BY MATT LEPAY
Voice of the Badgers

MADISON, Wis. — It is an easy trap. Watch a team early in the season and make a final declaration. Either that team is really good, or it stinks.

Take Penn State. After watching them get run over by a truck named Michigan, I figured the Nittany Lions were in for another long year. Last Friday night during dinner, a few of us were talking about whether Penn State could give Ohio State trouble. Night game in Happy Valley. Another "White Out." It sounds good, and it always looks good, but the consensus was the Lions simply lacked the weapons to win.

Naturally, Penn State won the game.

So it goes in the wacky world of college football.

Think about what has transpired already this season. Who had Michigan State losing five straight games? Who had Nebraska winning its first seven outings?

Northwestern had a rugged start, which included home losses to Western Michigan, Illinois State and Nebraska. Suddenly, the Wildcats are on a roll, having won three in a row. Just like everyone figured, right?

The above examples are just from the Big Ten.

Anyone have Stanford with a 2-3 record in the Pac-12? Losing to Colorado by the everyday football score of 10-5?

Remember early in the season when the pundits considered Houston a serious threat to make the College Football Playoff? Two losses later, which includes last week's humbling 38-16 defeat to SMU, and the Cougars have moved off the radar.

Remember all the talk that Texas is back? The Longhorns are 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12.

I have yet to even mention Notre Dame. Enough said.

For the Badgers, people wondered how they would navigate a schedule many consider to be among the most challenging, if not THE most challenging in the nation. It was a fair question, made even more interesting given the number of injuries this team has faced.

One player returns, another player or two exits. Yet, the Badgers keep playing, and they keep playing well. Not perfectly, but certainly well enough each week to give themselves a chance.

One of Paul Chryst's favorite sayings is "Give yourself a chance to have a chance." Through seven games, his team is doing just that, led by a defense that — so far — is one of the very best in college football. Simply stated, it is all-day nasty.

The fun of sport is its unpredictable nature. Not just with teams, but with individuals. Last Saturday, the Badgers made it work with tag-team quarterbacks. They also go against the norm by shuffling the offensive line. Neither is necessarily because of injuries. They do it because they believe it gives them their best chance to win.

In other words, it gives them a chance to have a chance.

Which leads to yet another exciting week here in Madtown. Another night game against an unbeaten team. Halloween Weekend with the Badgers and the Huskers. Anyone care to predict how this tussle will unfold? I am fairly certain Camp Randall Stadium will be loud again. Other than that, I have no bold prediction.

We might believe we have all the answers, but the truth is we do not. As far as your favorite team is concerned, it seems we have learned it is a tough outfit that has earned a lot of national respect.

As we approach the end of October, we have learned the Badgers are in a position where they have given themselves a chance to … well, by now you should know the rest of the sentence.