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Wisconsin has finally reached the most anticipated point on its schedule. What happens against No. 1 Ohio State will tell a lot about how prepared the 18th-ranked Badgers really are.
A loss to Michigan State has dimmed the Badgers' chances for a BCS bowl game, but beating the Buckeyes on Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium would make the biggest statement so far in coach Bret Bielema's five-year tenure.
''To go against an opponent at a level that Ohio State has been able to uphold for so long is going to be a nice measuring stick,'' Bielema said Monday. ''I think our guys will have that in the back of their minds and move forward. Hopefully, everybody will be at a position to be at their best on Saturday.''
Wisconsin (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) has a chance to elevate itself back into the upper echelon of the league, and it's an opportunity the Badgers are excited to get with a trip to No. 15 Iowa coming a week later.
''We're really, really revved up for these next two games. Our preparation is going to be outstanding this week, because we're extremely fired up about the challenge that they present and we're ready to go,'' defensive end J.J. Watt said after the Badgers beat Minnesota last weekend. ''We need to be tough, physical, and we just need to do Wisconsin. We need to do what we do, get after the quarterback a little bit, and it's going to be a fun week.''
Athletic director Barry Alvarez rebuilt a foundering program in the 1990s into a perennial power, but the Badgers have never been able to make a long run to the top of polls.
With Nebraska joining the Big Ten next year, Wisconsin's road will only get tougher. A win over Ohio State would end the frustrations of fans and be a signature win in Bielema's tenure as Alvarez's hand-picked successor, who took over in 2006.
Bielema had a 12-1 record that first season, but Wisconsin didn't play Ohio State and was left out of the BCS. The coach is 43-15 overall, but has never beaten a top 10 team, going 0-4, and is winless in three games against Ohio State.
''It's a game for us, and for me personally, of tremendous challenge, but it's all out of respect,'' Bielema said. ''I just really admire what they do. Until we're able to surpass that and get a 'W,' that's what we have to live with.''
Wisconsin may offer its strongest challenge to date with fifth-year senior quarterback Scott Tolzien, a deep and experienced offensive line and two dynamic running backs - reigning Big Ten offensive player of the year John Clay and freshman James White.
Clay and White have combined for 1,177 yards rushing, the second-best in the country behind Michigan State's Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell (1,232). White is averaging 7.7 yards per attempt, more than a yard over the school's all-time mark.
''Our offense has so many weapons, and we know that. We see them every day in practice,'' Watt said. ''When they're hitting on all cylinders on a Saturday, it's tough to stop.''
The Badgers will also have the atmosphere of a night game at Camp Randall Stadium.
Wisconsin is 25-3 in its last 28 games under the lights and the Badgers believe they've learned the lessons of bitter losses at home to Ohio State in 2008 and in Columbus last season.
''Each game has been a little bit different, but the common denominator in all of them is we weren't able to hold together what we needed to for 60 minutes,'' Bielema said. ''It's 60 minutes of reactions to what happened and we have to handle it better, longer than we have in the past.''
