When the 2007 schedule came out for the Wisconsin football team, a 2-0 mark was expected from anyone who considered themselves a Badger fan. However, the way the first two weeks unfolded has taken many by surprise.
In week one, UW found themselves allowing a bevy of passing yards in the first quarter against a Washington State team that started last year 6-3 but peaked and did not win a game the rest of the season. Falling behind early 7-0 and then again 14-7 the No. 7 Badgers found out that this season was going to be a grind.
UW did cruise to a sizable victory against the Cougars, but recognized a new trend that is beginning to develop: Opposing teams are targeting the Badgers on their calendars now that UW is beginning to gain legitimacy as a top-10 team.
We're a good team and we know team's are going to prepare for us,"" sophomore running back P.J. Hill said. ""It's all about preparing. We prepare just as hard for any team no matter if you're ranked or not.""
The Badgers headed out to UNLV this past weekend as 28-point favorites over what seemed to be a weak UNLV team. As the game progressed, the Badger's were in a major bind being down 13-12 with just over seven minutes to go. Senior quarterback Tyler Donovan's scamper to the end zone late in the game helped UW prevail, but UNLV clearly had a plan set in place to frustrate the Badgers.
""As an offense [being in] those kinds of situations, we just grow from [them] and we are going to learn from that situation so that when it arises again we are going to be prepared"" Donovan said.
With only one non-conference tilt remaining before Bucky takes to the difficult Big Ten schedule, the now ranked No. 7 team remains confident in what they need to do in order to continue winning and live up to the hype that has been building throughout fall camp and early in the season.
""That's the desire this team [has], that's a special thing going on the road and getting a win, that's what it's all about,"" Donovan said. ""For us we just have to keep building each week and fine tuning what we do best and what we need to work on.
""I can definitely feel the coaches and players eyes that this is a good test for us, we're learning what we're about,"" Donovan added.
UW's Big Ten schedule has away dates at No. 12 Penn State and No. 10 Ohio State. Couple those with home games versus Iowa and Michigan, and UW could very well have needed two games where they found themselves down early, because it may happen again.
If the Badgers can continue to build upon the learning experiences the first two games have brought forward, not only will they be battle-tested heading into the conference schedule but they will also be very capable of acing the test that could lead them to a Big Ten championship.
