Non-conference play proved to be a breeze for the Wisconsin football team, but with the Big Ten season beginning this weekend, the Badgers will find out just how good of a team they really are.
The No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers come to Madison hoping to make their mark on the Big Ten and the Badgers in their inaugural conference game Saturday.
UW head coach Bret Bielema knows how big of a game this is and also how important home-field advantage will be.
""Camp Randall should be rocking,"" Bielema said.
The Badgers are not taking this game lightly by any means, and Bielema wants students to get to the game early and make Camp Randall Stadium as loud as possible.
""We encourage everybody to get in their seat and bring as much red as possible and make that place electric,"" he said.
Saturday's matchup will be the first game at Camp Randall Stadium between two teams ranked in the top 10 since 1962, and with all the media attention that goes along with a game like this, the players have to maintain their concentration.
""You've got football, you've got academics; this is a busy time for us,"" Bielema said. ""Our kids really have to be great about where their focus is.""
Nebraska is undefeated and coming off of a 38-14 win at Wyoming. They run a fast-paced, no-huddle attack that utilizes a quick tempo to catch their opponents off guard. While this may be a different offensive scheme than what the Badgers employ, the two teams do share several similarities, which are not lost on Bielema.
""Both of our athletic directors are former coaches that had hall-of-fame careers,"" Bielema said, ""Nebraska players are like Wisconsin players; they both really love to play the game.""
Bielema and Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini have some similarities themselves, both getting their first taste of coaching at the University of Iowa. As a graduate assistant for the Hawkeyes, Pelini even helped coach Bielema for one season in 1991.
Historically the Cornhuskers have had excellent defenses, known as the ""Blackshirts,"" and this season they appear as formidable as ever. Two stars, senior defensive lineman Jared Crick and senior cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, return to Nebraska's lineup after missing time due to injuries, but Wisconsin's offense hopes to keep rolling after its hot start. Through four games, the Badgers are ranked sixth nationally in points per game (48.5) and 13th in rushing offense, averaging over 245 yards per game.
One of the few concerns about this Badgers team heading into this game is the fact that it has not been in a competitive game through four quarters, but Bielema feels that his team is ready to play a full 60 minutes.
""We haven't been in a competitive situation much beyond the second quarter, but that is something that I'm not really concerned a great deal about with this group because of the way they think and they way they're wired,"" Bielema said.
With ESPN heading to town, the eyes of the nation will be fixed on Madison this week. Fans will finally see how the Badgers handle their first true test of the 2011 season and find out if they are worthy of their top-10 ranking. If you ask Bielema, they'll be more than ready to go.
""We're here (in the top 10), we don't plan on leaving, so lets take advantage of some of the opportunities that are coming in front of us,"" he said.
