[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Last week was put-up-or-shut-up time for the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines, and they put up 47 points on the scoreboard in a resounding victory over Notre Dame, the No. 2 team in the country at the time.

As the Wolverines return home to the Big House after the win, they face a team that, one week later, finds itself in a similar situation.

The Wisconsin Badgers have not really been tested in jumping out to a 3-0 start to the 2006 campaign, but still find themselves merely behind the velvet rope of both major national polls instead of on the list. They could very easily join the party with a monumental upset during Saturday's premiere morning game.

For the Wolverines, who have suddenly burst into discussions for the national championship, the game serves as a shot at revenge for Wisconsin's 23-20 comeback victory in Madison last year — a loss that knocked Michigan off of their No. 14 ranking and sentenced the Wolverines to a distressing 7-5 season.

"We've tried to be prepared for what we're faced with, and certainly every guy knows on our team what happened a year ago," Wolverine head coach Lloyd Carr said Monday at a press conference. "We couldn't move the football, and we couldn't stop them, so we know what Wisconsin will bring."

For the visiting Badgers, who have shown concern over a failure to produce one completely solid win during the early non-conference stretch, this is a golden opportunity not only to repeat their surprising feat from last year, but also to make some noise in the national polls for the first time this season.

Senior safety Joe Stellmacher, who pairs with linebacker Mark Zalewski for the team lead in tackles (25), said the Badger defense will need to play even better in the Big House than it did the past two weeks. This will be a tough task to accomplish for the Big Ten's top-scoring defense — Western Illinois' and San Diego State's offenses combined for just three points against UW — but the Michigan attack looks to be more than potent after slaughtering the Fighting Irish D.

"We're just going to have to bring our A-game — our A-plus game — if we don't do that, they're going to run all over us," Stellmacher said.

Michigan's offense is driven in large part by junior tailback Mike Hart, who has landed on many Heisman watch lists around the country.

Hart ranks eighth in the country and second in the Big Ten in rushing thus far with 128.7 yards per game on the ground. One spot above him on both lists is Wisconsin back P.J. Hill at 138.3 yards per game.

With a struggling passing game consisting of inexperienced receivers still trying to find a rhythm, it appears that the Badgers will need to count on another big game out of Hill, a 100-yard rusher in each of his first three games. Hill will have to work harder for yards against UM, which leads the Big Ten in rushing defense.

"Now I'm really going to experience the whole Big House thing," said Hill, adding that he won't be fazed by the 100,000-plus fans at Michigan Stadium. "When I'm on the field, I just block everybody out; I just block the fans out. So I don't think anything is going to affect me, I'm just going to go out there and play the game that I play."

Seeing as both Carr and UW head coach Bret Bielema have favored the running game thus far and thunderstorms are expected at kickoff, Hill said the game could be won by whichever team succeeds in a physical running war.

"They're fast and physical. They run to the ball, but we like to run the ball. We're also fast and physical," Hill said. "It's going to be a big battle. He'll [Hart] go out there and do what he has to, and I'm going out there and do what I have to do."

Hill stayed true to form in admitting that he's not concerned about the statistical battle between the Big Ten's top two rushers.

"I'm not going to worry about if he's going to have more yards than me this game," Hill said. "I'm just going to worry about what I have to do to help this team win."

Some of Hart's yards could be taken away by junior quarterback Chad Henne, who will be slinging the ball around to reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Mario Manningham. The sophomore receiver caught three touchdown passes against Notre Dame, which should force the Badgers wary of Michigan's multi-weapon attack.

"They're bringing their A-game, and hopefully [they'll] bring their A-game to us when we go to the Big House," said sophomore linebacker Jonathan Casillas. "We want to play the best Michigan team that's out there because they're going to get the best Wisconsin team."

Whether Michigan pulls away with an easy victory or the Badgers can pull off the upset, this game has been tagged as not just a great Big Ten contest, but an intriguing matchup for the whole country to watch.

"It's going to be a good game either way," UW wide receiver Paul Hubbard said. "Two good programs — we respect them from the utmost, they're a really good program.

"We're just going to go out there and play."