When Michael Caputo thinks of the Big Ten, he thinks of Wisconsin and Iowa — not because of geography, but because the style of play the two teams are known for.

Physical. Smashmouth. Intense. All words used by the Badgers’ fifth-year senior safety to describe an Iowa-Wisconsin game.

“That’s one of the reasons I came to Wisconsin, because of the type of physicality the Big Ten brings,” Caputo said. “When I think about Big Ten, I think about Wisconsin and Iowa.

“There’s something to the rivalry that makes it special.”

The rivalry revolves around a hard-fought game won in the trenches, with offenses fighting for every yard and defenses standing stout.

Quarterback Joel Stave said Iowa and Wisconsin are more traditional in the sense they value running the ball.

“It’s always physical,” Stave said. “It’s always a close game, it’s always a battle.”

Last year, the Badgers came out victorious 26-24 in Iowa City after a highly-contested second-half in which the Hawkeyes outscored the Badgers 21-10.

It will be important for the Badgers to maintain a mental toughness to get the ground game going this week, a challenge Iowa is always up for, fifth-year senior left tackle Tyler Marz said.

“Some teams will go away if you run the ball on them,” Marz said. “They get sick of it, maybe they don’t want to play a physical team for four quarters. Well Iowa, you know you’re going to get that for four quarters.”

On the defensive side, cornerback Darius Hillary said the unit will have to play better in the fourth quarter and stick to its physical style of play.

“We gotta play our game, play Badger football,” Hillary said. “We can’t make it bigger than what it is, because then you can kind of get outside of yourself and what you’re doing and then that can affect you.”

Heartland Trophy heavy

Introduced in 2004, the Heartland Trophy goes to the winner of the annual rivalry game.

The trophy features a bull mounted on a walnut base, and it’s rather top heavy, Marz said.

Hillary and Caputo said it takes a few players to hold up the trophy.

But Marz, standing at 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, scoffed at the idea he couldn’t hold it up alone, claiming he’s done so in the past.

Deal wins Freshman of the Week honors

The Big Ten announced Monday Wisconsin redshirt freshman running back Taiwan Deal as its Freshman of the Week.

Deal rushed for two touchdowns and 146 yards in UW’s 28-0 win against Hawaii Saturday.

He is the first Badger to earn the honor since Corey Clement won it in November 2013.