[media-credit name=’The Arizona Daily’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Wisconsin football team has dominated its competition so far in 2004, to be sure. When a team compiles a net margin of victory of over 20 points per game, no one complains. But — in the Badgers’ victory over UNLV last Saturday in particular — the offense has looked anything but impressive.

Without Anthony Davis in the lineup, UW didn’t find the end zone on offense in the first three quarters even once. The Badgers will look to rectify that in scorching Tucson tomorrow against the struggling, but talented Wildcats of Arizona.

With temperatures expected to exceed 100 degrees in Arizona and with Mike Stoops’ gifted defensive mind at the UA helm, the Wisconsin offense may have more trouble finding a rhythm than they imagine.

“We’re pretty sure it’s going to be hot,” said Badger tackle Jason Jefferson. “But we can’t worry about that; we just have to play football.”

The Badger offense will face a tough Arizona defensive line and a secondary that held a high-flying No. 14 Utah passing game to a mere 155 yards last weekend. Jamil Walker looked like a capable replacement for Davis in his collegiate debut against the Rebels, but Booker Stanley and John Stocco have both looked questionable in the red zone.

While the Badgers may find themselves stalling on offense, the defense should continue to roll.

“It’s good that we play a lot of guys (on the line); it keeps us fresh. We can roll guys,” Jefferson said. “They’re a pretty good offensive football team. They run the ball pretty well. They have some good athletes. They’re a good team, so we just have to come with our game.”

No one doubts that Stoops’ players have some talent. Kris Heavner has completed over three-quarters (37-for-49) of his passes through two games. He has a 144.4 rating as a quarterback and has tossed the ball for 369 yards already. But the sophomore second-year starter hasn’t been able to get much done in the red zone.

In his freshman season, Heavner threw for 15 picks and just eight touchdowns. This year he has one touchdown pass and one interception. His inability to convert drives into points is a huge question mark for the Arizona offense.

At tailback, Arizona’s situation is no different. Mike Bell put together a solid sophomore season in 2003, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and gaining a total of 920 yards. Bell looked like a good candidate to break out in 2004 and — to his credit, has looked explosive again in 2004.

But — amassing four fumbles in one-and-a-half games — Bell was pulled against Utah after touching the ball just six times. He figures to be the starter against the Badgers, but the Cats are relying too much on Bell’s legs to allow his hands to continue to hurt them.

Arizona has struggled mightily to put points on the scoreboard in its first two games — with just 27 points total on the season. Against a Badger defense that has allowed nine points all year, that looks to be a big problem.

— Drew Hansen contributed to this article