Overtime has been unkind to the Wisconsin Badgers who have lost three overtime games in the past four weeks. Moreover, the Badgers (7-5, 4-4) last nine losses are by a touchdown or less.
Penn State fought back from a first-half deficit to beat Wisconsin, 24-21, in what was their last game of the season.
The Badgers only real highlight of the day was Montee Ball breaking the NCAA all-time touchdown record.
What It Means: Next week in Indianapolis, the Badgers will attempt to become the worst Rose Bowl team ever. With a loss to the Nittany Lions, the Badgers failed to finish over .500 in conference play for the first time since 2008 when they went 3-5. If you thought the Big Ten jokes were bad now, just wait until the country gets a hold of this Badgers team and their 4-4 conference record in a Championship game. The defense continues to play good football, but the offense is one of the worst in the country.
Player of the Game: DB Devin Smith
This could go to the entire secondary because holding Penn State’s Matt McGloin to only 200 yards through the air is quite an accomplishment. The Badgers may have not won the game, but it wasn’t because of Smith who is raising his NFL Draft stock with each successive week. Honorable mention to linebackers Mike Taylor, Ethan Armstrong and Derek Landisch all recorded double-digit tackle totals.
Highlight of the Game: Ball’s record-breaking touchdown was without a doubt the highlight of the day. He took a sweep to the right-end, tip-toed down the sidelines and walked in on the 17 yard score. Thanks to ESPN for providing this video via youtube.
Stat of the Game (1): This is the amount of yards the Badgers offense has netted in three overtime periods this year. That total comes from ten total plays. When you’re averaging 0.1 yards a play, there’s no way you can win a game.
What’s Next: Wisconsin will be in pursuit of their third-straight Big Ten Championship and third straight Rose Bowl appearance which both would be school-firsts. Standing in their way is a Nebraska squad who beat the Badgers in Lincoln in late September.
What did you think of the Badgers fourth conference loss? Let me know by commenting below.
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice and pretend to be a Golf expert from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best. If social media is not your thing, shoot him an email at grays@uwalumni.com.