Timothy Leary never could have known he would establish the framework for the upcoming showdown between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The 1960s counterculture guru coined the expression, “Turn on, tune in, drop out,” to neatly summarize the larger themes and messages he wanted to convey to his audience.
“Turn on” meant gaining a higher and sharper consciousness, enabling a person to be more connected with the inner self. “Tune in” meant establishing harmony with the world and creation, aware of one’s surroundings. “Drop out” meant shedding personal baggage and detaching from a cluttered cultural mindset which prevented one from gaining clear insights into the nature of life. Say this much for Wisconsin: That last emphasis on greater clarity certainly applies to this game against Minnesota. Coach Leary might actually have known what he was talking about.
In the title of this piece, I switched the order of the first two Leary commandments for a simple reason: Turning it on against the Golden Gophers — elevating the Badgers’ level of play from the previous several weeks — won’t happen unless or until Wisconsin tunes in and blocks out the noise and the distractions provided by College GameDay and the media spotlight which will greet this game, arguably the biggest in the entire history of the Badgers-Gophers football series, and certainly the biggest game since 1962. Wisconsin has to be tuned in for the “turning on” and “dropping Minnesota out” of the Rose Bowl to happen. Focus is the first point of emphasis.
This point is obvious enough, but it merits a little more explanation. I wrote last week about why Wisconsin fans shouldn’t be too worried about the uneven performance against Nebraska. I will briefly reiterate that point after another ragged and choppy display against Purdue: This team took a few powerful punches in Champaign and Columbus. Many teams need time to recover from a few significant emotional blows. Wisconsin had been roaring through its season until the fourth-quarter stumble against Illinois. Then, Ohio State did what Ohio State has been doing to every opponent this season: It bludgeoned an opponent into submission. Wisconsin had to take its lumps. Players have been less certain about themselves. The injuries in the secondary certainly haven’t helped, but the level of play isn’t nearly as crisp or as confident on defense as it was for the first several weeks of the season.
Yet, beneath the struggles lies an elemental reality: With Minnesota surprisingly rising to the top tier of the Big Ten, the Badgers knew — when they lost in Columbus — that the Gophers provided the “circle in red” game in November. Iowa was a task to be handled. Nebraska and Purdue were games to get through and check off on a box. No one was going to remember those games unless Wisconsin lost them. Those were the “take care of business” games in which even the most impressive 59-0 victory really wouldn’t have proved much. The other side of the coin is that Wisconsin’s sloppy displays against the Huskers and Boilermakers ALSO don’t prove very much.
It was always Minnesota. The Golden Gophers, once they announced themselves as contenders this season, were always going to be the team by which Wisconsin measured the success of its 2019 journey. Does Wisconsin want a rematch with Ohio State? Sure it does… but even if the matchup happens and Ohio State thumps the Badgers again, Wisconsin won’t suffer in the realm of national perception. Everyone knows Ohio State is an elite team. There is absolutely no shame in losing big to the 2019 Buckeyes, who had Dwayne Haskins last year and somehow got BETTER at quarterback this year. That’s just unfair. If Wisconsin loses to OSU a second time, no one will hold it against the Badgers.
It’s all about Minnesota. If Wisconsin — after living in an emotionally diminished world the past few weeks, in games which felt like burdens more than opportunities and offered very little upside beyond the bottom-line value of winning and staying in the Big Ten West race — can tune in and turn it on against the Gophers, Madison will be euphoric. The UW community will party deep into the night next Saturday and early Sunday.
If Wisconsin — struggling to play its best football for roughly a full month — answers the bell with a top-tier effort and ruins P.J. Fleck’s season on the road, claiming back Paul Bunyan’s Axe while winning the Big Ten West, nothing else will matter as much as that. Penn State might get the Rose Bowl bid (even though it might not deserve it, but that’s a separate conversation). Ohio State might go to the playoff. The Badgers might finish 10-3 after the flawless first several games of the season, which could be seen as a disappointment by college football fans in other regions of the country. Yet, for Wisconsin to take some punches and then rise to a high level in the spotlight — against Minnesota, in a high-stakes game in the larger history of this rivalry — would give Badger fans one of the more satisfying feelings they have ever experienced.
All the drift and inconsistency of the past few weeks haven’t felt that great. They haven’t been fun to watch on television or in the stands. Yet, in these three games against Iowa, Nebraska and Purdue, one basic point has remained intact: Wisconsin hasn’t needed to be its very best to handle any of those teams. In a sport where — as we can see — even Ohio State can snooze after taking a 21-0 lead at home, or Oklahoma very nearly blew a 21-point lead at home for the second time in November, we are reminded that college athletes won’t be mentally airtight, impervious to lapses or letdowns, over a full season.
Yes, the past three weeks haven’t shown Wisconsin at its best. So what? If Wisconsin tunes in, turns it on, and drops Minnesota out of the national picture (and the Rose Bowl) this Saturday, no one in Madison will care about those past three weeks. Moreover, no one would have any legitimate reason to do so. Minnesota is here. Wisconsin just has to tune in and let the rest take care of itself.
