The Wisconsin Badgers are looking to get back to full strength against Michigan State Saturday with injured wide receiver Nick Toon expected to return to practice this week.

Toon was sidelined against Indiana with a left foot injury he sustained during the Nebraska game. Toon sat out as a precautionary measure against Indiana, but is expected to see playing time against Michigan State.

“He ran around on Sunday and felt really good, he is going to jump into Tuesday’s practice,” Bielema said. “He felt good on Saturday, we probably could have played him, but I wanted to see the other guys perform.”

Defensive tackle Patrick Butrym also suffered a minor ankle sprain – not a high-ankle sprain, Bielema said – against Indiana and is expected to participate in light practice and be back on the field for the Badgers this weekend.

“He said basically he felt really tight on Sunday, but it was better [Monday] and he has got a goal in his mind to run around a bit Wednesday and hopefully practice Thursday,” Bielema said. “He is so smart with the game plan, I would feel really good about him playing even if he didn’t really get any time until Saturday.”

Focus remains consistent

When it comes to preparing, the Badgers tend to take a similar approach every week.

Bielema said he likes his team to be fired up, but has the confidence in his players to know the difference between right and wrong.

“It’s not what happens, it’s how you react to what happens. We’ll do our talking between our pads,” Bielema said. “To me, there are three things you need to have on the road – you need to have great execution, great communication and discipline.”

For Bielema, this discipline cannot be installed in a week. Rather, it has to be something built into the Badgers’ framework over time.

“That’s something you can’t really install in a week, you have to have discipline in your mentality, in your framework, and that’s what we recruit,” Bielema said.

Quarterback Russell Wilson also said he feels that the daily activities in preparing week-in and week-out foster success.

“I think that games are won on the field, by our preparation during the week, by the extra film we put in,” Wilson said. “Everything that you do during the week really helps you prepare for the game.”

When it comes to preparing for the games, Wilson is a visual learner. He studies the opponent and visualizes how the game will be played out ahead of time.

“I visualize a lot, when I am preparing during the week especially when I am playing away, I envision myself being in the stadium – where the clock is, the first downs, all that stuff I visualize,” Wilson said. “That prepares me for the game.”

Badgers return to East Lansing

Offensively, the Badgers will look to continue their solid ball security, while defensively Bielema hopes to create some turnovers and capitalize on them.

“We have been great with ball security and that will need to continue on the road,” Bielema said. “Defensively, if we have a chance to get our hands on the football, we need to come up with it.”

Michigan State’s strong defensive stance will prove to be a challenge for the Badgers in the upcoming game.

Bielema still remains confident in Wilson’s ability, despite the Spartans’ aggressive defense that has proven capable of bringing pressure all over the field.

“You can mentally or physically challenge a quarterback, and that’s exactly what they (Michigan State) are doing,” Bielema said. “One of the good advantages of [Wilson] is that he doesn’t get overly rattled by anything that I’ve seen thrown at him.”

A big part of Wilson’s success comes from the success of Wisconsin’s offensive line.

“Our offensive line is doing such a great job right now, we have a lot of experienced guys up front and their blocking ability gives me a lot of time to make decisions, to stay up on my feet, make the right throw at the right time, that obviously helps,” Wilson said.

This weekend’s game will mark only the second away game for the Badgers this season. Road games may come with a different set of challenges, but Wilson remains confident.

Keeping confidence and trust along with knowledge for the game is what Wilson tries to show his teammates are important in winning.

“The calmer you are, the more confident you play, the more that you trust your offense, the more that you trust what you see, the better off you are going to be,” Wilson said.

Confidence in BCS rankings

With the release of the BCS rankings this week, the Badgers find themselves sitting at No. 6 just behind Oklahoma State (No. 4) and Boise State (No. 5). However, Bielema is not too concerned with UW’s current status.

“The computers, the rankings and all that stuff, it’s all going to sort itself through in the end, I really do believe in that,” Bielema said. “If we keep winning and taking care of things around us, than everything takes care of itself.”

Wilson agreed with Bielema in regard to the requirement of patience.

“All that really matters is playing great football week by week and see where we are at the end,” Wilson said, “We have to weather the storms, just play with confidence, play with a little bit of swagger and play great football.”