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A week after blowing a 19-point halftime lead at Michigan, things won’t be getting any easier for the University of Wisconsin football team. No. 14 Ohio State comes to Camp Randall Stadium Saturday night, and a loss would mean an 0-2 start in conference play for No. 18 Wisconsin.

UW lost its first game of the season last weekend, falling to the Wolverines 27-25 on the road.

The Badgers had led 19-0 at the half before giving up 27 unanswered points in the second half.

“We were a great defense in the first half; we lost sight of things in the second half,” defensive end O’Brien Schofield said. “Our focus wasn’t there.”

Still, the team plans on building on its play in the first half when the Badgers forced five turnovers and held their opponent to just 21 total yards.

“The first half let our defense know that we could play great, that we could be a great defense,” Schofield said, “But the key is doing it for four quarters. That first loss left a bad taste in our mouth. So now guys are really locked in on what we’ve got to do for four quarters of football.”

It’s that first half defensive effort that the Badgers hope to bring to the table Saturday against the Buckeyes.

“Watching film we definitely looked like one of the best defenses in the nation for the first half,” linebacker Jaevery McFadden said.

While the wounds and lessons from the Michigan game are still fresh to some of the Badgers, others have already put Saturday’s loss behind them.

“The Michigan game is gone,” cornerback Allen Langford said, “I’m really not focused on the Michigan game anymore, and I don’t care to talk about the Michigan game. I am very focused on Ohio State.”

With OSU, there is plenty to focus on.

Ohio State (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) comes in ranked No. 14 and boasts an impressive offense headed by running back Chris “Beanie” Wells, who, despite being hurt earlier this season, is expected to play against Wisconsin. Wells ran for 173 yards and three touchdowns against UW in last season’s meeting.

Though the Buckeyes were trampled 35-3 in their one loss this year on the road at USC, the team comes into the game undefeated in conference play having beaten Minnesota in its Big Ten opener last weekend.

“Ohio State has some great, great players; their whole offense is good,” Langford said. “So we’re excited about them coming here and playing with a top notch team like that.”

Last season, the Badgers lost on the road, 38-17, at the then No. 1-ranked Buckeyes. This year, with the game under the lights at Camp Randall, the team expects to have a homefield advantage working for it.

“The atmosphere is going to be on fire,” Schofield said. “We’ve got to come out emotional and ready to go.”

Wisconsin enters the game having won 16 straight home games, and head coach Bret Bielema has never lost a game at Camp Randall Stadium in his three seasons at the helm.

“It’s exciting,” Langford said. “This is what most of us came to Wisconsin for, to play the Ohio States, in night games.”

After a loss in their conference opener, the Badgers now face the possibility of a disappointing and difficult task of overcoming a 0-2 conference start. Wisconsin hasn’t lost its first two Big Ten games since the 2002 season.

“We didn’t start the Big Ten like we’d like to, so there’s a great opportunity,” safety Shane Carter said. “It’d be great to get a win against them.”

Playing against the nation’s No. 14 team at home, following last weekend’s loss and facing a deep hole in conference play, it is hard for the importance of Saturday’s game to be lost on the team.

“This is definitely going to define our season,” McFadden said. “If we win this game or lose this game, it’s definitely gonna define our season and define who we are.”