With title on line, Badgers’ collapse swift, severe
Indianapolis — In one half of uncharacteristically bad football Saturday, the Wisconsin Badgers went from sniffing the College Football Playoff to, well, OK, a great consolation prize in Pasadena to, ugh, a likely date with Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl.
Everything the Badgers had worked toward, all they had accomplished and over28-7 come to reach the Big Ten championship game, unraveled in horror-movie fashion at Lucas Oil Stadium.
A defense that had risen to nearly every occasion this season and stoned Penn State for nearly the entire first half caved under an avalanche of big plays as the Nittany Lions rallied for a 38-31 victory.
The collapse was swift. It was complete. It was something you watched between the fingers covering your face.
A victory would have given Badgers fans a reason to complain about not being included in the four-team College Foot- ball Playoff. And it would have sent thousands of them scurrying for flights to sunny southern California and scouring the internet for Rose Bowl tickets.
Instead, the Badgers likely will play the MAC champion Broncos in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 2. It might as well be called the Letdown Bowl. The Badgers will have little to gain and much to lose — a victory would be greeted by shoulder shrugs and a loss would be a program crusher.
Everything went Wisconsin’s way in the first half Saturday. The Badgers built a lead on the strength of an efficient running game and an opportunistic defense, which pummeled Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley, held
dynamic running back Saquon Barkley to 27 yards and forced key turnovers.
So desperate was Nittany Lions coach James Franklin to get something going that he twice left his offense on the field on fourth down. The first time, McSorley couldn’t handle a high shotgun snap and linebacker Ryan Connelly picked up the bouncing ball and scored. The second time, the Badgers hammered McSorley, who coughed up the ball, which led to Dare Ogunbowale’s 7-yard scoring run and the three-touchdown lead.
At that point, if you were a Badgers fan who paid a whopping $6 for your seat in the nether regions of Lucas Oil Stadium, it was the best money you ever spent.
No need to get into the gutting that followed. You can read colleague Jeff Potrykus’ game story for the gory details. Suffice to say it was shocking in its unrelenting fury, especially against a prideful defense that went into the game ranked third nationally in points allowed (13.7 per game) and gave up 31 over the last 31 minutes.
The painful defeat didn’t undo all the good things the Badgers did this season, but try telling that to the players, who had to be devastated. Wisconsin overcame numerous injuries to key players, beat three teams ranked in the top 10 at the time they played and won six consecutive games after tough seven-point losses to Michigan and Ohio State.
That’s all well and good, but the 10-3 Badgers will take an awful taste in their mouths to Texas.
As hard as this was for Badgers fans, you’ve got to give grudging credit to Penn State’s football program, which was all but dead and buried in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal and NCAA sanctions in 2012.
During the Nittany Lions’ postgame celebration, Franklin made his case for Penn State making the College Football Playoff.
“What I do know is that we just won the toughest conference in college football,” he said. “We won nine straight . ... It’s on you now, the committee.”
By then, the Badgers had retreated to their locker room to bemoan a half, a game and a season that got away. They were looking at a diamond, held a ruby in their hands and settled for cubic zirconia.
These things happen. But it’s never fun when they do.