2010 Wisconsin v. 2008 Wisconsin
I love how much pride Sparty is taking in beating #11 Wisconsin at home.
Yes, Wisconsin is a good team and probably will make a bowl game, but remember what happened in 2008. Wisconsin was #8 and we beat them with ThreetSheriDAMMIT. huh?! That Wisconsin team went 3-5 in the Big 10 and lost to a mediocre Florida State team.
I'm not comparing `10 State to `08 Michigan b/c we all know we lose that argument 100% of the time. But I think it speaks more to Wisconsin being overhyped.
It might just be me coming up with more reasons why we'll win on Saturday, but I think it's too early for Sparty to put so much weight on that ranking/victory.
October 7th, 2010 at 5:40 PM ^
it's important to note they were also short/reduced by injuries to arguably their three best players.
October 7th, 2010 at 5:47 PM ^
Geaux Geaux gadget Blue! You're one of my more favorite mods.
October 7th, 2010 at 10:19 PM ^
I was thinking the same thing - I remember that ASU game being littered with timeouts as players limped off the field. This Wiscy team is probably a fringe top-25 squad, and so beating them at home may not the season-defining win MSU envisioned. Of course, in full disclosure, UM hasn't really beaten a bevy of heavyweights so far.
October 7th, 2010 at 5:47 PM ^
Recently Wisconsin has tended to do worse than expected when initially ranked highly, and better than expected when initially ranked low. They'll probably end up in the middle of the pack in the Big 10 this year.
October 7th, 2010 at 6:44 PM ^
I started getting suspicious of Wisconsin a few weeks ago when they needed a blocked extra point to escape a bad Arizona State team at home. I thought from day one that the badgers were getting a little too much hype. They might actually be a decent team but we don't know that yet.
October 8th, 2010 at 9:43 AM ^
I was skeptical the week before that game, when they beat a HORRIBLE San Jose St. team 27-14. SJSU has one win this year, a 16-11 win over an FCS team, and they just lost last week to another FCS team...at home. SJSU's other losses this year include a 48-3 blowout loss to Alabama and a 56-3 loss to Utah. So, yeah, Wisconsin is WAAAAAYYYY overrated.
Wisconsin's opponents this season:
- UNLV (1-4) -- Only win is over 0-5 New Mexico
- SJSU (1-4) -- Only win is over 1-4 Souther Utah (FCS team), SJSU won 16-11
- ASU (2-3) -- Both wins are over FCS opponents
- Austin Peay (2-2) -- FCS team...best record of anyone Wisconsin has beaten
By the way, the "ZOMG!!! MSU totally stoned Wisconsin's running game" meme currently circulating....not so impressive when you look at UW's rushing performances in the three games against FBS opponents prior to MSU:
- UNLV -- 50 runs for 278 yards, 5.6 ypc 4 TD
- SJSU -- 46 runs for 212 yards, 4.6 ypc 2 TD
- ASU -- 42 runs for 194 yards, 4.6 ypc 1 TD
- Total of 3 games -- 138 runs for 684 yards, 4.96 ypc 7 TD
- Against MSU -- 31 runs for 165 yards, 5.30 ypc 2 TD
The only reason Wisconsin did not put up big numbers against MSU was that they only ran the ball 31 times...for a better ypc average (5.3) than they had against their 3 previous FBS opponents (4.96).
My conclusion: UM will have little trouble running for 240+ yards against MSU on Saturday and that should be good enough for UM to win IMO.
October 7th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^
I'm a grad student at Wisconsin right now, and this is the first time my students have ever been pulling for Michigan. Every semester starts with serious grumbling when I explain where my undergrad degree is from, but I have been getting student emails this week hoping that we kick State's ass. No one here is impressed with the Spartan win, only pissed about UW's uninspired dud of a game. Plus, saying some crude things about Bielema.