Welcome to Saturday Scorecard, where we celebrate the notion that you never have to shovel rain, but have come to realize that snow generally doesn't seep through the basement floor.

Speaking of domestic bliss...

Remember Mom's warning that "If you don't have anything nice to say..."

Well, we are going to have to ignore that advice today regarding the University of Wisconsin football program.

The Badgers' 42-13 loss to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando provided a deflating end to a disappointing season. In September, the Badgers were mentioned as a contender for the Big Ten championship, a New Year's Day bowl and perhaps even greater riches.

Saturday afternoon, they got embarrassed.

It was awful. It was ugly. It was awfully ugly. It was, in short, the kind of loss that makes diehard fans skip past things like play-calling, coordinators and schemes and start questioning leadership, direction and future prospects. If Bucky Badger was not so entrenched on sweatshirts, bumper stickers and tattoos, he might be in jeopardy.

It was that bad, folks.

Florida State's returned two fumbles for touchdowns. That was all the offense that the Seminoles' needed. The rest -- the two touchdown passes by Christian Ponder, the booming punts by Graham Gano, who was named MVP, and the questionable calls by the refs were merely window dressing.

The Badgers (7-6), who lost six of their last nine games, three by 22 points or more, had not capped their season in such lopsided fashion since losing to Washington in the 1960 Rose Bowl, 44-8.

The only bright spots for Wisconsin were a decent defensive performance in the first half and a solid day by running back P.J. Hill, who carried the ball 15 times for 140 yards.

If you find yourself asking "Why didn't Hill get the ball more?" you are not alone.

There were two critical moments, though, that changed the landscape of the game for Wisconsin. Trailing by a 7-3 count late in the first half, the Badgers opted not to run out the clock. When quarterback Dustin Sherer couldn't generate a first down, Wisconsin punted. Florida State took over at midfield and needed four plays to score when Ponder hit Gregg Carr on a fade route for a 15-yard touchdown that made the score 14-3.

Things got worse for the Badgers in the second half. Much worse.

The second big turning point arrive din the third quarter. The Badgers trailed 14-6 when Jay Valai stripped the ball from Seminoles receiver Bert Reed. Valai recovered the ball at the FSU 25-yard line, but the play was overturned when replay officials determined that Reed's knee was down and that he and Valai had joint possession of the ball.

The Seminoles went on to score on a 6-yard run by Antone Smith and the blowout was on. A questionable roughing the kicker penalty set up another touchdown that made the score 28-6.

Game. Set. Match. Florida State. The Tomahawk Chop was in full force.

Wisconsin fumbled three times. The few times they seemed to be getting untracked of offense, the drive stalled due to poor execution, questionable play-calling (what was with that backward pass to Hill?) and a general malaise.

During what is certain to be a cold, dark winter of discontent in Madison, Sherer will come under heavy scrutiny. The Badgers need to address the quarterback issue, but this loss -- in the context of the 2008 season -- raises several other questions about recruiting, philosophy, the coaching staff and head coach Bret Bielema.

It's going to be an interesting off-season.