Football head coach Bret Bielema said Monday that he wants to move on from a disappointing loss to Michigan and prepare for Saturday's game against No. 12 Ohio State.
It's not easy, it's nothing I want to ever get used to,"" Bielema said of the Badgers' loss, their sixth in three years with Bielema as head coach. ""It's a very painful experience, but it's something you have to endure.""
He said the team is excited about Saturdays night's game at Camp Randall Stadium, where Wisconsin is riding a 16-game home winning streak, though that success will be put to the test by the Buckeyes, who were preseason favorites to win the Big Ten.
To come out of the Ohio State game with a win, Bielema said the Badgers will need to put the Michigan game behind them.
""The rest of the world can talk about last Saturday,"" Bielema said. ""We cannot spend one minute on Sunday to this coming Saturday worrying about what transpired on Saturday. We can correct it and move forward, but we cannot dwell on it.""
Despite Saturday's loss, Bielema said he was impressed with the way the Badger offense finished the game, saying ""for those guys to move forward, I look more toward how they played their last snap, and that's why I'm excited about the opportunity we have in front of us this week.""
At Michigan, tight end Travis Beckum did not play for most of the game because of a hamstring injury he aggravated during practice over the bye week. Bielema suggested that lack of time in practice may have led to Beckum's mistake lining up for a two-point conversion with seconds to go in the fourth quarter, which led to a penalty and Wisconsin missing an opportunity to tie the game.
""If Travis had lined up one half yard deeper on that two-point conversion, he probably would be the hero of Wisconsin football right now,"" Bielema said.
Wisconsin's defense, which allowed 21 yards of offense from the Wolverines in the first half, seemed to fade in the third and fourth quarters of Saturday's game. Despite holding Michigan to an average of 0.9 yards per play in the first half, the defense allowed all of Michigan's 27 points in the second.
Bielema said he believed that difference was because momentum swung away from the Badgers, not because of physical wear put on the defense. He also stressed looking ahead to the Ohio State game.
When the Badgers and Buckeyes met last season in Columbus, Ohio State running back Chris ""Beanie"" Wells ran for 169 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Buckeyes to a 38-17 win over Wisconsin. Wells returned from a toe injury Saturday against Minnesota, running for 106 yards on 14 carries as the Buckeyes defeated the Gophers 34-21.
Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor will start for the Buckeyes.
Against Minnesota, Pryor ran for two touchdowns and threw for one more.
Bielema said he was impressed with Pryor, calling him ""an extremely gifted playmaker"" and saying he has ""great presence.""
Saturday's match-up will be the first time Ohio State has come to Camp Randall Stadium since losing to the Badgers on a 79-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 2003 game.
