Badgers Kick The Nittany Out Of The Lions » Brats & Beer

November 5, 2006
posted under: Badgers football

Now that was one hell of a football game, with two tough defenses, lots of hard running, and very little scoring. It might have been the most perfect Big 10 football played this season. Oh, and the Badgers won. Yea!

Wisconsin’s 13-3 victory over Penn State was a perfect way to punctuate this season and head into the final two games of the season. It was a smashmouth, bone crushing contest that displayed just how good the UW defense is, holding the Lions to just 200 yards of total offense and making two big stands on fourth down.

The biggest series of the day for the defense came in the final quarter after Penn State recovered a John Stocco fumble at the 40-yard line. On third and long, Anthony Morelli tried to scramble for a first down but was stopped short. The Lions tried to convert the fourth and one, but Tony Hunt was thrown for a four-yard loss by Johnathan Casillas.

Unfortunately, Stocco was injured on the preceeding series when he was sacked by Sean Lee. He had to leave the game holding his right arm, but there has been no word yet how serious the injury might be. Let’s hope Bret Bielema wasn’t just blowing smoke when he said it’s nothing to be “overly concerned” about.

PJ Hill came back strong from his injury last week, though, rushing for 148 yards on 35 carries. As long as he’s healthy and the offensive line is working as a unit to open holes, and as long at the defense plays like they did yesterday, the Badgers should be okay down the stretch; however, I’d be a lot more confident with Stocco under center.

I wonder how much guff Bielema is going to take this week for gaming the system a little with those off sides calls at the end of the first half. I’m guessing a lot of people are thinking it was a douchebaggy thing to do, and maybe it was, but the rules allow it. It’s not his fault the NCAA made some dumb changes to how the game clock is managed.

By the way, how great is it that in Bielema’s first season as head coach the Badgers are 9-1 and in third place in the conference? It looked like the dark clouds were gathering for UW football when Barry Alvarez announced his retirement, but naming Bielema his successor right away and making the transition the way they did has really worked out. It seems as if the team hasn’t missed a beat.

So the talk is that the Badgers are a lock now for the Capitol One Bowl on Jan. 1, but we’re still a ways away from that being a reality. Wisconsin has to beat the hated Iowa Hawkeyes next week at Kinnick Stadium, a place where they haven’t had the most success over the years. To be sure, the 6-4 Schmuckeyes are sucking wind at this point after losing to Northwestern, but they will be playing at home for a bowl bid, so I don’t think the Badgers can look past this game. A smothering, crushing defeat of the Hawks would really make this season complete.