After preparing for the unexpected against Virginia in its first game of the season, the Wisconsin football team will face a familiar foe when the Badgers take on No. 7 Oregon Sept. 1. at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.
However, knowing their opponent won't make scouting any easier for the Badgers.
'They are a very disciplined team, very sound and very hard to prepare for,' Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez said.
Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Joey Harrington, the high-flying Oregon offense looks to duplicate its 454-yard performance at Camp Randall a year ago.
The senior quarterback averaged 257.6 yards passing per contest, but may be remembered for his exploits against Texas last year in the Holiday Bowl, where the 6'4\ signal-caller passed, ran and caught a touchdown in Oregon's 35-30 victory over the Longhorns.
'He's one of the best quarterbacks in the country, with outstanding receivers, and you can't overplay the pass because they can really run the ball,' Alvarez said. '[Senior running back Maurice Morris] is outstanding.'
While Oregon returns eight starters on the offensive side of the ball, the Duck defense will see only four starters make a repeat performance.
The strength of the Oregon defense will be its secondary. It pairs third-team All-American senior Rashad Bauman with honorable mention all-Pac-10 senior cornerback Steve Smith, both of whom ranked among the league leaders in passes defended.
Alvarez said last week's win over Virginia will give his players some confidence when they face the Ducks.
'It was good to get a game under their belt for some of these kids,' Alvarez said. 'I feel better about going [to Eugene, Ore.] with a game under my belt because I know more about my team than I did a week ago at this time.'
As for the test with the much-anticipated spread offense, it opened to lukewarm results, but Alvarez insists that the wide-open style will still be a part of the offense.
'I wasn't satisfied with the productivity of the spread, yet we're not going to junk it,' Alvarez said. 'We're going to use that in our offense because I think we'll get better at it.'
Wisconsin's offense will be somewhat shorthanded when it faces Oregon.
Junior quarterback Brooks Bollinger went down with a contusion of the liver late in the second quarter of the Virginia game.
Backup sophomore quarterback Jim Sorgi will take over after a second half, which saw the redshirt sophomore complete five of 11 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns, both to junior receiver Lee Evans.
Evans caught two more balls, giving him a career-high 135 receiving yards.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise in the Virginia game was the play of halfback Anthony Davis.
The redshirt freshman from Plainfield, N.J., collected 147 yards on 24 carries, becoming just the third player in the Alvarez era to rush for over 100 yards in his collegiate debut. The other two were Aaron Stecker versus SMU in 1995 and Carlos Daniels against San Diego State in 1998.
For Wisconsin to remain undefeated, the offense will have to help out the defense and create some scores early.
Senior defensive end Wendell Bryant said getting an early lead could help the Badgers take the always-raucous Autzen Stadium crowd out of the game.
'If you let Michigan get on top of you, [Michigan Stadium is] a wild stadium,' Bryant said. 'But I think if you go in there and play people tough, you can make a big crowd become real quiet, real quick.'
