The Badger football team refused to succumb to a potential letdown this past Saturday and emerged victorious in a labeled \trap game"" against Northwestern. As a result, they improved their flawless record to 8-0, and kept their National Championship hopes alive.
While dissecting through all the hoopla surrounding this year's team as they enter their bye week, people have begun to make comparisons to past champions. Among others, Barry Alvarez has mentioned this year's squad with the likes of his 1999 Rose Bowl Championship team. That team, like the current, was an experienced team spearheaded by a stingy defense and run-oriented offense.
However, with every win, the comparison outside of Madison has them moving closer to the prototype of the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes. That, of course, was the same team that handed Miami a 31-24 loss in the Fiesta Bowl on their way to a national title.
So is this linking valid and does it have any truth? Or is it just the media's assertion that all Big Ten teams come from the same mold and the only difference comes in the city they play in? Well, by the way things are unraveling this year, it seems quite logical that the 2004 Badgers are destined to achieve the same status the Buckeyes did two years previous.
Just look at the glaring similarities:
To being with, the overall numbers of each signal caller is eerily similar as Badger QB John Stocco is averaging 151.1 yards per game, while his counterpart Craig Krenzel averaged 150.7 over the course of 14 games. Each player has the ability to make the necessary play in key situations, while at the same time, not make the mistakes that force their team play from behind. Each fail to produce Heisman numbers, but they have the ability to control the pace of the game, and make the proper reads.
Stocco is currently leading his offensive teammates to an average of 21.1 points per game, while Krenzel was able to garner 29.3 for the opposing Buckeyes. Both teams failed to put teams away early and win decisively. Rather, they managed to provide enough to contribute every victory and keep the weekly ""1-0"" attitude afloat.
Keeping on the offensive side of the ball, both teams rely on a powerful O-line to set the stage for a potent ground attack. True freshman Maurice Clarrett averaged 112.5 yards a game, while Wisconsin's Anthony Davis has compiled 128.4 yards on the ground. Not only did both serve as their team's biggest offensive weapon, but they also missed time during the season, which resulted in some of their teams most competitive games.
The similarities in statistics also relate to the importance they play for their respective teams on and off the field. When either was out of lineup, there was a noticeable void that could not be easily filled.
Rather the mentality was to survive while their leader was absent, and attempt to make do while the foundation of their offense was missing.
On defense, Ohio State let up an average of 13.1 points per game while the Badgers have bettered that number, allowing slightly less than 10 a contest. The teams ran a basic 4-3 scheme that was anchored by a dominated line. The defensive units set the tone each week and often picked up the slack when the offense was lacking. If there is one thing you can be sure of, it is that the defenses are what makes them elite.
With all this said about these teams being so clearly identical, the most crucial point for the Badgers this year will fall under the category of their most glaring difference: the kicking game.
The Buckeyes had the closest thing to an automatic threat when kicker Mike Nugent took the field-he made good on 25 of 28 field goal attempts, while only missing one of 46 extra point attempts. For the Badgers, senior Mike Allen has been sporadic, connecting on nine of 14 field goal tries while missing two extra points in just 20 attempts.
The kicking game has been a liability rather than a weapon this year, and is the one facet of our game that is unreliable thus far. Kicking may seem like a minor element, but if you cannot count on putting easy points on the board, it changes the way you play the game.
I can assure you that one of the Badgers' next four games (including a bowl game) will rest heavily on the foot of Allen. One of these contests will be decided by three points or fewer, and our mediocre-at-best kicking game could spell disaster for Wisconsin.
Foreshadowing has already occurred with narrow escapes against Arizona and Purdue, which resulted from missed extra-point opportunities. You can plan and strategize to perfection, but no team can train for these situations when they occur.
Plain and simple, this is the Badgers' lone weakness. I dread that in the following weeks Mike Allen's foot might cost us a chance at the national title. A ""1-0"" mentality is adequate for now, but maybe it needs to be rephrased to ""please hit the 1,"" as in point after try, or anything else inside 35 yards.
jrmcnamra@wisc.edu.
