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Peter Konz's knees ached more than ever on the late flight back from East Lansing, Mich.
The Wisconsin center was restless, unable to sleep after Michigan State's final-play prayer was answered to knock the Badgers from the ranks of the unbeaten last Saturday night.
''No happy faces. Very quiet,'' Konz said of the flight. ''Everything hurts just a little more.''
Their hopes for a BCS title run dashed for now, the 12th-ranked Badgers (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) have no choice but to move forward. They won't get much of a breather. Next up is a trip to Ohio State, which was No. 1 when the Badgers knocked them off 31-18 last season.
The Buckeyes (4-3, 1-2) were embroiled in an offseason of turmoil that resulted in Jim Tressel's resignation as coach. They started slow, but stuffed Illinois two weeks ago and had a week off to rest up and watch Wisconsin's deflating 37-31 loss to the Spartans.
''For as much as we lost out of the loss, we gained a lot. What we gained was the ability to just go out there and play. The pressure, the media is not all crazy all over you like they had been,'' left guard Travis Frederick said. ''It kind of just gets everybody that level head and I think that is the biggest thing we could've gained throughout the whole season.''
''And it's unfortunate that it had to come from a loss,'' Frederick added. ''But a loss is going to help us in the end, I think.''
The Badgers' biggest success last season came after a similar loss at Michigan State when they returned to Camp Randall Stadium and beat the Buckeyes. Wisconsin went on to win the tiebreaker over Michigan State and Ohio State to reach the Rose Bowl for the first time in 11 years.
With the addition of Nebraska to the conference and the divisions of Leaders and Legends, Wisconsin controls its fate on the field and could face Michigan State again. The margin for error, though, is gone if the Badgers want to reach the inaugural Big Ten title game in Indianapolis on Dec. 3.
''It's not like it was before where if you lose one you have to hope for everybody else (to lose),'' Konz said. ''It seems like there's a little more controlling your destiny in this. Then you get into the Big Ten championship where it's ranked team versus ranked team that can shoot you up (the standings). I mean, we've seen it in SEC, ACC.''
What remains to be seen is just how Wisconsin will respond to the loss. In 2009, the Badgers dropped consecutive games before rallying to finish 10-3. Konz said the key from 2009 to last season was how Wisconsin regained its focus at practice.
''When you just forget about the loss and just refocus yourself, you put the season for what it is ahead of you as in one game at a time,'' Konz said. ''We've got a tough Big Ten schedule; we can't just let it go because of one loss. When you refocus and you get everybody on board, then you can do some special things. And I think that's what happened last year.''
Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema expects that to happen again starting Saturday against the Buckeyes in part because there's so much left to play for over the next five weeks.
''This week is a divisional game. Four of our next five are. The only one that's not is Minnesota, which I don't think we'll have any issues getting motivated for that game,'' Bielema said. ''With Purdue, with Penn State and Ohio State coming, those are big ones.''
Quarterback Russell Wilson, the North Carolina State transfer who came to Wisconsin for a shot at a national title, felt he could've done more and that the Badgers would've beaten the Spartans if he had one more possession.
''It's always difficult (to lose), especially when you're one of the leaders on the team, play quarterback, and all that, it's definitely difficult just to say, `Ah, that's OK.' It's not that way. But in terms of how I do it, I watch the film,'' Wilson said. ''I just chart myself and just see what I can do better, and figure out how I can get our offense better, and just the team just in general. And then I move on, and grow from it.''
Now, Wisconsin will either grow up fast or wither in another hostile environment.
''What it comes down to is us playing the next five games. We need to go out there and win each of those games if we want anything to happen,'' Frederick said. ''It comes down to winning.''
