Thursday, October 09, 2003

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Wisconsin had just conquered Penn State on the road at Beaver Stadium last week and the chants emanating from the Badgers locker room were loud and clear.

"Bring on O-State! Bring on O-State!"

Feeling good about themselves after a second road victory in a row to start Big Ten Conference play, the Badgers come home this week to face Ohio State, the defending national champion and owners of Division I-A's longest winning streak at 19 games.

"We wanted to make it a big game," Wisconsin receiver Lee Evans told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "And the stage is set."

The road team has won the past four meetings in this series, including Ohio State's 19-14 nail-biter in Madison last year. Because of a scheduling quirk, the Badgers get the Buckeyes at home for the second year in a row.

Ohio State will face a hostile crowd in a rare night game at Camp Randall Stadium and a Badgers rushing attack that has bulled over the competition through the first six weeks of the season, including a 234-yard performance against Penn State last week. The Buckeyes are the top-rated rush defense in the NCAA, allowing 43.4 yards per game. Wisconsin is No. 9 in rush offense with 222 yards a game.

"There's no question it will be our biggest test in that regard," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "The teams we have played have been pass-first, run-maybe. Wisconsin is run-first and then throw for the big play. I think that's the most difficult challenge you can face."

Overrated?

As bad as the backlash has been against Penn State this season among disgruntled fans, it is worse in Ann Arbor, Mich., where the Wolverines are struggling to live up to their preseason expectations. Many Michigan backers thought this was the year for a run at a national championship, but the Wolverines are 4-2 and most likely out of contention for a national title after a 30-27 loss at Iowa last week.

"Obviously there's going to be a backlash," said defensive tackle Grant Bowman, a team captain, told the Detroit News. "When you lose, there's always doubters and there's always people second-guessing what you do, but that's what comes with being at Michigan and being here, and we accept that. The bottom line is we haven't gotten the job done and it's time to move on and see where we're going to be as a team."

So what exactly is wrong with Michigan? Special teams did in the Wolverines against Iowa and it played a part in the 31-27 loss at Oregon. Also, the rushing offense that was ranked No. 1 in Division I-A early in the season has been stuffed in recent weeks. Against Iowa, the Wolverines ran 33 times for 100 yards and were forced to pass 49 times. Against Oregon, they ran 19 times for 37 yards and threw the ball 55 times.

Michigan has slipped to No. 22 in the NCAA in rushing offense as a result.

Some rest for the weary

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said he was glad his team didn't have an off week last season when they shared the Big Ten championship because the Hawkeyes had a good rhythm going and he didn't want to disrupt it. It's a different story this season. Ferentz said the open week couldn't have come at a better time because of injuries.

"If we had to play this week I don't know who we'd put out on the field," said Ferentz, whose team is 5-1 after a 30-27 upset of Michigan. "I got an injury report [Tuesday] and it's a little concerning. We're a little hobbled right now. We're kind of a team that has to expend every ounce of energy to get to a game and then try to survive. It's really been a long six weeks."

Iowa, which is ranked No. 14 this week, will rest up and prepare for No. 3 Ohio State Oct. 18 at Ohio Stadium.

A big game

If Minnesota wants to make its first Rose Bowl appearance since 1961, the Gophers might need to beat Michigan at home tomorrow night. Since 1980, seven other teams besides Michigan and Ohio State have won the Big Ten. All of them beat Michigan the season they earned the title.

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