Badgers ready for Ross-Ade
MADISON - As stadiums go, Ross-Ade Stadium is never going to be mistaken for one of the great, historic venues in college football. Even so, Purdue has won 254 games there all-time against just 149 losses, including the Boilermakers' 3-1 home record this year.
In fact, just last year Purdue knocked off then-No. 7 Ohio State at home, 26-18, in a stunning upset. That win came on the heels of a five-game losing streak for the Boilermakers, who have lost each of their last two games, on the road, in blowout fashion.
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Add the Badgers' recent success, and Wisconsin looks to be headed into a classic trap game.
"We're well aware of it," quarterback Scott Tolzien said. "I think the main thing is that it's just another Big Ten game. You just look at last year, they knocked off Ohio State.
"Every year there seems to be that game where someone gets nipped from behind. We need to approach this game like any other game. The second you take your foot off the gas pedal and start relaxing, that's when you start to get some adversity."
Unfortunately for the Badgers, they don't have any past experience to lean on against Purdue. While they shutout the Boilermakers last year, 37-0, the last time Wisconsin traveled to Purdue was in 2006, when Bret Bielema was a first-year head coach and UW's current fifth-year seniors were in their redshirt seasons.
Junior defensive end J.J. Watt will be making his second appearance at Ross-Ade, having played there once in his career at Central Michigan.
As such, they'll need to rely on their experiences in other Big Ten stadiums, rather than recall past games as Ross-Ade.
"I think anybody can beat anybody," said John Moffitt, who redshirted in 2006. "You have to respect teams and you have to especially respect teams at home. I think we're doing that with our preparation and we need to continue to do that."
Not only has the team not played in West Lafayette in four years, they've also not made a bus trip as long as the one scheduled for this weekend. A 271-mile drive, the drive from Camp Randall to Ross-Ade is said to take five hours and six minutes, according to Google Maps.
On a bus, that easily translates to at least a six-hour drive. And that's assuming the buses make it through the Chicago area without significant delay.
"That's something that I don't like at all," free safety Aaron Henry said. "I understand we've got to do it, but six hours man, I can't sit in a classroom for 50 minutes, let alone on a bus for six hours.
"It's something we've got to do, so I don't really have a choice in that, and we've just got to roll with it. I'm not really a big fan of bussing for six hours, though. Hopefully, if we take care of business, we won't be bussing back."
Confined to seat on the bus for the length of nearly two football games, the Badgers will need to find some ways to occupy their time. Homework, music, movies and sleep are among the most popular time-wasters for bus trips.
Of course, they're typically more like three to four hours, such as is the case with the trip to Iowa City.
"I'm going to probably be doing a ton of things," Henry said. "Probably on the phone listening to music, going over some of my notes, writing up some of my interests on the blog that I have. There's no telling what I could be doing, man.
"Once you focus on one thing, that thing is going to die out eventually. And me, I'm always trying to find what's new. But hopefully sleep will be my biggest friend on that trip."
Running back John Clay had a simple answer to what could make the bus trip better for him.
"Having my own seat," Clay said with a laugh. "If I can sit in the back and have my own seat, I'll just be thinking about the plays that are going to get called and thinking about making a big play every time I get a chance."