After falling short 34-31 to Penn State last weekend, the Badgers (5-1, 0-1 Big Ten) hope to bounce back this week as preparation for the Indiana Hoosiers (2-3, 0-1 Big Ten) begins.
The No. 22 Badgers hope to avenge last season’s disappointing shocker to Indiana next Saturday in Bloomington, where they have won three straight. Last season the Hoosiers stomped the Badgers 63-32 at Camp Randall, scoring 32 points in the first quarter and leaving the Badgers incapable of a comeback.
That game is still fresh in head coach Barry Alvarez’s mind. Alvarez is hoping this weekend the outcome will be in the Badgers’ favor.
“Those games happen every once in a while. I really haven’t put a whole lot of thought into it since last year. You try to get those out of your mind,” Alvarez said.
Brooks Bollinger, who would pass Mike Samuel as Wisconsin’s career wins leader with a victory Saturday, said the agonizing memory of last year’s defeat is still fresh in the players’ minds.
“Anytime a team does something like that to you, it’s something that you don’t forget,” Bollinger said.
“Certainly there are a number of reasons why this game is important to us. We need to get off on the right foot in the Big Ten and start winning football games. I think this week that [Indiana] will be fresh in everyone’s mind. I hope that the intensity in practice reflects that.”
In last year’s blowout, Indiana ran all over the UW defense’s back, rushing for 449 yards. Running back Levron Williams rushed 20 times for 280 yards and six touchdowns, and versatile quarterback Antwaan Randle El scrambled for more than 100 yards rushing as well.
Indiana head coach Gerry DiNardo is in his first season with the Hoosiers and leads a thoroughly revamped Hoosiers team.
Alvarez and DiNardo last faced off in the 1990 Orange Bowl, when both were assistant coaches for Notre Dame and Colorado, respectively.
Alvarez, who will coach a UW record 150th game of his career Saturday, said DiNardo has done a notable job rebuilding the Hoosier team.
“I am impressed with what I have seen and with the improvements they have made in a short amount of time and how they have taught their system, which appears that it could be a complicated system,” Alvarez said.
Randle El and Williams have both graduated; nevertheless, other players are stepping up for Indiana. The Hoosiers West Coast offense features two dangerous receivers, Glenn Johnson and Courtney Roby, who form the Big Ten’s most lethal receiving duo, combining for 168 yards per game.
Brooks Bollinger has rushed for 22 touchdowns and passed for 31, joining Randle El as just the seventh Big Ten player to accomplish that feat.
Alvarez and the rest of the Badgers are not letting last week’s loss to Penn State tarnish the season.
“Half the teams in the country lose every week,” Alvarez said. “A loss certainly isn’t the end of the season. I think these guys understand that there is a lot of football left, and it’s another challenge, another conference game.”
Bollinger is optimistic the Badgers can mirror Ohio State’s success last week, when they pummeled the Hoosiers 45-17 and rebound from last weekend’s loss.
Alvarez warned not to look beyond Indiana, reiterating that any team may suddenly attack.
“There is a lot of season left, and the thing you concentrate on is this game,” Alvarez said. “You don’t concentrate on the next seven games, you concentrate on this game and put all your focus on this game and what you have to do to prepare for it.”
