| Wisconsin vs. Buffalo
GAME: Buffalo at Wisconsin
TIME: 12:00 P.M. EST
VENUE: Camp Randall Stadium
On the verge of finishing with the best regular-season record in school history, Wisconsin finds its season being overshadowed by the Big Ten's two powerhouse teams, who will likely keep the Badgers from earning a BCS berth.
With little they can do to alter their fate, the 12th-ranked Badgers close the regular season on Saturday against Buffalo at Camp Randall Stadium.
Wisconsin (10-1), which is ranked ninth by the BCS, has little chance at appearing in a BCS game because Ohio State and Michigan rank first and second in the standings. Only two teams from one conference are allowed to play in the Bowl Championship Series.
The Badgers lost to Michigan 27-13 on Sept. 13, and coach Bret Bielema said losing that early in the season may have affected how his team was viewed the rest of the year.
"Everyone's got opinions and everyone has the right to express those opinions," said Bielema, the first coach to win 10 games in his debut season in the Big Ten. "Hopefully the Badgers have been able to increase their value each week. How people view us or what they feel, I can't control. I can only control what our guys do on Saturdays."
Wisconsin is coming off a 24-21 victory over Iowa last Saturday, giving the Badgers a 10-win regular season for the second time in school history. The other came in 1998.
Clinging to a three-point lead with less than four minutes, the Wisconsin defense held on, forcing Hawkeyes quarterback Drew Tate to throw three incompletions, including one on fourth-and-7.
"We talked about before the game that this could be the greatest statement of the season for our team thus far and it would be a complete effort," Bielema said.
Quarterback Tyler Donovan was 17-of-24 for 228 yards and two touchdowns in place of John Stocco, who was out with a shoulder injury. Stocco, second on the school's all-time list in passing yards (7,021) and touchdown passes (45), had started the team's previous 35 games.
Bielema said he was unsure whether the senior would be available to play on Saturday, but the coach has plenty of confidence in Donovan.
"I don't think you can say enough about a guy starting in his first game, in the Big Ten finale, in a hostile environment," Bielema said. "The plays he was able to come up with ... were amazing."
Bielema might not want to risk bringing Stocco before Wisconsin's bowl game, with his team facing a dreadful Buffalo defense. The Bulls (2-8) are allowing an average of 34.1 points, seventh-most in the country, and 204.3 rushing yards per game to rank fifth-worst in Division I-A.
That should be good news for Wisconsin's P.J. Hill, the Big Ten's leading rusher with 1,447 rushing yards. The freshman has been uneven lately with yardage totals of 161, 50, 148 and 77 over his last four games, respectively.
Hill ran for his 14th touchdown last Saturday, but averaged only 2.8 yards per carry and fumbled for the first time this season.
Bielema said that sub-par performance was more a result of Donovan being able to connect with the receivers than fatigue on Hill's part, although he alluded to the fact Hill needs to improve his offseason conditioning.
The Badgers have won six consecutive home games and 17 of 18 at Camp Randall Stadium over the past three seasons. The team's last non-conference loss at home was on Sept. 13, 2003, 23-5 to UNLV.
Buffalo is coming off a 31-16 loss to Akron last Thursday. Quarterback Tony Paoli was 15-of-24 for 150 yards with one interception, and Steven King ran for the Bulls' two touchdowns.
Wisconsin is the third Big Ten opponent the Bulls have faced since moving to Division I-A in 1999. They lost to Minnesota 41-17 in 2002 and 56-7 to Iowa in 2003.
Buffalo has played four Top 25 opponents in its history and lost them all, including a 38-7 defeat to then-No.2 Auburn on Sept. 23 and a 41-0 loss to then-No. 18 Boston College on Oct. 28.
This is the first meeting between these teams. |