Bret Bielema handed out personal honors on the offensive and defensive ends Monday during his weekly press conference, while also looking ahead to the Badgers' contest this Saturday against Northwestern.
Bielema awarded the offensive Most Valuable Player from Saturday's game to the players who don't get all the stats but make the running game what it is: The offensive line, tight ends and fullback crops.
""Those guys really enabled us to do what we did in the second half and be able to close that game out the way we did,"" Bielema said.
Others who received recognition were freshman running back James White and senior tight end Lance Kendricks.
White carried the ball 23 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns, and for his performance White received the title of Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week for the fourth time this year. His running mate, sophomore Montee Ball, added 173 yards of his own against Michigan, with four touchdowns.
""The guy is really continuing to get better every game that he's been out there,"" Bielema said of White.
Kendricks, who has caught 35 passes for 547 yards and four touchdowns, is one of the three finalists for the Mackey Award, which is given to the best tight end in the country.
""[The Mackey Award] is something special for him, and hopefully he can close this out and be able to win that award,"" Bielema said of Kendricks.
This next game is the Badgers' senior day, and Bielema acknowledged that it will difficult for him emotionally to see his first group of recruits play their last home game.
""They really deserve a very special sendoff. They've sacrificed a bunch, been through transition here and have really been the leading voices and leading personalities,"" Bielema said. ""Every one of those kids has got a story … everyone of them you could write a pretty neat chapter on and it'd make a great book. I can't ask for a better group to start the core foundation with.""
Bielema, most importantly now though, is ready to focus on Northwestern.
The Wildcats (3-4 Big Ten, 7-4 overall) come into this week's contest having lost their last game against Illinois, 48-27. Additionally, Northwestern will be playing without their starting quarterback Dan Persa, who tore his Achilles' tendon in the Wildcat's win over Iowa.
Bielema acknowledged, however, that Northwestern is a team that has beat them in the past and could do so again.
""Last year they showed that they could line up and play toe to toe with us,"" Bielema said. ""They're very physical and very smart.""
The Badgers (6-1, 10-1) are currently in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten with Michigan State and Ohio State, and if the Badgers can beat Northwestern, they can almost assure themselves of a BCS bowl berth. This will be no easy task, however, with Wisconsin and the Wildcats splitting the wins evenly between them since 1984.
