[media-credit name=’Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]With a trip to the Rose Bowl potentially on the line, the Wisconsin football team (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) is set to pick itself up after a humiliating loss to Michigan State and get ready to face another tough road challenge Saturday afternoon against Iowa (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten).

“We’ll have to bounce back from a very difficult defeat,” Barry Alvarez said. “Michigan State did an outstanding job against us and we certainly have our work cut out for us this week against an excellent Iowa team.”

While the Badgers no longer control their own destiny with regards to a trip to Pasadena, they will likely know whether they got the help they needed before or early in the game against the Hawkeyes. However, Alvarez doesn’t expect scoreboard watching to be a great concern for his team.

“I had, probably one of the best lessons I learned one year, when we were with Iowa, we needed one of them, Ohio State or Michigan to win, I can’t remember which was which,” Alvarez said. “We sat around all day up in Minneapolis in the hotel and watched the game and the wrong one won. But we then went out there and we were very flat, played a lot like we did last week, just were very, very flat, and I thought that had something to do with it. So we’ll try to get, direct our guys’ attention away from that game.”

Even if Ohio State fails to knock off Michigan, Wisconsin will have plenty to play for as they can still earn second place in the Big Ten and a trip to the Capitol One Bowl with a victory Saturday afternoon.

The other prize that Wisconsin will be playing for is the Heartland Trophy, which will be presented to the winner of the game.

The Badgers will get a taste of one of the toughest environments in the Big Ten as they travel to Kinnick Stadium where Iowa has won 17 straight games. With the proximity of the stands to the field of play, Alvarez warned that the fans could become a distraction.

“The one thing that has to be addressed is how close the stands are to our benches,” Alvarez said. “I mean, you’re actually talking to players and there’s somebody sitting right there … you have a tendency to lose concentration, and you can’t be focused on the game if you’re bantering with somebody in the stands.”

While there are bowl berths and rowdy fans to distract the players, the Badgers will have to focus on an Iowa team that has reeled off six straight wins. One of the keys to that has been the play of the Iowa defense, which ranks third in the Big Ten in total defense giving up just 299.4 yards per game.

Not only does the defense smother its opponents, but it oftentimes takes the ball away from them as well. So far this year, the Iowa defense has forced 27 turnovers, the most in the Big Ten, while only giving the ball back 14 times. Their +13 turnover margin is also tops in the Big Ten.

“Defensively they’ve been very consistent,” Alvarez said. “They’ve been good, very good for the last three years. The scheme really hasn’t changed, and a lot of the guys haven’t changed.”

In particular, Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge have been sensational for the Hawkeye defense this year. Both rank among the conference elite in tackles; Greenway averages 9.4 tackles per game while Hodge accounts for another 9.0. Not surprisingly, the duo has helped Iowa become the toughest team to run against in the Big Ten (95.1 ypg).

On the offensive side of the ball, Iowa has turned first year starter Drew Tate loose at quarterback as it struggles with a plethora of injuries at running back.

“Drew Tate has really grown as a quarterback,” Alvarez said. “It’s been very impressive watching him grow.”

Rushing the football has been a particular challenge in Iowa this season. By the fifth week the Hawkeyes had lost their three top backs to knee injuries. Add to that the severely sprained ankle of fourth stringer Marques Simmons, who could return against Wisconsin, and all Iowa is left with is freshman Damian Sims and walk-on Sam Brownlee.

Brownlee leads the team in rushing with 204 yards this season, but was forced to leave last weeks game against Minnesota with a sprained ankle. He’s still listed as the starter this week.

Much like Wisconsin, Iowa has simply found ways to win in 2004, though rarely doing it with any style. While the team has shown the ability to have an explosive passing game, it has come more out of necessity than gameplan.

“We’re not gaudy, statistically,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “The credit goes to our players; they’re finding a way to get the job done week in and week out.”

The fact that Iowa is in a position to overtake Wisconsin for second place in the Big Ten is certainly a surprise, considering the Hawkeyes started the season 2-2 (with the second loss coming in blowout fashion at the hands of Arizona State).

However, the Hawkeyes have taken things a game at a time since then and have put together an impressive six game winning streak.

“I didn’t know if we could make it to our next game frankly,” Ferentz said of his team recovering from the ASU loss. “At that point our only thoughts were, ‘What can we do here in the immediate future to get better?’ and that’s been our approach each and every week.”