Oh my dear god that was terrible...

Okay, so I guess it could be worse-- the Badgers could have lost rather than squeaked out a last minute 20-13 win. But my goodness that was painful. The offense sparked and sputtered, Paul Hubbard was injured by some douche bag UNLV defender who bent him over backwards away from the ball after the play was basically over, the receivers had multiple drops, Donovan looked off, the line didn't pass block well, PJ got overworked because Lance was at home, the D forced tons of third downs but couldn't get off the field, they ran the ball well for just one possession, the return and coverage units were almost uniformly bad, and DeBauche punted like a high school sophomore.

But to use a stupid cliche, you have to hand it to UNLV, or at least to some of their players. Beau Bell, #2, looks like he's going on to the next level. He was everywhere on defense. Their qb is shifty, and had several nice throws, and UNLV's white wide receiver, #80, ate Allen Langford up. The game also reminded me of how UNLV fans suck. I hate their stupid "Reb-Els" chant, maybe because I was overexposed to it during Wisconsin's early NCAA basketball tournament exit. They don't expect anything out of their teams, but when they're winning they're insufferable, rubbing it in constantly. Apathetic losers, but terrible winners.

Plus, since the stupid contest was on "Versus," which may be the worst cable sports network in history, I ended up watching it in a smoky, sticky and crowded bar that I had forgotten I used to hate. Some sad, homely and obese Irishman kept leaning into me and requesting refills on his 32 ounce Miller Lights, and there were far too many TVs on the LSU beat-down of Virginia Tech, despite the fact that game was completely uncompetitive, leaving me and my uncle to stare in horror at a blinky, dim 23 inch set, as we breathed in secondhand smoke. In all, a terribly grim evening.

The Badgers should fall several spots after this near disaster. Texas and Oklahoma will definitely move ahead, as should California. And it's deserving. In no way, did the Badgers look like the 5th best team in the country tonight. Plus, maybe it's for the best-- a little less attention, a slightly smaller target on their backs, and a little more time to focus on getting better. Maybe at some point later in the season, the Badgers will be a top 5 team. But they sure ain't now.