That was only a year ago, but it probably seems like a lifetime for Badgers fans. UW has seven victories and six defeats since that point, including a 20-17 loss to No. 14 Ohio State before 81,608 gathered Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium.

Figuring out why UW has gone from magnificent to mediocre in 365 days isn't difficult.

It's quite simple, actually. The Badgers have somehow forgotten how to win close games.

They were 5-0 in games decided by six points or less during Bielema's near-perfect start after taking over for Barry Alvarez. Starting with a 31-26 loss to Illinois last Oct. 6, they've gone 1-4 in games decided by that same small margin, including back-to-back heartbreakers to the Big Ten Conference's premier programs.

"We let another one slip away,'' senior quarterback Allan Evridge said, "and we can't have it back.''

The Badgers were right there Saturday night. The final statistics were scary similar. Ohio State had 327 total yards of offense, UW had 326. Ohio State had 19 first downs, UW had 17. Ohio State converted 50 percent of its third downs, UW converted 53 percent. The turnovers were even at two apiece.

But, for the second consecutive week, the Badgers weren't good enough when it mattered most.

Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor, making his first start on the road, showed tremendous poise in leading the Buckeyes back from a 17-13 deficit in the fourth quarter.

On the go-ahead drive, Pryor completed 3 of 4 passes for 59 yards. He converted one third down with his arm, another with his leg. On the play of the game, he kept the ball on an option and raced 11 yards for the winning touchdown with 69 seconds remaining in the game.

Did we mention Pryor was a freshman making his first career start on the road?

The Badgers had plenty of time -- 63 seconds -- when they took over at their own 19 needing a field goal to force overtime and allow a chance to protect their 16-game winning streak at home.

But Evridge, a fifth-year senior, forced a throw on first down that was intercepted by Ohio State's Malcolm Jenkins.

Game over. Big Ten title hopes over.

The worst part for the Badgers is they could be 5-0 headed into a showdown of unbeatens with Penn State a week from now. It would have been a battle of Top 10 teams under the lights of Camp Randall.

Instead, UW is 3-2 and at the bottom of the Big Ten standings. It needs a victory -- and soon -- to keep a once-promising season from spinning out of control.

"We're a great team and we know it,'' Langford said. "We just had a couple misfortunes that didn't fall our way, but we're still a good team.''