I watched the entire Wisconsin game last night, and let me tell you, that is one loss that we should absolutely not feel bad about.
Considering our history with Wisconsin (blow out losses), this was an incredible performance by our guys. Not only are we dealing with some significant injury issues (and we just lost Tanner Farmer right at the beginning of the game), we're still a team that I would say is "on the rise" but not "there." Yet, despite all of that and playing at Camp Randall, we went in there and slugged it out with a team that is, frankly, better than us right now. Wisconsin is not miles ahead of us, but they definitely have the edge at this time.
We never backed down, we made adjustments, our defense held on and made some phenomenal plays (sure, we got burned a few times and that did wind up costing us the game, but we're not "there" yet, and even top 10 teams playing a quality opponent have these issues). Our offense was hit and miss, but better than I thought they were going to be. And, to top that off, we wound up being able to run on Wisconsin, more so than I think any team has been able to so far this year.
Make no mistake, there is a reason why we're still ranked in the Top 10 after that loss. And, presuming we lose to Ohio State next week but do so in a fairly close, hard-fought game, I predict we'll still be in the Top 15 after that. Then it's back home to Lincoln to play two teams we should be able to win against, followed by Iowa. I say 9-3, 10-2 and a trip to, hopefully, the Cotton Bowl. If we do that, we should see some great recruits pick us, and an exciting buildup to next year.
Things I liked:
1.) Holy crap our defense is night and day different than last year! Our line isn't perfect, but CLEARLY Parella knows what he's doing, because its FAR better than I expected it to be. The linebackers had some great hits, and our secondary is still performing well.
2.) Tommy's grit. He screws up still on his decisions, but you almost can't sack him and he makes teams pay with his legs, and is a big enough dude to pound through some tackles. It's awesome to see.
Things I did not like:
1.) Wisconsin's D wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be, but still, they were able to manhandle our receivers all night, both legally and illegally.
2.) Our offense is just not where it should be right now, and I'll put the bulk of that on injuries, but part of it too is a beat up and sometimes out-played offensive line.
Thoughts all?
Oh, as a closing note, that game was so well fought over that I think if we remove one small advantage, we win it. So, if that game had been played in Lincoln, I say we squeak out a 3 point or 1 touchdown victory.
Considering our history with Wisconsin (blow out losses), this was an incredible performance by our guys. Not only are we dealing with some significant injury issues (and we just lost Tanner Farmer right at the beginning of the game), we're still a team that I would say is "on the rise" but not "there." Yet, despite all of that and playing at Camp Randall, we went in there and slugged it out with a team that is, frankly, better than us right now. Wisconsin is not miles ahead of us, but they definitely have the edge at this time.
We never backed down, we made adjustments, our defense held on and made some phenomenal plays (sure, we got burned a few times and that did wind up costing us the game, but we're not "there" yet, and even top 10 teams playing a quality opponent have these issues). Our offense was hit and miss, but better than I thought they were going to be. And, to top that off, we wound up being able to run on Wisconsin, more so than I think any team has been able to so far this year.
Make no mistake, there is a reason why we're still ranked in the Top 10 after that loss. And, presuming we lose to Ohio State next week but do so in a fairly close, hard-fought game, I predict we'll still be in the Top 15 after that. Then it's back home to Lincoln to play two teams we should be able to win against, followed by Iowa. I say 9-3, 10-2 and a trip to, hopefully, the Cotton Bowl. If we do that, we should see some great recruits pick us, and an exciting buildup to next year.
Things I liked:
1.) Holy crap our defense is night and day different than last year! Our line isn't perfect, but CLEARLY Parella knows what he's doing, because its FAR better than I expected it to be. The linebackers had some great hits, and our secondary is still performing well.
2.) Tommy's grit. He screws up still on his decisions, but you almost can't sack him and he makes teams pay with his legs, and is a big enough dude to pound through some tackles. It's awesome to see.
Things I did not like:
1.) Wisconsin's D wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be, but still, they were able to manhandle our receivers all night, both legally and illegally.
2.) Our offense is just not where it should be right now, and I'll put the bulk of that on injuries, but part of it too is a beat up and sometimes out-played offensive line.
Thoughts all?
Oh, as a closing note, that game was so well fought over that I think if we remove one small advantage, we win it. So, if that game had been played in Lincoln, I say we squeak out a 3 point or 1 touchdown victory.
