At least the University of Wisconsin football team won't have to deal with runaway expectations heading into next season.

Tuesday's 21-17 loss to Tennessee in the Outback Bowl should take care of that.

Despite good feelings going into the game about overcoming injuries to qualify for a fourth straight January bowl, UW's flat performance prompted many to view this 9-4 season as a disappointment.

One of the most predictable things about bowl games — in addition to folks in gaudy blazers and a press box crammed with people more interested in the food than the game — is that the losing team vows the game will provide motivation for the offseason.

"That's one positive thing we can pull from (the loss): It's going to make guys hungry in the offseason,'' junior linebacker DeAndre Levy said. "I think that's one thing we lacked this year, that hunger.''

This season continued a discouraging trend for UW when it comes to lofty preseason rankings.

The Badgers were ranked seventh coming into the season, the fourth time they've been in the preseason Top 10 since 1994. The only time UW finished in the Top 10 was 1999, with a veteran team that started No. 10 and finished No. 4.

"I don't think it was anything about the expectations," UW coach Bret Bielema said. "There were points in the season where I don't think we performed at the level we were capable of, (but) I don't know if that was because of expectations, just a lack of execution.

"I'm not an excuse-maker, but it affects what you do when you have so many injuries and the significance, especially in preparation and not having an understanding of what we would have on Saturday makes it a little more difficult, especially from the defensive point of view."

But at least two team leaders, Levy and junior linebacker Jonathan Casillas, a captain, thought the team didn't respond well to the sky-high expectations.

"We just have to be more prepared, because I don't think we were as prepared this year, at the beginning of the year, as we were the year before," Casillas said. "We thought we knew how to handle it, but we really didn't. Now, we have a better grasp of that."

In search of answers

UW's defense failed to show up in the first half against Tennessee. The Badgers were plagued by coverage problems at safety and linebacker and poor tackling overall.

Although the defense didn't allow any second-half points, it struggled on third down. To start the fourth quarter, Tennessee converted on third-and-16, third-and-8 and fourth-and-3. The Volunteers were 9-for-18 on third down for the game.

"It's tough to win when you don't get off the field on third downs,'' Levy said. "We had a lot of chances. Even despite that, we still had a chance at the end. We played great at the end. A couple of more stops and it could have been a ballgame for us."

Three defensive starters — junior cornerback Allen Langford, freshman cornerback Aaron Henry and junior defensive tackle Jason Chapman — will be returning from ACL surgery next season.

Most players who have that surgery need six to eight months of rehabilitation. All three were hurt late in the season, which puts their status for the start of next season somewhat in doubt.

Junior cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu said the bowl loss made it more likely he will return for his senior season, saying he had "unfinished business here at Wisconsin." But he acknowledged his decision will hinge on where he is projected in the NFL draft.

"If my (draft) grade comes back and it's not where I think it should be, I think I would be selling myself short and I should come back and have the year I should have had this year," Ikegwuonu said. "But I've got to do what's best for my family and myself."

On offense, the Badgers will need to find a new starting quarterback and continue to rebuild the receiving corps.

Although it's nice to have depth at tailback, the first experiment using Zach Brown, P.J. Hill and Lance Smith in the same game did not go that well. Hill proved he was the best in the bowl game and should have been used more, rushing only 16 times for 132 yards.

But Bielema believes everything his team went through will only make it stronger next year.

"I think so, just the trials and tribulations, you figure those things out as a coach, as a player," he said. "We'll have three guys that had ACLs on defense (who) are going to go through a lot of challenges in their rehab. It makes them stronger players down the road, I believe."