Badgers-Best 1-Loss Team in the Country

What an impressive two-week run for the Wisconsin Badgers. Back to back wins over then #1 Ohio State and then at a very good Iowa squad has me somewhat in shock. I don’t remember back to back wins in such impressive fashion since the Rose Bowl days of a decade ago.

The best part about both wins is that neither was a fluke. Against Ohio State, we absolutely dominated the Buckeyes. The Badgers ran the ball at will and controlled the line of scrimmage. And when Ohio State made a run in the second half, the Badgers responded by putting together a long scoring drive that eliminated any chance of Ohio State coming back to win.

Then against Iowa, the Badgers found themselves in a back and forth affair in which the Badgers could have folded at any time. The most impressive moment actually came after a Scott Tolzien interception early in the fourth quarter with Iowa up by 3. Then the defense rose to the occasion stopping the Hawkeyes and holding them to a field goal. The Badger offense then responded with a very impressive drive which included a fake punt for a first down and a 4th down conversion. The drive took seven of the last eight minutes off the clock and resulted in a game winning touchdown.

Now here we are with four games left in the season, and the Badgers are 7-1 and in my opinion are the best 1-loss team in the country. When the BCS rankings came out last Sunday unfortunately, the computers and voters did not completely agree. They rated both Alabama and Oklahoma slightly ahead of Wisconsin. I don’t think either team had a legitimate reason to rank higher than the Badgers. Oklahoma’s lone win over a ranked team came at home to Florida State. They lost to Missouri and barely squeaked out wins over Utah State, Air Force, Cincinnati and Texas. Alabama owns two wins over ranked teams, Arkansas and LSU. They lost to South Carolina.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin owns the most impressive wins of either team. They have the Ohio State and Iowa victories. And they played Michigan State tough in their loss. I could see an argument to put Alabama ahead of Wisconsin, but not Oklahoma or any other one-loss team. In my opinion, the Badgers should be #8 in the BCS, behind the seven undefeated teams.

Regardless, if the Badgers win out, they should make a BCS bowl. An 11-1 record out of the Big Ten should do it. Even if Michigan State goes undefeated and wins the conference, the Badgers should go as an at-large