Wisconsin players are used to uncertainty at this point.

Just a week after a Big Ten schedule laid out a Sept. 4 start date, conference officials quickly cancelled the season. And then days after playing a nearly perfect game against Illinois, the Badgers were forced to sit out two weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the program.

“It’s been kind of weird and sad just not being able to play,” senior wide receiver Kendric Pryor told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t pay too much attention to the rankings but I do look and see where we’re at every week, and it definitely sucks knowing that we were No. 9 and knowing that we weren’t able to just keep dropping.”

Following an outbreak that ultimately resulted in 24 positive tests within the program - head coach Paul Chryst among the notable personnel to have tested positive - Wisconsin was forced to cancel games against Nebraska and Purdue. Now with some teams around the country heading into their eighth contest of the season, UW will be preparing to play just its second game of the year.

“Adversity happens every year with football, it just happens that this year, that adversity is the same for everyone with COVID,” Pryor said when discussing the ups and downs of the season. “It may have hit us a little harder than it hit other people, but it’s how you bounce back from it.”

The two weeks off and the quarantine period the team experienced was fortunately - or maybe unfortunately - familiar after an off-season filled with individual work.

“Goes back to spring time when we first went on spring break and found out that we weren’t playing,” Pryor explained. “Doing TRX in your apartment and hooking it up to a door or doing resistance band work."

“With all of us being in quarantine, you had to do different workouts, such as pushups and stuff like that,” junior linebacker Jack Sanborn added.

The players found out their matchup with Purdue was cancelled around this time last week, leaving them with more time to prepare for the Wolverines.

“Personally from what I’ve seen, I think our team has approached it very well," Sanborn said. "These are times that none of us have ever been in or ever thought we’d be in, and I thought we’ve approached it well. Each week, it’s okay, it’s on to the next week, who’s our opponent?

“Definitely been weird from that standpoint. Was able to watch the game live and that was what my Saturday was. Have watched this team a little bit more than some other games.”

Luckily for the team, the two cancelled games leaves just enough wiggle room to remain eligible for the Big Ten title game and keeps their goals alive. Now they must turn the page to Michigan.

“Everyone went out there today (Monday) and yesterday with great energy because we just had two games taken away from us just like that, and we still have a chance to accomplish everything that we want to with the Big ten title game. We know that we can’t miss one more game,” Sanborn said. “This week we’ve had good energy, good focus and I really like how we came out to practice this week.”