[media-credit name=’BEN CLASSON/Herald file photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

After 13 straight days off, the No. 9 Wisconsin football team (3-0) travels to Ann Arbor tomorrow to take on the Michigan Wolverines (1-2). The two-week hiatus allowed UW to heal some of its wounds and prepare for the grueling part of the season: Big Ten play.

“We try to keep things rolling; we didn’t get too much rest,” offensive guard Kraig Urbik said. “We had some things to work on on offense, things we needed to get better at. We definitely got a lot of work in, got a lot accomplished, but we’ve got to keep rolling.”

The Badgers are coming off a thrilling 13-10 road victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs Sept. 13, a game UW hopes to feed off of to continue its winning ways.

“It definitely gave us some confidence, knowing that we can go on the road and beat a very quality opponent like Fresno State,” Urbik continued. “It gave us confidence, but it makes us hungry for more. We want to be perfect on the road.”

Under new head coach Rich Rodriguez, Michigan is only 1-2. But to Wisconsin, the Wolverines’ record makes no difference.

“It’s not about Michigan at all,” fullback Chris Pressley said. “It’s not about Coach Rodriguez or their 1-2 record; it’s about us going in and playing in their home, taking the lessons we learned from Fresno, come out, start faster, start better. It’s about the things that we can do, how we can better our performance in an away arena. It’s about Wisconsin.”

With home night games against Ohio State and Penn State on the horizon, could this be a trap game for the Badgers?

“Forget Ohio State, forget Penn State,” wide receiver Kyle Jefferson said. “We can’t go anywhere before we beat Michigan, so Ohio State will have to wait. After the game Saturday, then we can think about those teams coming into our house.

“They’re Michigan,” he added. “Last year they started off bad but ended up really well. The record doesn’t mean anything to us. We got to play the game and get a victory.”

Although the Michigan offense has experienced some growing pains in its opening non-conference affairs, the UM defense — especially its run defense — is still among the best and most experienced in the Big Ten.

“They’re a very good Michigan football defense,” Urbik said. “They return five of the starting front seven, and they’ve got very quality players up front.”

The Wolverine defense has held its first three opponents to just 65.3 rushing yards per game and a meager 1.8 yards per carry.

“It’s going to be one of those football games where you’ve got to just grind it out,” Urbik continued. “We’ll stick to our game plan, run the ball, pass the ball when we have to. It should be a grind-it-out game.”

Although hard-fought, hard-nosed contests may play into Wisconsin’s strengths, the Badgers are anticipating a tough battle from the hosts.

“I’m expecting them to play hard, for everybody to be on,” Pressley said. “They’re a 1-2 team, they’re going to come out fighting. We should expect them to play better than we see on film, just like they should expect us to play better than they see us on film. We’ve played some games, but none of them were Big Ten games.”

“This is what we’re fighting for. It starts with Michigan.”

Two seasons ago — the Badgers’ last trip to the Big House — the teams were deadlocked at 10 going into halftime. But it was the Wolverines who dominated the second half, finishing the Badgers off 27-13.

“We just came out in the second half, and we were flat,” Urbik said. “They kicked our butts up and down the field because we weren’t playing our game, we weren’t playing physical, we weren’t on our targets.”

This time, Wisconsin is looking to complete the mission and remain undefeated.

“I’m looking forward to it, the first Big Ten game against Michigan, a good opponent,” Jefferson said. “We haven’t beaten them in a few years in their house, so we’re ready.”

Jefferson, a sophomore, wasn’t on the UW roster two years ago but says his experience in big stadiums last season will help him in tomorrow’s showdown.

“I’ve had my fair share of big houses,” he explained. “Last year I played at Penn State and Ohio State. You’ve got to treat it like home and go out there and play.”

Jefferson has only caught five balls for 93 yards in the Badgers’ first three games. But being the deep threat that he is, he says tomorrow might be his day.

“If we know Michigan, they’ll have seven people in the box to stop the three-headed (running back) monster that we have,” Jefferson said. “So by them doing that, it opens up the passing game for everybody, opens up the play action. I can’t wait — it’s our time to shine.”