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Minnesota-Wisconsin Preview

Oct 5, 2010 - 3:29 PM By COLIN FLY AP Sports Writer

Minnesota (1-4) at No. 25 Wisconsin (4-1), 12:00 p.m. EDT

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Wisconsin's hopeful season is turning sour after just one Big Ten Conference game.

The Badgers fell 10 spots to No. 20 in the AP Top 25 poll after their loss at Michigan State, and Wisconsin (4-1, 0-1) must rebound quickly with games against Minnesota and No. 2 Ohio State before traveling to No. 15 Iowa.

"Nobody likes the way that they felt after the game," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said Monday in his weekly news conference from Madison. "We didn't approach the game the right way as a whole, and because of that, we lost the game."

Bielema said he doesn't think his team will talk about their expectations beyond next week's opponent after losing 34-24 to the Spartans. Two streaks by reigning Big Ten offensive player of the year John Clay were snapped at 10 against Michigan State when he failed to gain 100 yards or rush for a touchdown.

"We know we have the guys to go out there and compete," Clay said after the game. "We started slow in the first half and the second half, we started picking up - but by the time we started clicking, the game was over."

Freshman James White continues to be a bright spot. He ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries as his role in the offense continues to increase.

But usually sharp quarterback Scott Tolzien struggled.

Michigan State also converted on 9 of 18 third-down attempts and returned a 74-yard punt for a touchdown against the beleaguered Badgers' special teams.

"We didn't play too well fundamentally, and that's going to get you beat," defensive end J.J. Watt said. "It's not a thing of we don't know how to play fundamentally, or we didn't practice it, it's just the way the cookie crumbled."

Now Wisconsin must find a way to pick up the pieces - or at least invoke the five-second rule.

It shouldn't be too hard for the Badgers to focus on correcting the problems with their favorite rival coming to town.

Wisconsin meets Minnesota (1-4, 0-1) for the 120th time on Saturday - the most played rivalry in Division I history dating to 1890. The Badgers have won six straight against the Gophers and 13 of 15. One more win will be the longest winning streak by Wisconsin in the history of the rivalry.

There's also the chance to keep Paul Bunyan's Ax, one of the most recognizable trophies in the Big Ten. The annual game will continue even though the teams will be placed in opposite divisions when the conference adds Nebraska next year.

As for this matchup, Bielema was riled by a question that suggested the team's goals were seemingly out of reach. There was talk earlier about competing for the conference title and perhaps reaching a BCS bowl.

"My goals and aspirations of this group is to focus on one week at a time. I think where we're at now will probably let us focus on that goal better than ever before because there is a setback, but the immediate result is you get a chance to play Minnesota in a rivalry game and move ourselves forward," the coach said. "We wouldn't have any of our guys talk about a Big Ten championship."

They also won't look back.

Wisconsin's nonconference schedule did not feature marquee games, though the Badgers' 20-19 victory over Arizona State was uncomfortably close.

"This Big Ten season is a whole new ball game," defensive back Aaron Henry said. "Unfortunately we started out on the losing end."