Bret Bielema is Still Complaining About Loss to Wisconsin Football

Do I believe Newton had malicious intent? No. But by the letter of the law, it was the literal definition of targeting. If you don’t believe me, read the targeting rule for yourself: 

“If a player leads with the crown of his helmet, it’s targeting whether or not the player is defenseless.”

After Newton’s ejection, the Badgers capitalized on the situation. Wisconsin football redshirt freshman quarterback Braedyn Locke stepped up, and the rest is history.

But Bret Bielema’s Whining Didn’t Stop There 

In another response to a Tweet, Bret Bielema took issue with Wisconsin Badgers nickel cornerback Jason Maitre. In the video, Maitre is clapping his hands when he shifts across the formation, leading to an Illinois false start. 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I take issue with this for a few reasons. First, I have a hard time believing someone five yards behind the line of scrimmage clapping is enough to draw them offside. Why wasn’t it snapped if that was the correct clap for the Illini to snap it on? Also, a disciplined offensive line should know the cadence regardless, correct? 

Also, anytime a player is sent in motion, someone on the Wisconsin football defense must communicate with other defenders because the coverage is changing. 

Seems like Bielema is grasping at straws here. 

I understand that he has beef and wants to defend his players. But him burning a second-half timeout because he was mad at the officials and wanted to complain to the refs is malpractice. Seems like having that timeout at the end of the game would have been helpful, no? 

If Bret Bielema is seeking someone to blame, he should start by looking at the husky man in the mirror.