Matt Weir / The Collegian

Fresno State Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 WAC) at Wisconsin Badgers (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

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Breakdown: Bulldogs

The Bulldogs̢۪ 51-0 shutout of UC Davis last Saturday was nearly perfect and showed the ̢۪Dogs are capable, but it was just a warm-up game. Now it is time for Fresno State to step up and play real college football.

Wisconsin will be one of the best opponents on the schedule and the 80,000 fans at Camp Randall Stadium will be the largest crowd Fresno State will see. Quarterback Ryan Colburn and the offense will need to be prepared for the deafening sounds and the jitters the team will face.

Head coach Pat Hill has been trying to simulate the hostile environment by pumping loud crowd sounds and marching bands through the P.A. system during the team̢۪s midweek practices at Bulldog Stadium. But nothing can compare to the real thing.

The Bulldogs’ best hope to combat the noise – get things rolling early. Especially if Fresno State ends up with the ball to start the game, Colburn must minimize mistakes early on and get a quick score to quiet the crowd and ease his and the team’s nerves.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Fresno State defensive line must combat the size of the Wisconsin̢۪s offensive line and get pressure on quarterback Scott Tolzien. Last week against UC Davis, the ̢۪Dogs didn̢۪t register a sack. This week, the defense needs to get to Tolzien early and often, forcing turnovers and ending drives.

Breakdown: Badgers

Fresno State head coach Pat Hill may have just recently seen the 2006 action film “300,â€Â quoting a popular line at his Monday morning press conference. Hill said that Wisconsin’s offensive line “will blot out the sun.â€Â

And while he may be exaggerating just a bit for effect, the Badgers̢۪ offensive line does average 6-foot-6 and 324 pounds. With a line so hefty, it would be easy to assume that the Badgers will be running the ball almost every play on first and second down.

But even in its 28-20 defeat last week, Northern Illinois proved that they could shut down the Badgers̢۪ running attack, holding starting tailback Zach Brown to 51 yards on 14 carries, averaging only 3.6 yards per rush.

As a team, Wisconsin was only able to gain 152 yards on 38 attempts against Northern Illinois, showing its dominant ground game can be slowed down.

But if the ̢۪Dogs are able to limit the tailbacks, quarterback Scott Tolzien will be a viable second threat. In his first start, he totaled 257 yards and a touchdown, but also threw two interceptions.

The Badgers will not only have to contend with the Bulldogs, but they will face another adversary. Ten athletes on the football team have been diagnosed with the H1N1 flu. Wisconsin and its fans are surely hoping that the home cooking at Camp Randall can help push the Badgers to victory.