Things I Enjoyed Today

1. Iowa State wins in Austin for the first time ever! Longhorns, you have been Cycl-OWNED!

I watched almost all of that game, and I'll tell you this--it wasn't even close. Iowa State didn't look great, for the most part, and I kept assuming that texas would snap out of it and come back eventually, but that just never happened. Iowa State didn't have great defense, but t.u.'s was worse. ISU was a little spotty on offense, but had way more good spots than texas. They won fair and square, and it was hilarious.

2. Texas A&M beats KU handily, as they absolutely had to.

Also, I guess I should be happy that Sherman was finally willing to give backup QB Ryan Tannehill lots of meaningful snaps . . . but it was weird that he waited to pull Jerrod until Jerrod was having a good game. His plan must have been to give Tannehill practice in a game situation, but not a risky game situation, so Tannehill will be more prepared if he ever has to go in and save a game that's going badly. It was still weird, though.

3. Wisconsin is good, you guys. They really are.

Of course, it helped that Iowa completely fouled up their clock management in the last minute of the game. You can't play fast and loose with your timeouts unless you've made Les Miles' deal with the devil. Anyway, the doubts I had about Wisconsin are pretty much gone after two consecutive impressive wins. They do still need help to win the Big Ten, though.

4. Because Mark Dantonio keeps fake-punting his way into my heart.

I know that, as a Badgers fan ("fan," rounding up from "well-wisher," anyway), I need to be rooting against Michigan State, the one conference team that has beaten Wisconsin. But . . . they're just so loveable! Dantonio calls a fake punt to beat Notre Dame, then he has a heart attack which he perseveres through, and then he fake punts again today to complete the comeback against Northwestern! (And besides, they weren't going to lose to Northwestern, the Big Ten master of the choke-job, even when they did go down 17-0.)

5. Navy keeps beating Notre Dame, which is nice.

Now if they can just keep beating them consecutively until 2051, they'll finally be even with 'em. Oh, and let's not forget how fun it is to say "Ken Niumatalolo."

6. LSU is no longer undefeated!

And the world makes just a little more sense.

7. Baylor's win over K-State puts them alone at the top of the Big 12 South.

They're probably more stoked about getting bowl-eligible for the first time since 1995, but the standings thing makes me smile. (Well, the Baylor part. Can we all agree to ignore the very bottom of the division standings?)

8. And now Missouri has taken down Oklahoma!

I can't really articulate why I was rooting for Missouri there, but here are some ideas:

a. I like when OU loses.

b. Mizzou was the underdog, and I generally like underdogs.

c. I would like there to be a team in the Big 12 North who can take the division from Nebraska (I don't really harbor any ill-will toward Nebraska for leaving the conference, but I really don't want them to win it on their way out the door).

d. It's comforting that the team that beat A&M 30-9 is legitimately good.

e. As always, it's fun when there are upsets at the top of the polls. It reminds me of good ol', crazy ol' 2007.

Season Preview: Wisconsin Badgers

As a UW alumna (grad school) and current resident of Madison, I really ought to cheer harder for the Badgers. But for whatever reason, I'm definitely less a "fan" and more a "well-wisher." (In my defense, I'm not sure I've met any Huge Badger Fans [insert your own joke about Wisconsin residents' love of beer and cheese here]. My theory is that Sconnies just love the Packers too much to make room in their hearts for their college team.) However, if I'm ever going to move up to the really nice seats on the Badger bandwagon, this may be the year to do it.

Factors
There are a lot of returning offensive starters from what was the most productive offense in the Big Ten last season. (Most impressive statistic: UW led the nation in time of possession, averaging over 39 minutes a game. I'm surprised it's even possible to average over 39 minutes of possession a game.) It's the first time in Bret Bielma's tenure that the starting QB will be the same guy two years in a row. Sure, Scott Tolzien isn't showing up on any Heisman watch lists, but he's solid.

He can dig it.

Even though it's a Wisconsin offense, which usually runs its starting RB into the ground, they were surprisingly balanced last year. There won't be any excuse (barring catastrophic and widespread injuries) if they fail to be very, very good this year.

The defense is more questionable. Many important starters and a couple of the position coaches are gone, but the replacements should be at least decent.

The biggest cause for concern is that Bielma's teams seem to have an inverse relationship between expectations and results. The better they're predicted to do (and on paper, they ought to do pretty dang well), the worse they usually perform.

Nonconference schedule
UW starts its season by playing two teams with brand-new coaches. Also, both of them--UNLV and San Jose State--should be atrocious. (OK, UNLV maybe won't be atrocious, and the game will be at their place, but still, they're nothing much to be afraid of.) The biggest ticket non-con game is against actual BCS conference member Arizona State, which might have a new coach next year if he keeps doing as poorly as he has so far. UW's fourth opponent will be Austin Peay State University. Here's the most important fact about them: it's pronounced "Austin P." In conclusion, if Wisconsin doesn't start 4-0, something has gone terribly wrong.

Conference schedule
The obvious worries are October 16th's game against Ohio State (although that's in Madison, which is nice) and the next week, Iowa at Iowa. But you can't write off Michgan State (in Wisconsin's first conference matchup of the season, October 2nd); UW hasn't won in Lansing since 2002.

Best player name
Louis Nzegwu

My prediction
I can't see Wisconsin going unbeaten through the Big Ten, but maybe if Iowa and Ohio State drop a few games between them, the Badgers can share the conference title? At the very least, I won't be surprised if they come in second. They're projected to be a top-ten or -fifteen team, and I don't see any reason why they can't achieve the latter (and maybe the former, if and only if they do better than Iowa) . . . unless, of course, they fall victim to their chronic underachiev-itis. But I'll be optimistic and declare that this will be the big year! (That is, the year Wisconsin can come in a healthy second place to Ohio State.)