The UW football team was supposed to be playing Virginia Tech this fall before Wisconsin opted out of the series in 2005. Instead, it will be the UW basketball team taking on the Hokies in Blacksburg, Va., Dec. 1 in the 10th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Not exactly the same thing, is it?
Unfortunately, head coach Bo Ryan does not have a say in which team Wisconsin faces in the annual challenge that the Big Ten has never won. It appears there was a possibility of Duke traveling to the Kohl Center a year after beating the Badgers 82-58 in Durham, N.C.
Maybe the drubbing the Blue Devils put on Wisconsin was enough for the challenge schedulers to send the Badgers elsewhere. Duke has played a home-and-home series against three different Big Ten opponents (Illinois, Michigan State and Indiana) in the nine-year history of the challenge, and, considering Wisconsin has emerged as the elite Big Ten program this decade, it seemed likely UW would be the fourth.
Instead, the Badgers will play on the road for the third time in the last four years of the challenge, and this time it will be a far cry from a trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium. It will be the first ever meeting between Wisconsin and Virginia Tech.
Maybe it's because UW is only 3-6 in the event. Apparently 61 wins over the last two seasons and three conference titles in seven years isn't enough to warrant a rematch against Duke in the Badgers' own house.
Or maybe it's because the Big Ten is 0-9 in the event and the schedulers want the obviously inferior conference to get one. The 2008 slate might actually favor the Big Ten, believe it or not.
Duke travels to Purdue, which will probably be a tougher matchup for the Devils than if they came to the Kohl Center. North Carolina plays Michigan State at Ford Field in Detroit, which will favor the Spartans even though the fans won't be able to see the court (just ask Badgers fans who traveled there for the Sweet 16). Wisconsin might be favored at Virginia Tech and Ohio State could be favored at Miami. If Illinois can top Clemson at home and Minnesota can do the same against Virginia at The Barn, then that's six wins needed to win the challenge.
The sad thing is I still feel like I am asking for a lot by getting those six wins. The Big Ten's track record in this thing is worse than Northwestern's track record when it comes to getting into a postseason tournament. It's just not going to happen.
But as I go through the reasons in my head as to why the defending Big Ten Champions are playing at Virginia Tech instead of against any team with more than a four-year ACC history, the only reason that makes any semblance of sense is that the challenge organizers are trying to get the Big Ten a win so it can justify participating in the event.
At this point I'm wondering when the conference will drop out and start a new challenge against Conference USA. I can see it now: 10-1 every year (with Memphis obviously winning).
Now that's success.
The truth is, Wisconsin could help its case for a better game by winning a few more in the event. Duke is obviously going to get the good matchups because it's Duke, but the Blue Devils are also 9-0 in the Challenge while playing in those headlining games.
So for now, take it for what it is. It's not Virginia Tech-Wisconsin at Camp Randall, it's only Virginia Tech-Wisconsin at Cassell Coliseum.
Either way, Wisconsin's got to win.
