[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]It's Wisconsin's home opener at Camp Randall Stadium. UW is playing a Division I-AA opponent. According to Bielema — and just about any Badger you ask — "most teams make their largest amount of improvement from game one to game two."

Well, it sounds like Wisconsin shouldn't even show up on Saturday, right? After all, a Division I-AA team should be worse than any D. I-A team, and the Badgers trashed the worst of that bunch, Temple University, 65-0 in the second game of the 2005 season.

In the words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend." History shows that underestimating any team from college football's minor leagues can be very, very costly.

Just start with last weekend. The University of Colorado, a program in desperate need of an image overhaul, didn't do itself any favors by dropping the first game of the season to — there's no making this up — Montana State, a team that went 7-4 in 2005.

Last year, the Bobcats lost to such national powerhouse programs as Cal Poly, Portland State and Eastern Washington.

What's worse, the Buffaloes managed to become the laughingstock of NCAA football while embarrassing themselves in their own stadium. The home loss left many Colorado fans stunned and leaving Folsom Field in disgust.

But CU wasn't the only Division I victim during the NCAA's opening weekend. Duke and New Mexico, by losing to D. I-AA teams Richmond and Portland State respectively, also took the fall as D. I-A schools losing to teams from a lesser division.

Go back a little further, and there's more success to be found out of the AA conferences. In 2002, I-AA teams collected eight wins against I-A squads, and garnered nine more in 2003. All told, since the beginning of the 2002 campaign, I-AA teams have a .107 winning percentage against I-A programs. One out of every 10 such games has gone in the favor of the major underdog.

So, what is to be learned from all of this? From Wisconsin's point of view, Saturday's contest should serve as a tune-up game to work on certain things heading into the Big Ten season, while being mindful of the task at hand, which is to win the game.

"I think, first of all, you do what you need to do to win," said UW offensive coordinator Paul Chryst, when asked about Wisconsin's game plan against Western Illinois. "I think you do want to be balanced, and yet I don't think you go in predetermined, saying you need to do more throws or more runs."

Senior tackle Joe Thomas said the Badgers know how to treat this game as just another important facet in the 2006 season, on the road to accomplishing goals for the end of the season.

"It's not hard at all," Thomas said of maintaining focus. "This is just another challenge for us, another opportunity for us to show what kind of team we are."

Thomas added that regardless of the Bobcats' supposed talent level, it's difficult for any football team to operate against an entirely unknown system.

"They run a lot of different stuff, offensively and defensively," Thomas explained. "It's going to definitely be a big week mentally to try to prepare and get used to something that's a lot different than what we're used to seeing."

UW receiver coach Henry Mason also talked about Western Illinois as a team that won't play any other teams during 2006 that are in the same zip code as Wisconsin when it comes to national stature.

"I haven't looked at their schedule, but I would say this may be one of their bigger games," Mason said, perhaps in a major understatement. "I expect to see them come in here, play as hard as they can, play well and have an opportunity to fire the shot 'round the world, to beat a team out of the Big Ten.

"So I expect we'll get their best shot."

Perhaps it was UW head coach Bret Bielema who put the situation into perspective best at his press conference last Monday.

"The fact of the matter is it's going to be 11 out of 11," Bielema said. "There's going to be a football field with a ball in play, and our guys are going to relish the opportunity to get out there. I know that Western Illinois is going to come into this [playing hard]."

After mentioning that he was aware of the other Division I-A victims from the past weekend, Bielema went on to pronounce his team's attitude toward playing a I-AA team.

"We don't put any specifications on it. You know, we're not saying that this week we're playing a I-AA opponent," Bielema said. "What we're saying is we're playing Western Illinois University, and they have a lot of talented football players."