Do Badgers deserve to be in title game?
Some frustrated Badger football fans have two questions in mind: Does the UW deserve to be in Saturday’s second Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis, and is it time to dump head coach Bret Bielema?
Both are understandable questions amid this season of discontent. After all, some observers checked the schedule back in August and figured the Badgers should be favored in each game. Yet here they are, stumbling around at 7-5, including astounding losses in three overtime games.
But are they fair questions?
We’ll share our perspectives in our editorial Friday.
Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or gpeck@gazettextra.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook

Dec 3, 2012 at 4:53 p.m.
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The only thing worse than backing into the BIG 10 championship game as the third place team in your division...is getting crushed as a first place team by that third place team in the championship game.
Dec 2, 2012 at 1:31 a.m.
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OK - so they kind of sort of deserve to go to the Rose Bowl.
Dec 1, 2012 at 10:55 p.m.
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They did
Dec 1, 2012 at 9:45 p.m.
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They will crush the huskers!
Dec 1, 2012 at 1:23 p.m.
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Records do not mean anything in this case. By the guidelines put in place by the Big Ten they absolutely deserve to be in the Big Ten Championship game!
Dec 1, 2012 at 9:34 a.m.
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They earned it through the addition by subtraction principle. Wisconsin didn't disgrace their campuses or their communities like the other schools did. They did what they had too do and belong where they're at....
(note: I'm not a Badger fan) Go Michigan!
Dec 1, 2012 at 9:01 a.m.
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Wisconsin deserves to be there. Their record looks pretty rough compared to years past, but they were in a position to win all 5 games that they lost. Take a look at who they lost to: Oregon State (#16) 10-7, Nebraska (#14) 30-27, Michigan State (NR - always plays well against UW) 16-13 OT, Ohio State (#4) 21-14 OT, and Penn State (NR) 24-21 OT.
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I am a Bielema fan, but I have found myself second guessing his decisions more and more. I was really hoping that they would have gone for 2 points against Ohio State and at Penn State (not hind site either; my initial hope was going for two).
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The Badger's defense is much improved over last season, but the offense has a big void left by Russell Wilson. We (I said we) definitely did not catch lightning in a bottle twice with Danny O'Brien. Is he bad or what?
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B1G Championship game prediction: Bucky 24 - Cornhuskers 20.
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Rose Bowl prediction: Stanford 33 - Bucky 17.
Nov 30, 2012 at 6:45 p.m.
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No.
Nov 30, 2012 at 9:35 a.m.
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NO..NO
Nov 30, 2012 at 9:19 a.m.
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MrItalian, I disagree with your assessment of Bielema's history as a coach of Wisconsin. It's been far from excellent. He is 2-4 in bowl games, including two straight losses in the Rose Bowl. A coach of an elite program like Wisconsin cannot be 33% in bowl games and expect to keep his job for long.
It's time for him to go. He has proven too many times this year that he can't manage a clock and make sound decisions on fourth down when the team is in field goal range.
Nov 30, 2012 at 8:12 a.m.
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Who cares about a game? Lame.
Nov 30, 2012 at 8:02 a.m.
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Sure but the Big Ten doesn't deserve to be in a BCS game, horrible this season.
Nov 30, 2012 at 6:45 a.m.
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The Badgers have had a bit of bad luck this season. No organization in the world could lose as many managers/coaches as they did after last season and be expected to not have some problems. They also ended up with the third string QB. They lost 3 of the last 4 games in overtime and by 3 points, if memory serves me right. Could have gone either way. Bummer of a year for luck and I don't think they will beat Nebraska but will miss Saturdays watching the Badgers!
Can they hire Paul Cryst back?
Nov 29, 2012 at 10:31 p.m.
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No, they don't and yes, they should.
Nov 29, 2012 at 9:48 p.m.
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I think your choice of words is the issue here Greg. Do the Badgers deserve to be there? Probably based on these other responses. Do they BELONG there? No way. They have only gotten this far via smoke and mirrors. Too many quality coaches departed,the well for the offensive line has dried up, and a former marquee lost more than we were led to believe in an assault.
Nov 29, 2012 at 9:07 p.m.
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Do Badgers deserve to be in title game?
NO!
Nov 29, 2012 at 7:24 p.m.
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Let me rephrase that, Wisconsin student athletes didn't accept illegal benefits.
Nov 29, 2012 at 7:24 p.m.
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Wisconsin didn't give out illegal benefits or hide a serial pedophile, so yes.
Nov 29, 2012 at 7:11 p.m.
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Not as much as the Irish deserve to be in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!!!
Nov 29, 2012 at 6:21 p.m.
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They (Big Ten) didn't create this situation for the Badgers. The situation came about because of things out of their control. So the answer is YES they deserve it.
Nov 29, 2012 at 5:36 p.m.
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True Badger fans will say yes, let's move forward!
Nov 29, 2012 at 4:47 p.m.
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If they earned it- yes. Did they earn it.
Nov 29, 2012 at 2:55 p.m.
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The question should not be: do they deserve to be in the Title Game. The real question is do they qualify for the game based on the rules and guidleine to qualify for the Game. The answer is YES
Listen.. they are having a so so year because of a lot of different circumstance that didn't play out how they had hoped. They were extremely competitive in most of their games. In fact, it could have gone either way in many of those games. I woud predict that next year should be an outstanding year for the Badgers after going through the trials and tribulations of this season.
Bret Bielema is a good coach and shouldn't be judged based on a year like this. Look at his history as coach of Wisconsin... it's excellent.
Nov 29, 2012 at 2:49 p.m.
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Yes, the Badgers were picked by many so-called experts to win the Big Ten but that was before all of the misfortune that befell the Badgers this season at the QB position. As I recall, Barry Alvarez had a few rough seasons during his stellar head coaching career at Wisconsin. Bret Bielema's job should be safe for now.
As far as being in the championship game, Wisconsin doesn't need to apologize for that. The Badgers can't be blamed for the sanctions that were placed on Penn State and Ohio State that made them ineligible to play for the championship. Wisconsin deserves to be in the game since they finished higher than the other ELIGIBLE teams in their division.
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