NCAA football preview: The Wisconsin Badgers try to clinch a Big Ten title
When the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers host the Northwestern Wildcats in their regular-season finale on Saturday 27 November, they’ll be playing for more than just another win. Should they come out of Camp Randall
Stadium victorious, Wisconsin will have at least a share of the Big Ten conference championship, its first since for Wisconsin since 1999.
Bret Bielema, the Badgers head coach, was on the Iowa staff just over a decade ago when the Badgers dismantled the Hawkeyes, 41-3, to clinch that 1999 conference championship. Now the fifth-year Wisconsin
coach has a chance to be on the other end of that experience.
“I remember the way that Wisconsin played, basically imposing their will on us,” Bielema told reporters during his weekly news conference. “I think the last two weeks, I’ve been able to see that on the field,
but also on film when I watch on Sunday to realize what was happening and the way our players are playing, but also the reaction of our opponent. [It] is a very gratifying experience.”
It will take the Wildcats’ best shot to beat a streaking Wisconsin team that has won its last six contests. In their two most recent victories over the Indiana Hoosiers and Michigan Wolverines, the Badgers
have accumulated a combined 695 rushing yards and posted a total of 131 points.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, Wisconsin is seeking its first Rose Bowl appearance since 2000 without one of their most prolific offensive stars. Junior running back and defending Big Ten offensive player
of the year John Clay has missed the team’s last two games while sidelined with a sprained right knee. He remains questionable for Saturday’s match-up as well.
“John really hasn’t done much. No fault of John’s. I think he has pushed himself as hard as he can,” Bielema said. “[We’re] planning on just [back-ups] James [White] and Montee [Ball] but John, I went through
the training room this morning, he was braced up and ready to go run. He was telling me how good it felt.”
Should Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Ohio State all come away with wins on Saturday, they’ll split the Big Ten title amongst them. It then becomes a numbers game to see which squad receives the conference’s
automatic BCS (Bowl Championship Series) bowl invitation. The offer will be extended to the team that is ranked highest in the BCS standings. That could potentially be a very tight race, as Wisconsin currently ranks seventh, Ohio State eighth, and Michigan
State 10th.
“We’re in a great position headed into Northwestern to put ourselves right where we want to be,” J.J. Watt, the Badgers’ defensive end, told reporters following last week’s 48-28 win over the Michigan Wolverines.
Still, on the brink of bringing another conference championship to the school’s storied program, Bielema has his players focused on the task at hand.
“There hasn’t ever been a talk about a jump to the championship or anything like that,” he said. “That’s why I really believe in what we’ve done now, just maintaining each week’s focus.”
Should the Badgers maintain that focus yet again against the upset-minded Wildcats, they may just get rewarded with a share of the Big Ten title.
Prediction: Wisconsin 41, Northwestern 28
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