As the mercury drops, most Wisconsinites dream of escaping to a warm tropical locale and forgetting their responsibilities for a bit.
And that, along with a high-powered Hawaii passing attack, is the challenge facing the Badgers this weekend.
Head coach Bret Bielema's squad heads west to the islands to wrap up its regular season against the Warriors, who are riding high with a four-game winning streak. Bielema has been calling this ""a business trip"" since last week, hammering in the seriousness of the game.
""I kind of want to set the mode, ‘hey, we're going get off that plane, we're hopping on that bus, we're going right to work,'"" Bielema said, noting that his team will practice right after they arrive.
The contest will provide a shot at redemption for Wisconsin's secondary, which struggled mightily in giving up over 350 yards to Northwestern, and has spent the last two weeks with a bad taste in their mouths. Hawaii enters the game with the third-best passing attack in the country, but has failed to produce points, scoring only 23.8 per game.
The Warrior attack consistently deploys four or five receivers, but can also run the ball fairly effectively. Junior wide receiver Greg Salas is the focal point of the offense, ranking second in the country in receiving yards and first in catches.
""I think it really puts a type of burden on you that you want to carry for the team,"" senior safety Chris Maragos said about facing a second-straight pass-heavy spread. ""I just think we want to come out there ... with an edge and a chip on our shoulder to get it right.""
Hawaii has been forced to play several signal callers due to injuries, with three players throwing more than 90 passes this year. Sophomore Bryant Moniz took the starting spot after a season-ending injury sidelined starter Greg Alexander for the season, and has thrown for nearly 2,200 yards in seven starts.
On paper it should be easy-going for a Wisconsin rushing attack that matches the Big Ten's top rusher in powerful senior running back John Clay against Hawaii's run defense which allows 193.58 yard per game, 104th in the country.
Despite the numbers, however, senior left tackle Gabe Carimi expects a stiff test from the Warriors front.
""What this Hawaii team is, they're real dense guys, really thick, heavy and they're going to be hard to move,"" Carimi said. ""They do a decent job of pass rushing. I think they're a lot better with their run stop.""
The Warriors fell to 2-6 at the end of October but rallied to bring themselves to the edge of bowl eligibility. Should they manage to pull out a victory Saturday, they will almost assuredly go to the Hawaii Bowl to face SMU and former head coach June Jones, who built up their program and led them to the Sugar Bowl two years ago.
For the Badgers, this weekend may be a nice distraction from Madison's cold weather, but the focus is still first and foremost finishing the regular season on a strong note.
""It's supposed to be a special thing that they do for us, but it also has to be prioritized,"" Carimi said. ""The main reason why we need to go there is to get a win out of it. They do this to be nice ... but it's always about the win.""
