensive linemen jump the snap count and are in the backfield, yet John Moffitt doesn't snap the ball, and allows them to get back after what seems like an eternity.

-Another killer: it's third-and-20 for Penn State and we have them pinned deep in their own end, and Daryll Clark throws for 21 yards on the run, great pass and route. Another instance of not closing the deal.

-Here's another small thing: David Gilreath calls for a fair catch on his own 6. Everyone knows you just don't do that. He did just about nothing with ample return chances.

-The box score shows we had eight penalties for 74 yards, but it seemed like twice that much.

-After the first of Sherer's interceptions (that one that was overturned was a bad call by the replay guy) Moffitt got laid out by Aaron Maybin. It reminded me of Chad Clifton getting annihilated by Warren Sapp in a game at Tampa a few years ago. Thankfully Moffitt appeared OK. With Carimi out and Urbik hurt (hopefully not too badly), offensive line depth is now a concern.

-Did you notice Chris Maragos started at free safety for Shane Carter tonight?

-Penn State was much better than I thought. They are legitimate national title contenders and might not lose in Big Ten play. Clark is really impressive, and he is surrounded by guys who make plays and a good line. Same thing goes for Maybin and their defense. Just think how good they'd be if Sean Lee hadn't hurt his knee.

Too bad the game was so bland that the second half turned into one long tribute to Joe Paterno and Penn State football. Can't blame Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge, they can only talk about the Scrambler at Mickies Dairy Bar and the fried Icelandic cod at the Avenue Bar for so long before getting back to "Sherer's pass to Graham sails high."

At least Iowa ... even next week's game looks tough now. Let's see what Bielema has up his sleeve.

UW-Michigan preview

Remember where you were the last time Wisconsin beat Michigan in Ann Arbor? I do.

It was the fall of 1994, my freshman year. Our highly-touted defending Rose Bowl champs had just tied Purdue and lost to lowly Minnesota at Camp Randall, and morale for the football team in Sullivan Hall was low. We didn't even watch the game -- it was on ESPN, and the dorms didn't have cable at the time.

So what do you make of a win like that? The win over Michigan in '93 was so dramatic -- kept us in the Rose Bowl after the horrible loss at Minnesota, then the student section stampede fiasco afterward -- yet this one was greeted with almost a shoulder shrug. We still didn't have much of a chance to win the conference, and given the team's inconsistency, who knew what was next? A 24-3 loss to Ohio State, that's what. All in all, a mediocre season.

Our struggles in Ann Arbor since then (and for a long time preceding then) are well-documented. But if we win there tomorrow, it will be greeted with more than a shoulder shrug.

We should win this one. We're more experienced, and probably more talented. Our coaching staff is more established. We've already gone into an intimidating road venue and won.

It ain't going to be easy. Michigan's got a good defense, although they haven't played any prolific offenses yet. Also, turnovers did them in against Notre Dame, and we can't count on that happening again. Here are my keys to the game:

-Run off tackle. Michigan has two above-average defensive tackles in Terrance Taylor and Will Johnson, and while I have confidence in Andy Kemp, John Moffitt, and Kraig Urbik, I'd rather take my chances running at Tim Jamison and Brandon Graham. That puts the onus on Gabe Carimi, Eric Vanden Heuvel, and Mickey Turner.

-Travis Beckum should have a big game. Michigan's got two good cornerbacks in Morgan Trent and Donovan Warren, but their safeties and linebackers aren't as imposing. Becks ought to be back near 100% by now, so feature him early and often ... then go to Garrett Graham when they heavy up on Travis. I don't see many catches by the wide receivers this week.

-It may seem to go against conventional wisdom, but I wouldn't do anything special to pressure freshman quarterback Steven Threet, exotic blitzes, stunts, et al. I'd rush the front four, keep as many of the receivers in front of the back seven as we can, and make him beat us down the field with 80-yard drives, six yards at a time. This would also be the best way to limit big plays by Sam McGuffie, their promising freshman running back. (BTW, how great of a name is 'Sam McGuffie?' It sounds like an old gold prospector with an oversized cowboy hat and a bushy moustache, maybe one of the palookas in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out).

We play this game straight-up, without any huge mistakes by either side, and we ought to win this one.

I'll say the final is the type of score they've seemed to hang on us many times in the Big House in the last two decades: Wisconsin 27, Michigan 13.

UW-Fresno State thoughts ... yeaaaaaaah!

Charlie is set to be baptized in about 10 hours, and that's probably what I'll remember about this weekend for the rest of my life, but ...

What a great win! Billy Rentmeester with the save!

We beat a really good team in front of their hostile crowd in THE BIGGEST GAME IN SCHOOL HISTORY! So Fresno State fans can take all those cute little T-shirts they had made up for the game and use them to clean the kitchen next week.

I'll be honest: for the last hour in my head I've been writing, in my head, a rant about the preposterous overturned fumble call. More on that later. But now, thankfully, I'll focus on the positive, with an emphasis on the second half.

-Did you notice how we switched things up on kickoffs? In the last one of the first half it only went to about the 25, fielded by Fresno's up back. In the first kickoff of the second half, Fresno's returners moved up and Philip Welch kicked it into the end zone. Maybe this is how we have to do things without Taylor Mehlhaff's big leg.

-Did you notice how on several plays Chris Pressley started out split wide, then moved back to his customary fullback spot? Who are we trying to kid with that initial formation? He ain't going anywhere on a passing route lined up out there.

-On Devon Wylie's touchdown the announcers harped on Casillas for missing a tackle, but I thought Jay Valai's was worse. But Valai played a good game overall — Bear never got off, and Jay made some nice plays around the line of scrimmage. Any game in which I'm not making many notes about the secondary is a good game.

-Everyone will be raving about Fresno blocking another punt, but that one was on Brad Nortman dropping the snap, which was fine. He catches it cleanly, they don't block it. The defense made a great stand after the blocked punt.

-Did you hear ESPN2's Joe Tessitore's orgasm after that blocked punt? Embarrassing.

-Kraig Urbik was offside twice in the second half, and I thought we were dangerously close to completely losing our composure, but we kept it just enough to persevere.

-A disturbing trend in the second half was not running or throwing to receivers at first down yardage on third down.

-That punt that bounced into their blocker was the big break we needed to get over the hump in the second half. Rod Gilmore's comment afterward was classic: "That play is essentially a turnover." You think?

-That option that Evridge ran deep in Fresno territory was a curious call, although he ran it relatively effectively. But there was a holding call on it, not surprising.

-Bringing in Clay when we did was a nice move, but why not keep feeding him the rock? He ran well in his limited chances. A tough 112 yards for P.J. as well, he ran with authority behind some stubborn blocking.

-When Wylie fumbled, you could hear palpable disappointment in Tessitore's voice. I then wrote down "Really stupid challenge by Pat Hill." Who knew.

You know why teams don't want to play you at Fresno, Pat? It's because of refereeing like that overturned fumble. That was so clearly a fumble it was not even close. All three announcers certainly thought so, as would any impartial viewer. Unless you can get neutral-conference officials for a matchup like this, you run the risk of officiating deciding the outcome.

Which it almost did tonight. Not only did Fresno get three points, but we were deprived of the ball deep in their territory. Then, we clipped on the ensuring kickoff return, putting us in bad field position.

After Fresno kicked the field goal, Tessitore said, disappointedly, like his dog has rabies: "And Wisconsin holds."

BCS teams ought to think long and hard before scheduling games either at WAC schools or using WAC officials.

Tessitore: "Finally a home game break for Pat Hill!" Hooray for horrible officiating!

Thankfully that's the end of my rant, rather than my entire game recap.

-Evridge and Kyle Jefferson were not on the same page tonight. Allan looked Kyle's way several times but they never came close to a completion. It would be nice to have KJ's deep play threat going into Big Ten play.

-Won't say much about Evridge's cramping until I hear more about it. But what about Jae McFadden's club on his right hand? What was that about? He wasn't in on as many tackles as he has been the first two weeks, wonder if that was a factor.

-What a great punt by Fresno to pin us deep late.

-But what a time for Billy Rentmeester to have the biggest run of his career! It was certainly unexpected, but the type of contribution that can turn a good season into a great season.

I'm exhausted, and will be up with Charlie soon for a middle of the night feeding, so I'd better wrap it up. But again, great win, and I'd like to think this keeps us in the top 10 for at least two more weeks. More to come Sunday.

UW-Fresno State halftime thoughts

Can't believe I'd be this happy with a 10-0 halftime lead. But we played a nice first half. Took their fired-up crowd out of the game early, which has been important. Offensive line is blocking well, defensive line has made a lot of plays.

-On the first (and only thus far) three-and-out drive, Allan Evridge locked onto Travis Beckum on third down and forced a tough pass into a tight spot for an incompletion. I was afraid he'd do that, but Evridge has spread the ball around well since.

-Niles Brinkley started at cornerback opposite Allen Langford.

-Good push by the right side of the offensive line on the second drive that ended at the goal line, especially by Kraig Urbik.

-On that drive: why wasn't P.J. Hill in on third and goal? Zach Brown is not the right guy for that run. It was no surprise Fresno stuffed us on fourth down, but I'm still glad we went for it and didn't kick the field goal.

-It looks like Blake Sorensen is coming in for Jonathan Casillas on third downs, yet Casillas has been matched up on Bear Pascoe on certain passes by Fresno. Casillas made two really nice tackles in traffic on Fresno running backs.

-Really good half for Matt Shaughnessy, with his tip on Deandre Levy's interception, tackle for loss, and another tip. Mike Newkirk did a nice job splitting blockers on a tackle for loss, and Jason Chapman ran a great stunt around the offense's left end to sack Brandstater.

-Great call on the touchdown pass to Garrett Graham, the play-action pass ought to be there the way we're running. Another solid half for Graham. Interesting to hear the announcers talk about how Graham might be the better tight end than Beckum. They're both really good, in different ways.

-It's nice to see an opposing offense running the I on offense, a man's offensive scheme.

-Even though the late field goal attempt was blocked, I like the aggressive play calling on the drive to get us in position to kick.

Keep it going in the second half and Charlie's baptism Sunday will be off to a good start!

Season preview

So here we are, perched on another season that could hold big things for the Badgers. Many people are calling for a BCS bowl for UW, and mentioning "Wisconsin" and "national title" in the same sentence, although never throwing "will win the" in between. Ohio State is the clear favorite, but we've seen clear favorites fall before, right?

But from my basement, it doesn't seem like this will be the season Wisconsin will end its Big Ten championship drought. It seems more like a nine-win season that ends in Orlando or Tampa.

The schedule's too tough. The question marks too abundant. The injury bug too vicious.

Of course, the Badgers' schedule and roster have looked less promising in years past and the team has produced big results; 1998 comes to mind. But there's a folly in college sports comparing teams more than a couple years apart. The Badger football program in 2008 is completely different than it was in 1998 — coaching staff, offensive approach, home stadium.

I'm not going to waste bandwidth discussing the well-hashed out keys for the season: quarterback play, secondary inexperience, defensive line injuries, kicking game questions. Here are my two biggest keys for Badger success this season:

The offensive line has to block better. Sounds obvious, right? But it's not. As I wrote earlier this summer, I believe our offensive line has been overrated as a result of many years of producing top-notch blockers and good running games. Recently, the State Journal's Tom Mulhern wrote a good story about the alarming rate at which Badger quarterbacks have been sacked in recent years.

The pieces are in place for this to be a really good line. Kraig Urbik is one of the best guards in the country. Gabe Carimi is an athletic youngster who has the makings of a star. Andy Kemp and Eric Vanden Heuvel have tons of starting experience at guard and tackle. And John Moffitt was promising in his first experience last year.

The offensive line has to be dominant this year. If this line is stellar, everything falls in place: the running game grinds out 4-plus yards per carry, setting up reasonable distances on second and third down; less pressure on Allan Evridge to be anything more than a game manager, more time for him to read defenses and his young receivers to get open; more touchdowns, less field goal attempts for our unproven kickers; scoreless drives ending further up the field, lessening the pressure on a true freshman punter; a decisive edge in time of possession gives the defense rest and makes opposing offenses more predictable.

For all the talk of Ron Dayne and Tom Burke and Brent Moss, the Badgers' Rose Bowl teams of the last two decades have been built around Joe Panos and Cory Raymer and Chris McIntosh and Aaron Gibson. The 12-1 team of 2006 is inexplicably overlooked, but it was led by Joe Thomas. If the 2008 offensive line rises to the occasion, this year can be special.

How will the defense play under Dave Doeren? Like the San Antonio Spurs and Bret Saberhagen, the Badger defense seems to adopt an every-other-year performance schedule. Dominant in 2004 and 2006. Sieve-like in 2005 and 2007. But, as cautioned earlier, past performance means nothing, given the completely new cast of characters.

That said, the defense could be special in 2008. When Bret Bielema came on board in 2004, he gave a jolt of energy to a unit that had gone stale under Kevin Cosgrove. When Mike Hankwitz came in in 2006, his new approach worked well. Can Doeren do the same thing now that he's running things himself?

As much as energy and scheme play into it, it depends on a lot the play of certain individuals. Matt Shaughnessy has to elevate his play beyond the second team all-conference level he's been at the last two years. Deandre Levy and Jonathan Casillas have to make as many big plays as they did in 2006, if not more. Shane Carter has to round out his game and become a better tackler.

Most of the preseason focus on the defense has been on the new guys who need to step in and contribute: Mario Goins, Niles Brinkley, Jay Valai, Jae McFadden. Their play is important, undoubtedly — if any of those guys are terrible and suitable replacements aren't found, the defense is in trouble.

But to me, the key is more our good players playing great. If Shaughnessy, Casillas, Levy, et al are spectacular, the newbies' warts won't be as visible.

So in a nutshell, I think it is more important that our good players perform at a great level than it is for our unproven players to perform at an acceptable level. If the first happens, the second will be a natural byproduct.

Weighing the Big Ten O-lines

The other day I was reading Athlon’s college football preview, and going through the Michigan preview, I noticed that Stephen Schilling, their leading returning lineman, weighs 295 pounds. Odd, I thought, an elite lineman weighing less than 300 pounds. They still exist?

Apparently. Surveying the Big Ten’s projected starting lines, I found plenty of guys weighing less than 300 pounds. Here is how they break down, going LT-LG-C-RG-RT:

Indiana: 306-320-292-315-292
Illinois: 295-303-296-309-300
Iowa: 305-300-285-305-290
Michigan: 294-288-292-292-295
Michigan State: 305-325-300-292-320
Minnesota: 315-280-275-300-305
Northwestern: 285-295-300-305-285
Ohio State: 312-345-297-323-312
Penn State: 314-291-297-288-309
Purdue: 325-308-287-314-300
Wisconsin: 299-316-317-328-321

For those who don’t know Badgers by their weights, that’s Gabe Carimi-Andy Kemp-John Moffitt-Kraig Urbik-Eric Vanden Heuvel.

The average projected starter on a Big Ten offensive line in 2008 weighs 302.98 pounds.
Interesting, no? Now let’s look at how these lines average out. In parenthesis are Athlon’s conference ranking of the units, which I found to be pretty much in line with how I see things.

Ohio State: 317.8 (1)
Wisconsin: 316.2 (2)
Michigan State: 308.4 (8)
Purdue: 306.8 (5)
Indiana: 305 (7)
Illinois: 300.6 (4)
Penn State: 299.8 (3)
Iowa: 297 (6)
Minnesota: 295 (11)
Northwestern: 294 (10)
Michigan: 292.2 (9)

Certainly, weight alone doesn’t make an effective offensive lineman. Strength, agility, intelligence, technique, scheme – they’re all as important as size, although you don’t see too many 6-1, 250 guys out there any more.

But isn’t that interesting? Ohio State and Wisconsin, the consensus top two lines in the Big Ten, are by far the largest. Minnesota, Northwestern, and Michigan, the three lightest, are also Athlon’s three weakest units in the conference. Of course, all three also run the spread, so their relative Liliputian statures aren’t critical liabilities.

Now, let’s look at the Big Ten’s team rushing leaders in 2007: Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State. This year’s three heaviest lines are right there, and talents like Rashard Mendenhall and Juice Williams transcended a lighter-than-average line for the Illini.

Josh Oglesby, all 338 pounds of him, will arrive as a starter in 2009 at the latest. There will be no stopping us then.

Five great players

When Barry first rolled out his Five Great Players theory a decade ago I really liked it. Everyone's always looking for a formula for sporting success, and the fact that he could point to Gibby, Dayne, Burke, Davenport, and Stemke and a cast of pretty good guys as the reason the '98 Badgers won the Rose Bowl.

So what about the 2008 edition? Does it have five great players? I would argue it has one.

Travis Beckum. That's it.

P.J. Hill? Could get there, but injury prone. Kraig Urbik? An above-average lineman, but not great. Matt Shaughnessy? Still waiting for him to advance beyond second team All-Big Ten performances. Shane Carter? Great ball skills, subpar tackler.

Jonathan Casillas has the ability to perform at a great level, but I wouldn't put him in that category yet. David Gilreath could be a great returner, but I'm still thinking his success last year was more the result of ample opportunity than flat-out excellence.

So, here it is in the second week of July, and Badgercentric is already forecasting a less-than-special year for our boys. Prove me wrong, guys.

We're #7 - our offensive line, that is

Just how good is the Badgers' offensive line? Lindy's has it as the seventh-best unit in the country.

"The Badgers, near-permanent residents of this list, have lots of versatility and standout guard Kraig Urbik, making life easier for a new starting quarterback."

The "near-permanent residents" phrase is what gets me. The Wisconsin line is almost always in this top 10, and when they're not I take exception. But is that reputation deserved?

We've always had top-tier linemen, from Joe Thomas to Dan Buenning to Casey Rabach to Chris McIntosh to Cory Raymer. And we always seem to have one of the best running attacks around. Here's where we've ranked nationally in rushing yardage recently:

2007: 22nd
2006: 37th

2005: 37th

2004: 52nd

2003: 37th
2002: 33rd

Good, but not great. Surely many of the rushing attacks ahead of ours have been unbalanced teams playing lesser competition. But while our attack was more balanced than, say, Navy's, our pass protection has never been iron-clad.

This year's unit looks to be pretty solid: Gabe Carimi and Eric Vanden Heuvel at tackle, Urbik and Andy Kemp at guard, and John Moffitt at center. Urbik's a star, Carimi might become a star this year or next year, Moffitt shows promise, Kemp and EVH are fairly average. Josh Oglesby is the star-in-waiting.

Maybe that's what it takes to have one of the 10 best offensive lines in the country. Maybe it's unrealistic to think that an offensive line will feature five all-conference types. Maybe after all these years, my expectations for the offensive line are greater.

If the Badgers' offensive line is the seventh-best in the country, we'll be all right this year.

Feeling a draft

Early in its college football preview Lindy's, working with nfldraftscout.com, lists its top senior NFL prospects. Travis Beckum is #16, and Kraig Urbik is #39.

I love Beckum, but that seems high to me. I just can't think of a comparison for a guy his size playing a tight end/H-Back spot going that high. Tight ends that go in the top half of the first round, like Vernon Davis or Kellen Winslow, weight about 20 pounds more. Can Beckum add that weight? Sure, but it won't be natural. Otherwise, he would have added it by now.

Then again, add in underclassmen who will declare, and that pushes him to late first or early second round. That seems about right.

Lindy's has Beckum as the top tight end in the nation and an All-American.

As for Urbik, it takes a special guard to go in the first two rounds. He's been starting for a long time, a very solid player. All it takes is for one team to take a liking to a player for him to go higher than expected, and it could very well happen for Kraig, who Lindy's ranks as the sixth-best guard in the country.

The offense

Was reading a column this evening, think it was by Tom Oates of the State Journal, about the Badgers' quarterback situation. He had a line that said something to the effect of "It doesn't really matter who the UW quarterback is, as long as he's not terrible. With the running backs on the roster, especially now that Clay is showing he's the real deal, the quarterback won't be asked to do all that much."

That sentiment makes sense. But here's why I don't feel really confident with the offense heading into the 2008 season with a highly suspect passing game.

1. I don't think this offensive line is a road grading line. It's a good line, to be sure. Kraig Urbik is a terrific player, Gabe Carimi has star potential at left tackle, and the rest of the returnees are seasoned. But - and you can argue with me - I think the UW offensive lines of recent seasons have been somewhat overrated. They're good, but they're riding the reputation of the damn good blockers of a decade ago. This line doesn't have an Aaron Gibson or Bill Ferrario who's going to open huge holes.

So while I like our backs, and think each one of them brings some valuable attributes to the table, I still don't think the running game will be dominant enough to carry the offense by itself.

2. With each passing day I'm more bearish about our current group of wideouts. There's a lot of talent there - Kyle Jefferson especially, but several other guys as well - but something's missing. Henry Mason is missing. He was the constant with all of those NFL-caliber receivers we sent to the next level over the past decade. Jefferson's production tailed off at the end of last season when he was asked to carry a bigger load, David Gilreath is only like Brandon Williams in his return ability right now, and the rest of the guys have basically done nothing.

Two years ago, Luke Swan and Paul Hubbard had basically done nothing, but they had a three-year starter at quarterback and Mason coaching them.

3. Because of this, Travis Beckum is going to get more attention than ever. He's damn good, but if opposing defenses can get by with single coverage on the wideouts, they can bracket Beckum with a linebacker and safety and limit what he can do.

4. For all my recent optimism about the defense, it still has the chance to be really bad this season. As such, there's a good chance the Badgers will be playing from behind, which of course limits what you can do in the run game and puts more pressure on the quarterback to make plays in the passing game.

Who knows, maybe tomorrow I'll wake up and think Allan Evridge is the second coming of Jim Zorn, but right now I'm pessimistic.