What we witnessed out of the lifeless Badgers this weekend was, to say the least, disconcerting. Certainly any whispers of a national championship were quashed when Wisconsin lost to a non-conference opponent for the first time under Brett Bielema.

After Oregon State downed Wisconsin, the Badgers head coach said he slept on his decision to fire his offensive line coach, Mike Markuson, a mere 2 games into his tenure.  One could say that Bielema made a poor decision in hiring Markuson to begin with but Bielema deserves some credit, not for the hiring, but for recognizing a weakness and dealing with it immediately.

The one I feel for the most at this point is Monte Ball.  Ball made the decision to come back for another season for a shot another Big Ten Title, a Rose Bowl win and even a possible national championship.  Instead, he’s been beaten up both on and off the field.

Now Bielema, Ball and the Badgers have to pick themselves up, gather their pride and try to salvage what’s left of the season.  There is still an opportunity to get into the Big Ten Title Game and forget about the ugliness of this past weekend.

Wow, Oregon State…..really!