MADISON -- The No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers return to the field on Saturday when they welcome the Kent State Golden Flashes to Camp Randall Stadium.

Head coach Paul Chryst met with reporters during his normal Monday weekly press conference. Below are just some of the highlights from the chat:

*On if there are different challenges for preparation of a non-conference game after already starting conference play:

“I don’t know. I think that each week has its own challenges and opportunity to it. I think you do certainly think a lot less of that when you know this is what’s in front of you. There’s a lot to prepare for with this team, and to give ourselves the best chance on Saturday, you have to have a great week of preparation.

“Every week, I think you certainly have to know and study and understand and prepare as best as you can for your opponent, and yet I think equally as important is your own preparation, your own growth and controllables. So I think in all there’s similarities to each week, and then each week has its own specific differences, challenges -- both with the opponent does and kind of where you’re at. I mean you shouldn’t be the same person each week. You got to keep growing, so I think that it doesn’t matter whether if it’s a Big Ten opponent, non-conference. It’s one more opportunity to play and how you maximize it.”

*On inside linebacker Jack Sanborn and what he’s done to put himself in the position that he’s in now:

“It’s been fun seeing the growth of Jack. I think certainly last year, every rep you get, they’re valuable. He’s obviously a talented player, but he’s a smart player, and I think smart enough how to learn, how to get better, how to take those experiences. I think that when you put the work in like he has done, then you have something to fall back on and trust. I think he certainly trusts himself as a player -- not satisfied -- but trusts himself as a player, and then the more prepared you are and confident you are, then I think it frees you up to turn it loose. I think he’s playing that way.”

*On Kent State head coach Sean Lewis and if it struck Chryst that the former Badger could be a coach someday when Lewis played at UW:

“I was lucky. I really enjoyed being around Sean. Knew that he liked football, and I knew that he liked his teammates. He was always fun and easy to be around, but I can’t say that I knew. I remember when he told me, I was pumped. Then as you follow him and track his career, I was excited for him. He worked, and he worked to get different opportunities and obviously did well with those. I think at the time, he was one of those guys you were glad he was in your room, and I had a chance to be around him a lot. Whatever the team needed, he was going to jump in on. Whatever he could do, he was going to work at. Enjoyed being around him. I couldn’t say at the time that I knew, ‘OK he is going to be a coach,’ but it didn’t surprise me. I’m glad that he did choose that and obviously has done well.”

*On quarterback Jack Coan and if he showed an even-keeled mentality after his first interception of the season against Northwestern on Saturday:

“There’s no, whether it’s Jack on that play, or any of the guys that make a mistake, they don’t want to do that. It means something, but also I think they know that you have to move forward. The next play is most important, and he’s done that. I think he does it both ways. He does it when there’s something good that happens. I think you see him -- he gets emotional and he’s excited for the team, and then he’ll snap back in it. I think it’s the same way when something negative, and that you appreciate that from your players. It’s not like it didn’t matter, but at the same time, it wasn’t going to get him again. That you do appreciate as a coach.”

*What went into using a lot of shotgun looks against Northwestern, and after looking at film, what did the Wildcats do to take away some things offensively:

“I think that was our plan going in, and I think that we didn’t -- you just think about it -- where you’ve got to defend the whole field, and I don’t think that we necessarily attacked the whole field to the point where they had to defend the whole field. I think that’s when you can do that. You’ll be your best -- and I don’t care what style of offense you’re doing -- if you can attack the whole field, you’re going to be harder to defend.”

*On the inside linebacker duo of Chris Orr and Jack Sanborn and their personalities meshing:

“The bottom line is though is I think they truly care about each other and they respect each other. They know who they are, and I love seeing them interact. Love seeing, really that’s one of the best parts of my job, is the interaction of all our guys. They certainly do complement each other in a lot of ways.”

*On the preference of being in the booth or on the field as an assistant and advantages to both:

“I think it is personal. I’d always been, with all the jobs and positions, I’d been up there [in the booth] so there was certainly a comfort for me. I felt really fortunate when I was coordinating here. Had a really good group that I worked with, so really all I had to do was talk to the quarterback, and you could easily do that on the headsets. I loved having all the guys there with the guys, and for me, it worked. Been around in those experiences, been around guys that truly felt really good -- probably felt the best on the field -- and been with others where they’ve been up top.

“I think that’s the advantage of having a lot of experiences. You see that it may be different but it works for different people. I know how I was, and I think it was a combination for me and really who I was with.”

*Back to the shotgun discussion and the extended use of it. What was it about Northwestern that made you change from the first three games:

“I just thought what we were trying to do, it was going to give us our best chance.”