With the Wisconsin Badgers on a bye week it seems appropriate to reflect back on the first portion of the season.
As the old adage goes, “you don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.”
Here’s a look at each of the Badgers first five opponents and a projection of what bowl game they could end up in.
1.) UMass (0-4)
Result vs. Wisconsin Badgers: 45-0 loss at Wisconsin
Chatter: The Minutemen have been exactly what we thought they were; one of the worst teams in college football. How Vanderbilt only put up 24 points in a 24-7 win is perplexing because UMass ranks near last in every major category in the FBS. Wisconsin doesn’t really get any credit for this win.
2.) Tennessee Tech (3-2)
Result vs. Wisconsin Badgers: 48-0 loss at Wisconsin
Chatter: Unlike UMass, Tennessee Tech isn’t one of the worst teams in college football because they’re already a part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Them being beat at Camp Randall by 40+ shouldn’t have come as much a surprise. Since then, they’ve notched wins against Hampton (0-5) and Indiana State (1-3) while losing to Tennessee St. (4-1). Once again, the Badgers won’t get any credit for this cupcake.
3.) #22 Arizona State (3-1)
Result vs. Wisconsin Badgers: 32-30 win at home
Chatter: The Sun Devils had an interesting two weeks following the controversey that ensued in the desert with the Badgers. They suffered a 42-28 loss at #5 Stanford and then sent USC Head Coach Lane Kiffin packing with a 62-41 win over the Trojans. Stanford and USC have two of the better defenses in the country, so to see the Sun Devils put up 90 points was intriguing. To think this is a team the Badgers could have beat makes you wonder.
4.) Purdue (1-4)
Result vs. Wisconsin Badgers: 41-10 loss at Wisconsin
Chatter: What happened to that team who came close to knocking off Notre Dame? The Boilermakers followed their beatdown in Madison by going home and being shredded by Jordan Lynch and Northern Illinois by the score of 55-24. I’m afraid the Badgers aren’t going to get much credit for a team who will most likely finish near the back of the Big Ten.
5.) #4 Ohio State (5-0)
Result vs. Wisconsin Badgers: 31-24 win at home
Chatter: OSU surely gets credit for knocking off the #23 Badgers at home, but it doesn’t help Wisconsin much. The Badgers proved on a national stage that they can stick with one of the best teams in the country, yet still don’t have that signature win. The Buckeyes have #16 Northwestern on the road next which will be of great interest for UW who has Northwestern at home on October 12th.
Bowl Projection: As I mentioned before the Badgers have no signatures wins, but they have played a couple of good teams in Arizona State and Ohio State that hints that they are a decent team. The two FBS teams the Badgers have beat are a combined 1-8, so stating they are a good team may be a bit premature. With that in mind, I think it’s fair to put them in the Outback or Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl right now.
What have you thought of the Badgers season so far? 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 sharing Fantasy Advice and pretends 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.
Images obtained from UWBadgers.com