How bout dem Brewers??? I know this is supposed to be a football discussion, but after Saturday, I'm not really in the mood to talk football (but I bet I will be by the time I finish writing this). The crowd we had at Rookies on Saturday pulled out all of the stops to try to ensure a victory? there was lots of red and white, a Badger jersey beer-bottle koozie, home-baked cookies in the shape of Wisconsin, even a secret weapon (that failed miserably in terms of being a good luck charm). But it was all to no avail. While the Badgers did start out with a 19-0 lead, the second half was a disaster. As Jeff Potrykus said in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "Galling. Nauseating. Infuriating. Disgusting. Select any term from that list or come up with your own and you still might not be able to adequately describe the University of Wisconsin's 27-25 loss to an unranked and often mediocre Michigan team..." The team didn't even select an offensive most valuable player this week. With the loss, the Badgers plummeted nine places in both of the national polls. But life goes on and the Badgers have a chance to redeem themselves this Saturday in a big game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The game begins at 8 pm and will be televised on ABC but the USC/Oregon game will also be shown at the same time, so you'll need to check your schedule to see if it will be on locally (sorry – no coverage maps have been issued by ABC as of the time of this posting). Due to the time of the game and the fact that Rookies hosts live bands on Saturday nights, the regulars won't be gathering at Rookies this week to watch the game, so you'll have to fend for yourselves. October 2nd - TV Update: The coverage map is out, and all of us in New England will be getting the Wisconsin game! Yeah! To see for yourself, go to: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=coveragemaps2008
The Badgers will be trying to extend their 16-consecutive-game home winning streak. We have won four of our last seven games against the Buckeyes and we're the only Big Ten school with a winning record (3-2) against Ohio State under Jim Tressel. The Badgers are currently picked to win by 3 points.
For the Buckeyes, Chris 'Beanie' Wells is back on the field after a toe injury and Ohio State's 18-year-old quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, will be facing his first real test in a Big Ten stadium. Pryor has demonstrated a great arm plus an ability to run in his two at-home starts against Troy and Minnesota this season. But the Ohio State players have been preparing for more than just the game this week. See their reaction to visiting the home of the Jump Around at: http://palestra.net/videos/play/16351 As Matt Lepay (the radio voice of the Badgers) acknowledged in his blog this week, this isn't the first time that the Badgers have come off a loss to Michigan to face the Buckeyes. In 1999, the Badgers dropped the Big Ten opener at home against Michigan and then headed to Ohio State. The Buckeyes started out with a 17-0 lead and it didn't look good for the Badgers. But then Wisconsin scored the next 42 points, led by Ron Dayne. The Badgers finished out the season with wins, leading the team to their second Rose Bowl victory in as many years. And who could forget 2001, when the Badgers hosted Indiana and lost 63-32. The Hoosiers scored 27 points in the first half?of the first quarter. I can't forget that game because I was there and, come to think of it, that may have been more embarrassing than this past Saturday's game. Once again, the Badgers headed to Columbus the following weekend to face Ohio State and, once again, Ohio State jumped to a 17-0 lead. The Badgers then scored the next 20 to win by three. And, of course, I have to mention the last nighttime win against the Buckeyes at Camp Randall in October 2003. That was the infamous game when Badger quarterback John Sorgi was choked by OSU linebacker Robert Reynolds as Sorgi lay at the bottom of a pileup, after the play had been blown dead. The incident even has its own Wikipedia listing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds-Sorgi_incident. Backup QB Matt Schabert's came in on that rainy night and threw a 79-yard TD pass to Lee Evans with 5:20 left in the game to break a 10-10 tie. The 23rd-ranked Badgers upset the 3rd-ranked Buckeyes, ending their 19-game winning streak! So, if the game starts out on the wrong foot on Saturday night, remember we've been there and done that. And we've done it right!! Edit | 
