Saturday marks the end of the summer slumber that many Badger fans have suffered through the last three months, as the Wisconsin Badger football team takes on the Akron Zips in the opening game of the 2008-‘09 season.

The Badgers enter the season ranked No. 12 and No. 13 in the AP and USA Today polls, with many critics and analysts expecting them to make a run at the Big Ten title, battling for the top spot against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

For Wisconsin, Saturday marks the end of six long months of preparation and planning.

“It’s just kind of like ‘Let’s go’,” senior right tackle Eric Vanden Heuvel said. “It’s been since the bowl game, and for me it’s been since November when I got hurt, so you’re just kind of aching to go out there and play somebody other than Wisconsin guys, so there is a lot of pent-up excitement.”

One of the most intriguing themes entering this season is that some key positions still have not been finalized, even after August’s Training Camp.

The most interesting position battles are at wide receiver, kicker and strong safety.

At wide receiver, sophomore David Gilreath is listed as the No. 1 on one side, while fellow sophomores Maurice Moore and Kyle Jefferson are both listed as the No. 1 on the other. With Paul Hubbard and Luke Swan’s graduation last spring, the wide receiver position will be watched closely all season.

At kicker, junior Matt Fischer and freshman Philip Welch battled throughout camp, and even head coach Bret Bielema is not sure who will be handling the field goal and kick-off duties come Saturday.

“[Last week] Friday night, we ran our mock game, and the way we started out with Philip [Welch] would have handled our kickoff response or, sorry, our field goal responsibilities and Matt [Fischer], actually, handled our kickoff responsibilities,” Bielema said. “So if that carries forward, that’s the way we’ll start. Could that change between now and then? Yes.”

At strong safety, sophomore Jay Valai leapt over incumbent junior Aubrey Pleasant to take the starting role. Pleasant played well at times as a full-time starter in his sophomore year last season, but missed many tackles and took bad pursuit angles which led to bigger runs for the opposition.

But while Valai has shown he has the skills on the field, it is what he shows off of it that has made an impression.

“What I think he brings to our defense is he does have excitement, he has energy, he is not afraid to hit anything at any given time,” Bielema said. “[He] has learned to play probably better disciplined football defense, just from a coverage standpoint, in the secondary. So any time you have a good player that has a little personality that can really lighten up a defense.”

Offensively, all eyes will surely be on fifth-year senior quarterback Allan Evridge, who will be making his first start Saturday against Akron. Bielema noted that Evridge knows the system, and probably would have won the starting job last year if not for a hamstring injury during Training Camp.

Junior running back P.J. Hill echoed his coach’s trust in Evridge.

“He is a hard worker, he is going to continue to work hard on his game, and nothing is going to stop him on that. I’m comfortable with him, [he] is the person who is going to play a part on this team and lead us throughout this season,” Hill said. “He is going to leave his mark this upcoming game.”

As for Hill, he leads a deep and talented running back position, with sophomore Zach Brown and freshman John Clay behind Hill on the depth chart. All three expect to get carries, and UW will utilize each running back to its advantage.

Akron head coach J.D. Brookhart knows what he is getting with Wisconsin’s style of play, and spoke about it at his press conference August 25.

“They aren’t trying to hide what they are, which is a strong, physical Big Ten football team that wants to run the ball,” Brookhart said. “They are big, strong and physical across the board on both sides of the ball.”

Akron will counteract with one of the best return games in the country. Senior wide receiver Andre Jones and senior defensive back Bryan Williams lead the way for Akron. Jones, the main punt returner, had 232 yards last season, and 295 yards returning kicks. Williams had 670 yards on kick returns, and both Jones and Williams returned one kick-off for a touchdown.

With a new UW punter and kicker, the Badgers will have to play to its strengths in order to not fall into the Zips.

Offensively the Zips are led by junior quarterback Chris Jacquemain, who passed for 1,632 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Bielema mentioned August 25 how complex Akron’s offense is and how complicated it can be to defend.

“They involve and incorporate, you know, all different kinds of personnel groupings. They involve the tight end. They have two-back sets,” Bielema said. “They do some unusual things with their quarterback and using him as a lead receiver on certain around plays, on certain looks that are very unique.”

However, it seems Brookhart has as good of knowledge of the Badgers as Bielema does of the Zips. “They don’t try to hide it or trick you,” Brookhart said. “They just play Big Ten football.” Kick-off is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.