Champs Sports Bowl - Wisconsin 13, Fla St 42 (Final)

[cincibuck]

I guarantee you that you put a bowl game in Wrigley Field ("Wrigley Bowl") in late December, with a Big Ten tie-in, and you will sell every seat in the place.

Also alumni and students can have a hell of a lot better time in Chicago than they can in virtually any warm weather bowl site not named Los Angeles. Name me one single southern city that offers what Chicago does: top 3 restaurant city, top 2 for cultural institutions, probably the best bar city in the country, top 3 or 4 for shopping.

So get the movement started, only let's have the game in a football stadium, Soldier Field, although I still remember the great NFL championship game played in Wrigley, Billy Wade vs Y.A. Tittle and that great pic of Tittle, on both knees, helmet torn off and blood running down his face.

There is ABSOLUTELY no reason why championship football has to be played on the coast or in a Southern city. NONE!

 

[sammyjenkis]

Wisconsin's team really went downhill after their band was suspended (disbanded?). Florida State really dodged a bullet in this one.

 

[buckeyesin07]

Exactly. Bielema is simply in over his head. His recruiting stinks (not that Wiscy has ever been a recruiting juggarnaut, but Alvarez was a master at maximizing the talent he had), his teams are undisciplined, his game management is Crennel-like, and he doesn't seem to be able to get a fraction out of the talent he has that Alvarez did. He rode a cushy schedule and Alvarez's players to a 12-1 first season, and it's been downhill since. Wiscy will remain in the bottom 3rd of the Big-Ten standings as long as Bielema remains there. Mark my words. This might have been their last bowl for a while.

Bingo. UW was considered a dark horse by many to challenge for the national title with the talent they had returning. So what does Bielema do? He goes out and "leads" them to a 3-5 Big Ten record, a 7-6 record overall (which included wins against Akron, Indiana, Marshall and Cal Poly), a beat-down at the hands of a mediocre Florida State team in a lousy bowl game, a loss to 3-9 Michigan, and a near escape against Div. I-AA Cal Poly at home (a game that went into overtime and UW won by one point). I am not sure I've ever seen such underachievement in college football.

 

[Jaxbuck]

I am not sure I've ever seen such underachievement in college football.

I agree.

The only thing that could ever be worse underachievemnet in the history of CFB is if a top 5 team actually lost to a 1-AA team at home.

Oh wait.

 

[cincibuck]

I am not sure I've ever seen such underachievement in college football.

Sometime in the 60s Iowa was a consensus pre-season #1 and Chuck Long a "can't miss" Heisman candidate. They went 0 and 10.