52-14, and another Big 10 debacle

I'm not sure I would've bet on Mississippi State's being on the top end of that score. What a strange team they are. Can they do it again next year?

The real shocker to me came in the Rose Bowl, when Wisconsin ran the ball 60+ yards to make it 21-19, needed the two-point conversion from 3 yards out -- and PASSED. Badly. Literally "throwing away" the game right there. WTF? That John Clay guy is a beast. He or Montee Ball could've carried that ball in.

TBA is happy to see that it's not the only nonplussed observer:

The Badgers inexplicably went to a shotgun formation for the 2-point conversion, and quarterback Scott Tolzien had tight end Jacob Pedersen open a step over the goal line. But Carder, who was stymied on his blitz attempt, leapt and knocked down the ball to seal the preserve T.C.U.’s lead.

“I just jumped up and swatted it away,” he said. “I can’t even explain it. It feels so good.”

The play left the Wisconsin coaching staff open to second-guessing. After a dominating drive in which the Badgers used their superior size to run the ball on 9 of 10 plays, Wisconsin went away from its strength, and its roots, by lining up in the shotgun and passing the ball.

“That was something we saw on film,” Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema said, defending the call. “And obviously, the guy was open, but you’ve got to get the defender’s hands down in that situation. Hindsight is 20/20.”

Foresight appears to've been rather worse for Bielema.

The same article notes that the Big 10 "lost its five bowl games by a combined score of 204-102."