What's the best way to boost the confidence of a fairly young, untested football team? Give it a narrow loss to the seventh-ranked team in the nation in an opposing stadium famous for its rambunctious fans.
What's the best way to frighten that fairly young, untested football team? Put them up against an excellent team of receivers and a quarterback who, in only two games, has thrown for 538 yards and five touchdowns.
Last weekend's game against Oregon may have resulted in a 31-28 loss, but it featured a more prepared, confident Wisconsin lineup.
'I really like the way they [UW] competed, and I thought they fought, gave themselves the chance to win,' Head Coach Barry Alvarez said in a press conference Monday.
The loss to Oregon is in the past, however, and the Badgers must remain focused Saturday in order to get past Fresno State (2-0 overall).
The Bulldogs are coming to Wisconsin after a sweeping 44-24 defeat over the Oregon State Beavers.
One key player the Badgers will need to concentrate on is senior quarterback David Carr, who threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns in last week's series with a 60 percent completion record this season.
'The man's pretty talented,' senior linebacker Nick Greisen said. 'I think if we can come out and play our defense, if we can get a lot of pressure on him, we'll be all right.'
When the Badgers step onto the field Saturday, they will undoubtedly rely on their young lineup to stop Fresno State.
However, after snagging the win over Virginia Aug. 25 and posing a real threat to Oregon last Saturday, Alvarez and the rest of the team have more confidence in the rookies.
'I see them playing, and I see them maturing and I see them growing fast,' Alvarez said. 'They've held up against some good competition [and] so far, they've held their own.'
Junior offensive lineman Al Johnson agrees. 'They don't take anything for granted,' he said. 'They earn the spots to be out there, they're enthusiastic to be out there, they're excited to be on the field'they work hard.'
One obvious concern of the Badgers is their low third-down conversion rate, something that could determine which team comes out with the victory Saturday.
Alvarez said he believes execution is the key, something the Badgers have not done much of this season.
'We've always been a ball control type of team and we're not that type of team right now,' Alvarez said. '[We] have to be able to sustain the ball and sustain drives.'
Sophomore quarterback Jim Sorgi added, 'We have to pick up third down, focus, concentrate a bit and finish it, finish everything, finish blocks.'
Despite these concerns, UW is prepared to host Fresno State and to do battle with an outstanding quarterback and an up-and-coming team.
'I have total confidence in [my] team,' Sorgi said.
