Last season, the Wisconsin Badgers football team dropped their first four Big Ten games, which prevented them from going to any major bowl game. This season the Badgers got off on the right foot with a convincing 38-30 win over a Michigan State team predicted to finish third in the conference by the coaches.
A big reason for the Badgers success against the Spartans was quarterback Scott Tolzien, who threw an impressive four touchdown passes. Quarterback has been a weak position at Wisconsin for a number of years, so Tolzien’s performance is very encouraging for Badger fans.
Senior tight end Garrett Graham caught three of those Tolzien touchdown passes. Graham, who is ranked by draft expert Mel Kiper as a top tight end in the 2010 class, has emerged as a reliable receiver for the first year starting quarterback. Graham’s three touchdown catches gave him the UW record for touchdown receptions as a tight end.
Michigan State’s 30 points are not an indication of how close the game was or how well the defense played. The Badgers gave up 14 points in meaningless time with around two minutes left to make the game appear close. With 15 seconds left the Spartans scored on a 91 yard pass play to get them within eight, but at that point the game was already over.
The Badgers have gotten off to an undefeated start this season at 4-0, but they haven’t played a road game to date. As the weather gets colder and the schedule gets tougher we will find out whether or not this team is a real contender in the Big Ten.