When the Buckeyes break you: Did Ohio State break Wisconsin?

The Badgers strived for something more and instead set their program back. Was chasing the Buckeyes part of their downfall?

Wisconsin tried to elevate its program by hiring Luke Fickell and it hasn’t worked. (Photo courtesy of Wisconsin football)

COLUMBUS — Imagine if Bret Bielema right now was in Year 20 at Wisconsin.

He’d be the third longest-tenured coach in major college football, behind Kirk Ferentz at Iowa and Kyle Whittingham at Utah.

Bielema averaged nearly 10 wins a year in his seven seasons at Wisconsin between 2006 and 2012, and if he had maintained that pace, he’d be in the race to be the winningest coach in Big Ten history. Ferentz leads with 208 wins as a conference coach after passing Woody Hayes (205) this season. Bielema, who in actuality has 101 wins in the Big Ten – 68 at Wisconsin and 33 at Illinois — could be around 200 instead.

He’d be Bret Bielema, Big Ten legend. And Wisconsin?

Wisconsin might be the second-best program in the Big Ten. Indiana’s success? Wisconsin was Indiana for 15 years, except the lack of a 12-team playoff kept people from noticing as much.

From the last season of Barry Alvarez in 2005, through seven seasons of Bielema, to two years of Gary Andersen, through the first five seasons of the Paul Chryst era in 2019, the Badgers were the second-winningest program in the Big Ten.

That’s 15 years with the sixth-best winning percentage in power conference college football and the second-best in its league. Check out the comparable teams in the Top 10.