Immediate Post-Game Rose Bowl Overreaction

Well, that kinda stunk. Following are some of my immediate post-game thoughts after Wisconsin’s 21-19 loss to TCU:

1—TCU played a great game. No turnovers, great strategy to attack Wisconsin’s secondary, and classy post-game behavior.
2 – Wisconsin nickel back Devin Smith had his name mentioned more by the announcers than JJ Watt. That is a bad sign.
3 – Wisconsin needs to find better cornerbacks.
4 – Two running backs make for a nice rotation. Three is a crowd. The running attack was effective, but by trying to get carries to three running backs I felt there lacked some rhythm and continuity to the offense.
5 – The fake punt worked…probably won’t be able to use that again for about two years. You can’t stop Brad Nortmann, you can only hope to contain him.
6 – I liked the 2-point conversion play…Pederson was wide open and Carder made a nice play to knock the pass down. That pass gets completed eight out of ten times.
7 – Tolzien will finish his career as one of my favorite Badger QB’s, but man o’ man he holds the ball too long sometimes.
8 – The clock management at the end of the first half will be second-guessed for about eight months. With 4th and 1 at the TCU 19 with 41 seconds left and three timeouts remaining, trying to get the first down would have made sense to me. Heck, Bielema showed an aggressive streak running a fake punt a few minutes earlier, why get conservative now? I respectfully disagree with the logic.
9 – Wisconsin’s defensive game plan was way too vanilla and conservative for my taste. I am planning to attend the Wisconsin-Northern Illinois game next September, and I will be extra-motivated to cheer for UW and against Doeren’s Northern Illinois squad after today.
10 – Tough loss. Good effort. Someone wins and someone loses. Wisconsin wins this game six out of ten times…just not today.

Tags: Bret Bielema, Rose Bowl, Wisconsin Badgers