It's going to be a strange game all around.
It's going to be strange for fans in the first game back at Camp Randall since the terrorist attacks Sept. 11., as spectators will be barred from taking in most carry-in items and purses and fanny packs will be searched.
It's going to be strange to see the Badgers, one week after a hard-fought victory against a Big Ten conference rival, taking on a school from the Gateway Conference, traditionally known more for being unknown than for sporting top football teams.
And it's going to be strange for the Badgers, a rushing powerhouse over the last several years, to take on a Western Kentucky team that averages 140 yards more per game on the ground than UW.
But all this strangeness will make Saturday's game all the more interesting.
Indeed, something is going to have to give between the Hilltoppers' defense, which gives up only 195 yards per game, and the Badgers' offense, which averages 23 points and 404 yards per game.
The Badgers' passing offense has taken over this year, and junior wideout Lee Evans ranks second in the nation with 485 receiving yards.
UW Head Coach Barry Alvarez is concerned with the Western Kentucky secondary, which holds offenses to just more than 100 yards per game passing and averages passing plays of only 5.2 yards.
'A couple [of Western Kentucky players] have played in the [Big Ten and] will be at that same level of some pretty good secondaries we've seen already,' Alvarez said.
Alvarez hopes to dominate the Hilltoppers with the Badgers' running game, headed up by redshirt freshman running back Anthony Davis, whose 153.5 yards per game lead the nation.
Junior quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who returned last week from injury to start for the first time since Aug. 25, is averaging more than 60 rushing yards per game.
Alvarez said ball control through the running game was a key to the Badgers' 18-6 victory last Saturday over Penn State, adding that using Bollinger as a rusher makes ball control even easier.
'I [think] we use Brooks very well,' Alvarez said. 'When you have a multi-talented quarterback, you want the defenses to have to defend all that. We give defenses problems.'
The Badgers' defense, led by last week's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, senior tackle Wendell Bryant, is holding opponents to 141 rushing yards per game and will look to contain a Western Kentucky offense that scored the majority of its 22 points on the ground. So far this season, the Hilltoppers have accumulated 91 percent of all their total yards by running the ball.
Western Kentucky has struggled when it has faced teams with strong run defenses, dropping a 17-13 decision to Western Illinois Aug. 30, when the Hilltoppers were held to about 200 yards rushing.
Alvarez said in his Monday press conference that he hopes his team will also be able to contain Western Kentucky's weak passing offense, which averages less than 60 yards per game.
The key to Wisconsin's potential dominance is its defensive line, which has 16 sacks in the team's first four games.
Wisconsin matches up against an offensive front five who have allowed only four sacks thus far in the season.
Although the Badgers are favored by double digits, the line may be misleading. Western Kentucky hasn't seen a nationally known team yet this year and small schools, such as Fresno State, always have extra motivation when they play schools from big conferences.
The Badgers hope this game will prepare them for the rest of their Big Ten schedule. Alvarez said he believes his team won't look past Western Kentucky, knowing the importance of every game, while the Hilltoppers look to put their powerful rushing offense on the map.
The Badgers may be in trouble if the game remains close in the latter stages, as kicker Mike Allen missed two field goals and had an extra point blocked last week against the Nittany Lions, and Alvarez hinted in his press conference that he felt the sophomore 'wasn't mentally ready for the game.'
If Allen fails to show up again and the Hilltoppers keep the game close with their suffocating defense and crushing rushing offense, Western Kentucky could score the win against a nationally known team.
