Mad in Madison: Badgers use loss as motivation for Buckeye battle

Ohio State knows from experience what a loss can do to a team.

COLUMBUS (AP) — The game at Wisconsin was already going to be difficult enough for Ohio State. Then Michigan had to go and beat the Badgers, making them even more dangerous by backing them into a corner.

Now the 14th-ranked Buckeyes are expecting the No. 18 Badgers to be angry, inspired and desperate to avoid an 0-2 start in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes speak from experience.

“I definitely know that’s how we came out after the USC game. Things were a lot more intense in practice that entire week. I would imagine their coaches would do the exact same thing for them,” Ohio State safety Anderson Russell said in the days leading up to Saturday night’s game at Camp Randall Stadium. “Our team really came out with a chip on our shoulder. I would imagine they’re going to come out the same way.”

The Buckeyes (4-1, 1-0) were hurting for the first 24 hours after their 35-3 beating at Southern California on Sept. 13, then gradually turned that disappointment into motivation. They vowed that they still had a lot to play for, that they still could win their fourth straight Big Ten title and an unprecedented third consecutive outright championship.

Since then, they’ve won games over Troy and Minnesota. They know they can’t afford another slip-up.

“Basically, we can’t lose another one to accomplish all the goals that we set for ourselves,” tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells said.

Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said it was difficult watching the films from his team’s 27-25 loss at Michigan last week.

The Badgers (3-1, 0-1) led 19-0 before the Wolverines spun off the next 27 points. A late Wisconsin touchdown brought the Badgers close, but a successful two-point conversion pass was disallowed by a penalty.

“You know, in my three years of being here, we’ve only had to endure a loss six times,” Bielema said. “This is the sixth time. It’s not easy.

“It’s nothing that I want to ever get used to. It’s a very painful experience, but it’s something you have to endure.”

Teams endure by rededicating themselves. The coaches bark a little more, the players watch more film and the practices sometimes become open warfare between teammates. Everybody substitutes hard work for the ache of defeat. And the sting of the loss passes with time.

“When you’re playing a good team that didn’t play as well as they could the week before, you’re going to [play against] a better team than maybe you would have [had it won],” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “That’s the way life is. It’s our instinct to want to do better when we didn’t do as well.”

Ohio State knows if it loses another game, the chances of going to a third consecutive Bowl Championship Series title game are almost nil. With Penn State and Northwestern still unbeaten, a loss would put a severe crimp in any Big Ten championship plans as well.

Wisconsin also risks a lot in Saturday’s game. The Badgers cannot afford another Big Ten loss or else many of their team goals — playing for a conference title, making it into a major bowl game — might already have evaporated even before the weather has turned cold.

“I’m sure they feel their backs are to the wall a little bit more; you couldn’t help but feel that way,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said. “They’re not used to losing football games. When you’re in a situation like that and you lose a game, there’s usually a sense of urgency to get things back in gear and on track.”

Bollman said that sense of urgency hits every team that loses a game.

“That’s no different here,” he said. “And I’m sure it’s not different there.”