BIELEMA’S OFF THE HOT SEAT FOR NOW IN MADISON
October 27, 2007
It wasn’t pretty Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium but it was something Badgers fans haven’t seen in awhile - Wisconsin football. The Badgers pounded out 279 yards rushing on the ground as they rolled to a 33-3 win over Indiana.
The Badgers had played smash-mouth football for the past decade and a half under Barry Alvarez. Alvarez led the Badgers to three Big Ten and Rose Bowl championships en route to a 117-73-4 record. Alvarez retired as head coach of the Badgers after the 2005 season and he turned the reigns over to his defensive coordinator, Bret Bielema.
Bielema carried on the Wisconsin tradition last season as he ran his freshman stud P.J. Hill behind his mammoth offensive line as the Badgers rolled to a 12-1 record including a 17-14 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Capital One Bowl game in Orlando on January 1st.
The Badgers got off to a 5-0 start this season but they were far from impressive in those victories. They must’ve been fooling a lot of people across the country because both major polls had the Badgers ranked in the top five.
The Badgers were touting P.J. Hill as a Heisman Trophy candidate this season. Hill has not gotten on track this season due to several key losses on the Badgers offensive line. Hill has also had to deal with some nagging injuries in his sophmore season as he has yet to regain the form that made him the most explosive freshman running back in the nation last year.
Wisconsin abandoned the run way to early in a 31-26 loss to Illinois on the road and then they completely unraveled in a 38-7 thrashing at the hands of Penn State in Happy Valley the following week.
Bielema has done a better job establishing the run the last two games and the results are easy Wisconsin wins. Wisconsin recruits some of the best offensive lineman in the country each year. Why not use them? Every spring it always seems that NFL comes calling those talented offensive lineman. Take note Bret, if your offensive line is good enough to play in the NFL, their good enough to run behind all day and wear your opponents down in the Big Ten.
Bret, once you realize that just cause your down double digits in a game, doesn’t mean you have to air it out like you have Peyton Manning or Tom Brady as your quarterback. You have a first year starter in Tyler Donovan.
Go back and watch tapes of Alvarez’s championship teams. They pounded the ball down their opponents throats, down after down, to set up the big play passes to their talented wide receivers streaking down the sidelines.
The Badgers did a nice job Saturday running the ball against the Hoosiers even after Hill went down with a lower-leg injury in the first quarter. Backup Lance Smith picked up the slack with 79 yards on 15 carries, scoring twice in the second half to put the game out of reach. Zach Brown also had a nice day in the backfield as he ran for 40 yards on 14 carries.
The Badgers play their biggest game of the season next week as they travel to Ohio State to take on the top ranked Buckeyes. The Badgers have a golden opportunity to turn their season around with a win on the road.
The only way Wisconsin wins next week at Ohio State is if they play their kind of football (Smash Mouth). If Hill’s not getting the job down against the Buckeyes, don’t hesitate to go to your backup running backs. It’s a better option than letting Taylor air it out to his freshman receivers.
Next Week’s Prediction: #1 Ohio State 37, Wisconsin 17.
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Hook what is that first sentence suppose to mean anyway?
“It wasn’t pretty Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium”
WTF they won 33-3 how can that be “not pretty”? Now get off the sauce and get with it.