Early this week there was a lot of talk about whether or not Wisconsin ran up the score against Indiana. Sadly coming from some respected commentators, and journalists. Criticism that is not warranted or deserving....considering some of them know little to nothing of the game or didn't even watch Wisconsin take on Indiana.
First let's tackle the criticism of New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick.
When reading the article you first have to ask yourself if the man has ever been to a college football game or even knows how collegiate athletics works. The first example Mushnick brings up in regards to Bret Bielema is the fact that Wisconsin threw four straight passes in the Austin Peay game that led to a Badger touchdown making the score 63-3. A fair case if you didn't know anything about what is going.
In the Austin Peay game the Badgers were not getting ready to play another FCS school the following week. They were preparing for a game against Michigan State. Not against a team that half of their players had never been on a plane before.
You have to keep working to improve, and working on things that you may be using later in the season. A lot easier to do against a real opponent in game speed. Not to mention an opponent that should not have had much in terms of a chance against Wisconsin.
The second example Mushnick made was about the two point conversion attempt Bielema tried against Minnesota over a month ago. A controversial play in it's own right, but a play that was unsuccessful. A play that infuriated Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster. Or should we say former Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster.
Mushnick chose to use a quote from Brewster in his article, but fails to point out that Minnesota is currently 2-9. Or the fact that the two point conversion is not the reason that Brewster is out of a job. That would be his abysmal record at Minnesota.
Now on to the Indiana game. What we really came here to talk about.
The only play that Mushnick cares to mention is the 74 yard touchdown pass to Jared Abbrederis in the fourth quarter. The touchdown moved the score to 76-13, and could definitely give anyone the idea that Wisconsin was running up the score. Unless you knew that the pass was thrown by Wisconsin's back-up quarterback Jon Budmayr, and was only the sixth pass in his college career.
Other key facts that were also never mentioned in the article were that there was only one starter even on the field in the fourth quarter. The score was tied at 10-10 heading into the second quarter before Wisconsin scored 28 unanswered before halftime. Then add in the fact that towards the end of the game many of the players were second, third, and even fourth string players that are trying to find more time on the field.
At the end of the article Mr. Mushnick says that college sports is supposed to teach you sportsmanship, and build character. He forgot to mention it can teach you how hard work and hustle pays off.
But unfortunately Mushnick wasn't the only person bashing Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema publicly this week. Many more joined in on the bashing, and sometimes without even watching the game.
The best example would be ESPN's "Mike and Mike." While we respect Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic there is just one thing that is disturbing about their criticism of the game. They didn't even watch! Something they admitted on air.
Now I'm not saying that people are not allowed to have their opinions, but they should at least watch the game. Without watching the game how can you understand the context of what is going on? You sure couldn't get that by reading Phil Mushnick's article. You sure can't get that by watching one play in a highlight on Sportscenter.
In a matter of fairness and context we should point out that the next day "Mike and Mike" did have coach Bielema on as a guest. To air his points about how the Badgers didn't run up the score, but it was too little to late. The hosts pointed out on Monday they were talking about something they had not watched. Something they reiterated again on Tuesday following the phone call by coach Bielema.
So the argument is pretty obvious; if you can't provide the context needed to make a fair argument...don't make an argument. If you didn't watch the game...don't say anything about it. The logic here isn't hard to figure out. Or is it? What do I know...I just watch the game.
To check out Phil Mushnick's article Click Here.
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