Heading into the 2007 college football season, this weekend’s game versus Michigan was circled on everyone’s schedule as one of the most anticipated games of the year. Both teams were ranked in the nation’s top ten before the season and the late season match up was projected to decide the Big Ten champion. This anticipation quickly fizzled when the Wolverines were upset by 34-32 by a FCS team in Appalachian State and lost to Oregon in the first two weeks of the season. Michigan has resurrected its season by winning eight straight games, remaining undefeated in the Big Ten with a 6-0 record. The Wolverines have fought their way back to No. 13 in the national rankings and are tied for first place in the Big Ten with Ohio State. “We try to take one game at a time and be 1-0,” said UW’s junior defensive lineman Mike Newkirk, “but I can’t say that there isn’t maybe a little something extra on those days when we get to play those teams, the big teams, we put a little more emphasis on it.” Meanwhile, Wisconsin managed to squeak through their non-conference schedule with close wins, but hit a wall when they lost two straight games to division foes Illinois and Penn State in consecutive weeks. The Badgers rebounded after their losses with two wins and hung close to No. 1 Ohio State for much of the game last week in Columbus.

This week’s game at Camp Randall Stadium may have lost some of its national appeal due to Wisconsin and Michigan’s losses already this season, but the rivalry game means everything to the players and coaches.

“I think that’s what everybody comes here to do, to play in the big games,” Newkirk said. “Big time players make big plays in big games and that’s what we come here for.”

In 2005, Wisconsin hosted No. 13 Michigan, to whom it had lost to in its six prior meetings, in a night game at Camp Randall that turned out to be a classic. With time winding down in the forth quarter, Barry Alvarez’s Badgers found themselves with the ball and down by four points. The Badgers drove 48 yards on 10 plays before a third-and-goal on the four-yard line. The Michigan defense zoned in on junior running back Brian Calhoun, who had amassed 214 of Wisconsin’s 283 yards prior to that point. Instead of giving the ball to Calhoun, the Badgers unexpectedly ran a quarterback draw with junior quarterback John Stocco, who ran into the end zone with an emotional touchdown to win the game 23-20.

“When we played them here at night, we won and that was a good feeling,” Newkirk said, adding that it was “something you probably only get a couple times.”

The 2006 meeting between the Badgers and the No. 6 Wolverines proved to be just as exciting. Both teams entered the game undefeated and hoping for a BCS bid. The Badgers took the lead twice at the Big House, but struggled for the remainder of the game. After the 10-10 tie late in the third quarter, Michigan’s sophomore wide receiver Mario Manningham caught a 38-yard touchdown pass that gave the Wolverines a lead that they would not surrender en route to a 27-13 win.

“They got the best of us [last year], but I still think we played a great game,” said senior defensive tackle Nick Hayden. “There are just a few things here and there that didn’t go our way, but we played a good game.”

The Michigan loss in 2006 proved to be Wisconsin’s only loss of the season and dismantled the Badgers run for the BCS championship. The Badgers finished the Big Ten season tied for second with Michigan at 7-1, but the head-to-head loss sent the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl. This denied the Badgers an at-large bid into the BCS Championship Series, because of a BCS rule that prohibits more than two teams from the same conference from playing in a BCS bowl.

Wisconsin hosts Michigan this weekend with a chip on its shoulder, trying to avenge its costly loss last season. Bret Bielema and the Badgers hope to give the Wolverines a loss that could cost them a Big Ten championship, like they gave the Badgers in 2006.

“No matter what, there’s always going to be motivation,” Hayden said. “If we’re playing a last- place team, it’s still big for us. But Michigan is definitely a huge game for us.”