The Badger football team (0-1 Big Ten, 5-1 overall) travel to Bloomington this weekend for their first Big Ten road game, against the Indiana Hoosiers (0-1, 2-3). Wisconsin, after taking the nation by surprise with a perfect nonconference record, dropped its first league game to Penn State Oct. 5 and faces the challenge of working its way back to the top of the polls.
\Naturally we're disappointed after the way we performed last week,"" defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. ""We've been working hard this week to correct what went wrong and try to make sure it doesn't happen again.""
Indiana routed the Badgers in Madison last season 63-32, marking one of the biggest defeats in UW history.
""We put behind last year,"" Cosgrove said. ""We're not even talking about that.""
For many that played in that blowout loss, however, it is not so easy to put behind.
""It hasn't been our battle cry, but everybody who played that game last year remembers. It's in the back of their mind,"" senior center Al Johnson said. ""Nobody forgot what happened last year.""
This Hoosier squad, however, barely resembles the one from last season. IU lost offensive stars quarterback Antwaan Randle El and running back Levron Williams, hired new coach Gerry DiNardo and even changed their uniforms.
DiNardo, known most recently in college football for his coaching stint with Louisiana State in the mid-to-late '90s, was hired after a string of losing seasons prompted Indiana to bring in new leadership.
""He is technically a very good coach,"" Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez said. ""Any team he's ever coached, they're fundamentally very sound.""
Indiana's new offensive look starts with senior quarterback Gibran Hamdan, who was inserted into the starting line earlier this season. Hamdan received some praise for his composure against a dominating Ohio State pass rush two weeks ago.
Hoosier fans had high expectations for the starting wide receivers, but thus far have seen only mixed results. The receivers have made big plays in some games and combined for a plethora of drops in others. One thing to look out for on the IU offense is freshman running back Yamar Washington. Many believe he has game-breaking potential but it is still too early to make any definitive evaluations.
With sophomore running back Anthony Davis not making as many big plays this season and the offensive line coming under heavy criticism after recent performances, the Badgers can take comfort in the fact that Indiana ranks among the worst in Division I-A rush defense. Indiana has played two premier rushing teams this year, Utah and Ohio State and was badly beaten by both.
""We don't really get into that,"" Johnson said. ""It'd be the same as if we were playing the No. 1 rush team'you get fired up the same way.""
Though their pass defense is stronger, the Hoosiers still lack consistency. This is good news for Wisconsin, as concern surrounds the passing attack following last weekend's game where normally consistent wide receivers dropped several clutch passes. Additionally, the return of standout senior wide receiver Lee Evans remains a question mark.
One of the greatest threats Wisconsin poses is their proficiency at forcing turnovers. UW has a turnover margin of plus 13, tied for fourth best in the nation, due largely to the secondary.
""We're still gonna try to get as many turnovers as we've been getting [and] try to get the offense more opportunities to score,"" sophomore cornerback Scott Starks said.
Though UW will not garner much national attention in their match this week, it is a very important game for them. The team's early-season victories bred talk of a Rose Bowl and a Big Ten Championship, but either of these honors would be significantly harder to reach by starting the conference season with two losses.
""We still have a chance to win the Big Ten, but we just made it a little harder on ourselves,"" Starks said.
