Saturday will be the last time 18 of the UW seniors will take the field for the cardinal and white as they welcome the Bulls from Buffalo, N.Y. to Camp Randall Stadium.
Saturday's game will also be the first time that UW and Buffalo have met on a football field and it will give head coach Bret Bielema a chance to become the sixth rookie head coach to lead his team to 11 regular season wins in NCAA history. Bielema, however, would be the first to say it is not about him. Instead, it is about the 18 seniors making their final appearance in front of 82,000 Badger faithful.
""I want our seniors to understand and appreciate how much they've accomplished here at the University of Wisconsin,"" Bielema said. ""They're going to graduate. They're going to leave our program. But their mark on our program is going to be there for many years to come.""
While Buffalo has had its fair share of struggles this season coming into Wisconsin with a 2-8 overall record, UW is not going to overlook the Bulls.
""This week we have a task in front of us,"" Bielema said. ""The University of Buffalo comes in, and they're a team that has gotten better every week, [and they also] have a first-year head coach in Turner Gill who has been successful on every level of competition.""
Buffalo notched its biggest win of the season as they upset Mid-American Conference contender Kent State 41-14 two weeks ago.
For UW, the status of senior quarterback John Stocco is still uncertain but after a strong showing last week in Iowa City, junior quarterback Tyler Donovan proved he can handle the job.
""If he's [Stocco] able to play next weekend, he'll be the starter,"" Bielema said. ""If not, then Tyler Donovan has shown me that he's more than capable of stepping into the role.""
With his performance last weekend, Donovan helped notch another first for the seniors, that being a victory over Iowa, and also tallied UW's 10th win of the season. With that win, UW was launched into the top 10 of the Bowl Championship Series rankings.
""It's nice to receive a certain ranking in certain polls,"" Bielema said. ""But that's based on what you've done and it can all be taken away from you in a matter of a weekend, so that's why we have to prepare this week.""
With a win over Buffalo, UW would tie the 1998 Badger squad with 11 wins on the season, the only difference is UW would have a shot to set a new record this season if they were to win their bowl game. Bielema's mantra has been 1-0 each week and that goal will be even more important this weekend as the seniors say goodbye.
""Being our last game in Camp Randall [for] our seniors, it will have special meaning for them,"" Bielema said. ""Certain things that we'll be able to do before the game to recognize them, but ultimately that class is all about this team, and it's one more opportunity to play the game of football.""
