Can Bret Bielema get it done in 2010?
It’s time for Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema to make a move or to move on. Ever since the Iowa grad took over for Barry Alvarez, his Badger teams have been derailed from any major bowl or conference title. In his first season, he came out strong with a 12-1 record and won the Capital One Bowl 17-14 over Arkansas (’06). Wisconsin figured they landed a gem for a head coach, but his highly regarded teams quickly faltered (9 wins in ’07 and 7 wins in ‘08) until last year’s 10 win season and Champs Sports Bowl victory over Miami. Bielema’s combined record as head coach is 38-14 (.731). At quick glance, it’s a solid record for Big Ten play; however, his wins that take him bowling every year come from cupcake out of conference games.
Let’s look at the facts that distinguish greatness from mediocrity: Bielema has yet to beat a Top 10 team (0-4); he is 4-8 against Top 25 teams; none of his recruits have won any national awards; and he has not gone to a BCS bowl game. When Bielema’s squad did crack the Top 10 in 2008, his #9 Badgers lost to lowly Michigan 25-27 in a horribly coached game. In 2007, the #5 Badgers were upset by an unranked Illinois squad. For a skipper who made a shade under $1.5 million in 2009 and received a contract extension to 2015, he has yet to return any real dividends expected from a 1st tier coach and program.
This season is the year Bielema must prove the doubters wrong. He is returning 10 starters on a stacked offense and 6 quality veterans on defense. He has 5th year senior QB Scott Tolzien under center with RB John Clay leading the ground game protected by a monstrous O-line that should produce plenty of wide open running lanes. Clay should be headed to New York City come Heisman time. Additionally, Wisconsin’s schedule is very favorable. Their out of conference games are a joke with UNLV, San Jose State, Arizona State, and Austin Peay (D-1AA) on the slate. The team fortunately doesn’t face a Penn State squad that has decimated the Badgers as of late. (The Nittany Lions will not forget Bielema’s exploitation of the kick-off rule in their 2006 match-up. Since that game, Penn State has thrashed Bielema’s teams with an aggregate score of 86-14.)
Wisconsin’s true test will be the back-to-back conference games in October as the Badgers play host to Ohio State and then the team travels to Iowa City to face rival Iowa. Both foes will presumably rank in the Top 25 if not the Top 10 on game day. Last year Tolzien threw a combined 5 INTs and 0 TDs and hit the deck 10 times in back-to-back losses to Ohio State (13-31) and Iowa (10-20). These two games will certainly define Bielema as a head coach and Wisconsin as a team.
Wisconsin has depth, experience, and talented players it hasn’t seen since Alvarez’s glory days. The question remains: can the coaching staff take this team to the next level? If Bielema can’t get it done with this favorable schedule and this type of exceptional talent and experience, the AD should buy out his contract. Otherwise, Wisconsin will remain a 2nd tier program in a 1st tier conference.
