Badgers' road to winning Big Ten West starts at Northwestern

The assumption from most when the Big Ten split into East and West divisions before this football season was that one side would hold a distinct edge in tradition, talent and, ultimately, scoreboard triumphs. And a week into conference play, one division has shown itself to be plenty tough -- just not the one many expected.

The East may possess bigger names, but the West has four teams that stand 1-0 in the Big Ten. Only Maryland is 1-0 in the East, though Michigan State and Ohio State have yet to play.

Of particular note from last weekend were two results: Minnesota 30, Michigan 14 and Northwestern 29, Penn State 6. Both of those West division wins came on the road despite the Gophers and Wildcats being a combined 22-point underdog. Throw in a road victory from Iowa at Purdue and Nebraska's dismantling of Illinois, and the West is proving to be not only up for grabs -- but far more difficult to win than expected.

However, Wisconsin's coach never thought it would be a cakewalk.

"I always anticipated it to be tough," Gary Andersen said. "And that's not just talking, that's not just lip service. There's very good teams. And I think this is a very, very talented conference all the way through."

Last week's results help make Saturday's game between No. 17 Wisconsin (3-1, 0-0) and Northwestern (2-2, 1-0) even more important for the Badgers, who are among the West favorites as their conference season begins. The teams will meet at 2:30 p.m. at Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill.

"It means a little bit more," Badgers safety Michael Caputo said. "I know it means a lot on paper, but it means a lot more inside. Internally it does. The teams are really good no matter who you play. No matter who they lost to, who they beat, they're always good in the Big Ten."

Wisconsin has shown steady improvement in most areas since suffering a 28-24 loss against LSU in the season opener. The Badgers' defense has emerged as one of the top-20 in the country in all four major statistical categories (passing defense, rushing defense, total defense and scoring defense). UW's rushing attack currently ranks third in the country. And those two factors likely mean Wisconsin will be favored in all eight of its Big Ten games -- the Badgers are eight-point favorites against Northwestern.

Andersen said he believed this year's team had an opportunity to be great -- something that only will only come if the Badgers can win the West and play for a conference title. That road begins Saturday.

"I like this team," Andersen said. "I like the way they deal with adversity. You worry greatly about a team that is as youthful as they are and the lack of numbers in the senior leadership role, but I'm highly impressed with the way they have hung in there."

Temperatures in Evanston are expected to be in the high 40s, with windy and wet conditions. Wisconsin's run game, then, likely will be a key component for the Badgers. Northwestern's run defense (117.2 yards per game) ranks seventh in the Big Ten. But the Wildcats have surrendered only two touchdowns on the ground, which is tied for the best mark in the conference. Badgers tailback Melvin Gordon, meanwhile, scored five rushing touchdowns in the span of 22 minutes of game clock against Bowling Green two weeks ago. Gordon ranks fifth nationally in rushing yards per game (153.0).

Earlier this week, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald invoked former Chicago Bears great Walter Payton in his discussion of Gordon.

"I was a little kid when Sweetness was playing," Fitzgerald said. "He was the best. He had great vision. He had great balance. You see that for Melvin. There's times when guys have clear shots on him, and he has an unbelievable ability to make people miss. And then also take the first hit and continue on and almost seem like he doesn't break stride. He seems like he's a young man that just continues to get stronger throughout the game.

"I don't want to overstate or understate Melvin's abilities without mentioning Corey (Clement). I think he's ridiculous, too. It's as good of a 1-2 punch as there is maybe in college football."

While Wisconsin has three players averaging more than 67.0 yards rushing per game (Gordon, Clement and quarterback Tanner McEvoy), Northwestern doesn't have a player averaging more than 58.5 yards per game on the ground. However, Wildcats quarterback Trevor Siemian did score three one-yard touchdown runs against Penn State a week ago.

If nothing else, Northwestern's victory proved just how well Wisconsin will have to play to capture its fourth Big Ten title in five years -- particularly in a better-than-expected West division.

"They'll execute a lot of the plays that I would say other teams may have not against us," Caputo said. "They're just another good team we have to face."

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