With the Badgers off to one of the most impressive starts in team history, Wisconsin gets a much-needed weekend off after dispatching Northwestern 24-12 Saturday.

Despite giving up a total of 335 yards and sporting a depleting defensive line, UW currently sits in a first place tie with Michigan atop the Big Ten Standings.

Even though the Badgers have considerable momentum built up at this point in the season, key injuries to starters Anthony Davis, linebacker Reggie Cribs and defensive ends Jonathan Welch and Erasmus James make it clear that the Badgers are ready for an extra week off to prepare for rival Minnesota.

“We really needed [a bye week],” head coach Barry Alvarez said. “I was very nervous playing this past game without three starters. [Northwestern] is a team very difficult to defend, a team very productive offensively and a team that had a week off to get healthy.”

“[Northwestern head coach] Randy Walker mentioned prior to the game that this was the healthiest they’d been all year and you take three starters out of your defense, I was very concerned about that,” Alvarez continued. “I was concerned about Anthony [Davis] being banged up. [However], we have been able to dodge a bullet throughout the year with injuries with other guys stepping up, which I am very proud of. We had some guys at the end of the Northwestern game that were just drained. So, we really need this week to get healthy.”

Badgers versus Boogiemen: With the Badgers having Halloween weekend off this season, Alvarez and his coaching staff have an additional problem to contend with: State Street on Halloween weekend.

The past two Halloween weekends have led to vandalism, riots and countless arrests that have left State Street dismantled and a number of people with injuries. In order to combat the weekend’s activities, Coach Alvarez decided to practice Monday through Thursday, while giving his players Friday through Sunday off.

The reason for this, Alvarez said, was to encourage his players to go home and spend time with their families, thus removing them from the potential distractions.

“I think we definitely have to address it as coaches,” Alvarez explained. “I think it would be foolish if we didn’t talk to them about discouraging them from being [on State Street] and if they are there, what to anticipate.”

Alvarez said that he’s most worried about the young players’ reactions to the potential distractions.

“A freshman kid who just came to school here and doesn’t know anything about the riots in the past needs to be educated and [given] a historical view on what has gone on in the past and what to stay away from,” Alvarez said. “We have to be pro-active in that.”

A split championship is still a championship: With four weeks left in the Big Ten conference season, Michigan and Wisconsin have identical conference records at 5-0 with three games left to play.

While Wisconsin hosts Minnesota and travels to Michigan State and Iowa, Michigan hosts Michigan State and Northwestern while traveling to Ohio State to finish the season.

Because the Big Ten doesn’t have each conference team play every team every year, Wisconsin and Michigan will not face off this season to determine a champion if both teams finish undefeated. Alvarez is perfectly content with a split championship if it comes down to that.

“Two years ago, Iowa and Ohio State tied as champions [in the Big Ten],” Alvarez said. “I don’t think there was a kid on Ohio State that didn’t think they weren’t champions and the same thing for Iowa.”

The absence of a round-robin schedule for conference games in that situation actually puts the Big Ten in better BCS standing, Alvarez said.

“I don’t think [the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes tying] hurt our league or took anything away from our league, and we had two teams from the Big Ten playing in great bowl games,” he said. “I think [the split championship] added to our league.”