Boom Goes the ... Season

That would be a good haiku. Let's put it to use.

Boom goes the season
Defense seen in disarray
Sadness everywhere

(A Haggy Haiku)

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About the only thing this year's Badgers are good at is heartbreaking losses.
Even with the backing of the raucous, and sometimes belligerent Camp Randall crowd of 80,000-plus, the Wisconsin Badgers couldn't tackle the option executed by Terrell Pryor and Chris "Beanie" Wells nor their own mental mistakes in a 20-17 setback.
Energized by the uproarious crowd after a 2-yard lead-changing touchdown run by P.J. Hill at 6:31 of the fourth quarter, the UW defense took the field, 16 game home winning streak intact.
Soon a march began. Only it wasn't to the tune of On Wisconsin.
Two deep passes over a deserted middle of the field, two fumbles fortunately recovered and confusion on the part of the Badger defense culminated in a 11-yard touchdown run by Pryor, the freshman quarterback.
The Buckeyes had taken the lead with 1:08 to play.
Faced with a third-and-6, Pryor bought time against the Badger four man rush and threw downfield to a wide-open Brian Hartline. First down. Wisconsin's cover 2 defense seemed to be playing prevent, as safeties Shane Carter and Jay Valai were 20 yards from the line of scrimmage.
After recovering his own fumble, Pryor cooly connected with Hartline again between the hash marks for a 27-yard gain. Valai's tackle knocked the ball into the air, but OSU receiver Brian Robiskie tracked down and secured it.
Wells ran for a first down and Pryor quaterback sneaked for another on third-and-1 at the UW 13 yardline.
Two plays later, Pryor ran the option as Wisconsin's linebacking corps stood huddle in the middle of the field bemused. Valai picked up Wells, but there was no one to stop Pryor. Touchdown.
The 12-play, 80-yard drive spanning 5:23 put Ohio State (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) ahead to stay, 20-17.
Wisconsin's last-ditch effort resulted in an easy interception for Buckeyes corner Malcolm Jenkins.
Game over.
Goodbye national title. Goodbye Pasadena.
Hello meaningless bowl.
Something Wisconsin (3-2, 0-2) surely wanted to avoid after last weekend's uncomprehensible loss to Michigan.
Ohio State is good. Pryor and Wells are dynamite. The Wisconsin defense .... not so much.
Several vicious stiffarms to the face by Wells didn't deter the Badgers from going high on the steamroller halfback. When Pryor lined up behind center and Wells offset to the left or right, the Wisconsin defense couldn't decipher that the option might be run. And when Pryor rolled out in Wells' direction, the Wisconsin defense couldn't figure out how to get a man to contain each.
On offense, Evridge failed to look in tight end Travis Beckum's direction until the fourth series. Blessed with an athlete of Beckum's talent, take advantage. Use him.
No other reciever on the team can hold onto the ball.
Coaching is culpable.
Developing quarterbacks into one-year starters is folly. So is continually relying on inconsistent players each week. If there's no replacement, recruiting needs improving.
The expectations are higher now. Every year the Badgers are supposed to compete for the Big Ten title.
Though the BCS bowls are almost undoubtly out of the realm of possibility, each forthcoming game carries weight, quite possibly for years to come (with stronger incoming freshmen classes).
Coaches, take this time to teach. Players, take this time to learn. And all, take this advice to heart.