Evidenced by an empty Camp Randall Stadium Saturday, the Badgers football squad (5-0, 0-0) was not in action. This weekend served as a vital bye week for the tired team. With the absence of a game this week, the Badgers had time to recuperate and prepare for the Big Ten season, and more importantly, their next opponent, Penn State (3-1, 0-1).
When the Badgers come out of the tunnel Saturday, will they be well-rested or well-rusted? The Badgers have recently been plagued with a multitude of injuries, including a thigh contusion to senior quarterback Brooks Bollinger and a slightly sprained ankle to sophomore running back Anthony Davis. Both are expected to start on Saturday.
\I feel great right now and I feel all the little bumps and bruises are out of the way,"" said Bollinger when asked about his health. Senior offensive lineman Ben Johnson also commented on some other members of the team having several minor injuries, all of which he said were inevitable but not serious.
Over the past 10 seasons, after bye weeks, the Badgers are 5-4-1, with one of those wins coming against Penn State. The Badgers have often appeared impressive after their week off, despite the sub-par record. Substantial wins against Penn State, Minnesota and Northwestern have characterized the Badgers' success after such a break.
Head Coach Barry Alvarez noted, ""I think we've historically played well after a bye week."" ""[We can] get a jumpstart on Penn State and get healthy and get feeling a 100 percent,"" Bollinger commented regarding the week off. Bollinger and Johnson said that they had the opportunity to view Penn State play Iowa this weekend, resulting in an exciting underdog victory for the latter.
Penn State, ranked No. 12 nationally, lost in a stunner to unranked Iowa, 42-35, last week. With a 23-0 shutout at halftime, the Hawkeyes were sure to win. However, the Penn State offense rallied and tied the game at 35 each with time expiring.
In overtime, Iowa scored on the first possession and Penn State failed to score, ending in a Hawkeye victory. The Nittany Lions have had impressive victories against No. 7 Nebraska and Louisiana Tech, but squeaked by Central Florida in August. Penn State comes into Madison with a ranking of No. 20, facing a No. 19-ranked Badger team.
The bye week also came at an opportune time for the Badgers, because it afforded star senior wide receiver Lee Evans an extra week to heal and prepare for some possible playing time against the Nittany Lions Saturday. Evans, who tore his ACL during spring practice, has been sidelined for the first five games of this season. Alvarez said that no announcement will be made about Evans' condition; he will play when he is ready to play.
""We needed a bye week, and as I said last week, it came at the right time,"" Alvarez said. The Badgers had several practices last week, but they were back to full force yesterday. According to Alvarez, the team practiced in full pads yesterday, in an attempt to ""knock off some of the rust"" and gear up for Head Coach Joe Paterno and his fierce squad. Johnson said, ""[Alvarez] had a good plan for the bye week and I think it puts us in a good position to take full advantage of it and make it a positive for us.""
With the bye week, Alvarez and the other coaches were also allotted some extra time to view more film and prepare a better game plan. Alvarez also commented that he was amazed at the explosiveness of Penn State's offense against Iowa last Saturday.
The overall consensus from the Badgers is that they had a great bye week. The team is set for their biggest challenge of the season to date. The game will highlight college football nationally this weekend, placing No. 20 Penn State at No. 19 Wisconsin. Wisconsin is ready. Is Penn State?
