Wisconsin can’t keep doing this. Can they?
That’s what we’ll continue to ask ourselves in the aftermath of the Badgers’ 30-6 victory against No. 8 Michigan State at Spartan Stadium on Saturday.
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That win goes well with the season-opening victory against No. 18 LSU. Wisconsin proved its worth as a top-10 team for now.
The reward for knocking off the defending Big Ten champions? It’s another round of “you can’t keep doing this.” That’s the tagline this week.
Look at the schedule. They travel to No. 4 Michigan before a bye week, then get home games with No. 2 Ohio State and No. 20 Nebraska with a road date at Iowa in between. Good lord, who drew that up again? There’s no reasonable answer; only that same skepticism.
They can’t keep doing this with redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook, right? Well …
Hornibrook, who completed 16 of 26 passes for 195 yards, a TD and one interception, played well in his first career start. Forget about the statistics. Go watch the third-and-11 pass to George Rushing that kept a drive alive in the third quarter. That resulted in a field goal.
Hornibrook made high-percentage throws — and accurate down-field throws to Jazz Peavy — and didn’t make catastrophic mistakes against a defense that has forced so many of those for the last decade.
They can’t keep doing this with their thoroughbred running back wearing tape halfway down his leg, right? Corey Clement has to get healthy, but he proved he can play through pain. He is fighting through an ankle injury and isn’t 100 percent. He fought through the first half with 12 carries for 15 yards, but one of those was a short touchdown run. He finished with 23 carries for 54 yards and two TDs.
They can’t keep making opportune plays like Leo Musso’s 66-yard fumble return for a TD. Or kicker Michael Endicott nailing a 41-yard field goal on his first attempt. Or rendering a Michigan State offense that hung 36 unanswered points on Notre Dame last week ineffective. Tyler O’Connor threw three interceptions and completed just 18 of 38 passes.
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Wisconsin is nasty on defense and solid on special teams because they have to be nasty on defense and solid on special teams. The Badgers have allowed just 280 yards per game and three TDs from scrimmage.
They can’t keep doing this. Can they?
Maybe they can. The Badgers have taken a cue from no-frills coach Paul Chryst. He’s not a click-generator, but that matters zero. He’s beaten two top-10 teams in four weeks and has quietly piled up a 14-3 record in a season-and-a-third. That’s solid.
The victory against the Spartans proves Wisconsin is the team to beat in the Big Ten West Division. Of course they’ll have to go through the dueling flagships in Michigan and Ohio State next. They’ve been doing that since the first days of Barry Alvarez. It’s familiar territory by now.
Until the next easy-to-formulate narrative. They can't beat a ranked Michigan team for the first time since 1994 at the Big House next week. They beat the Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in 2010, but that was an unranked team and the last days of Rich Rodriguez.
This is different. This is Jim Harbaugh. Can Wisconsin beat both Michigan schools on the road in back-to-back weeks?
They’ve earned that shot by proving what they can do and not being told what they can’t do against that brutal schedule. It’s pretty clear what the message is.
The Badgers are doing just fine, thanks.
