MADISON, Wis. - Ohio State players know they must play better on the road to continue their unbeaten season. The fourth-ranked Buckeyes face another test away from home today against Wisconsin in a game filled with growing animosity on both sides.

        With the visiting team winning the last three games in the series, victorious players have created hard feelings by dancing on the opposing team's emblem at midfield.

        This has become a crucial game for Ohio State considering how it has struggled on the road in barely edging Cincinnati 23-19, and Northwestern 27-16.

        “We know it is crunch time,” Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said. “This is another opportunity to find out the maturity of this team as we take the road again. Has our leadership matured enough for us to go and play well at Camp Randall? Have our younger guys matured enough? This will be a tremendously opportunity to find out.”

        Tressel also would like to eliminate the recent tradition of stomping on midfield logos.

        That's fine with OSU offensive tackle Shane Olivea.

        “We're going to go up there to win a game, not dance on a logo,” Olivea said. “We'll do the dancing when we get back to Columbus.”

        The Buckeyes (7-0, 2-0) have their sights on the Big Ten Conference title - they don't face conference leader Iowa - and are in the running for the national championship.

        But Ohio State needs to improve its road performance. The Buckeyes nearly lost to unranked UC at Paul Brown Stadium. After trailing 19-17 midway through the fourth quarter, Ohio State needed Craig Krenzel's touchdown run to win it.

        “They will present us with a huge challenge,” Buckeyes linebacker Matt Wilhelm said. “Every team is going to be a challenge in a different way, whether it be on the road or at Ohio Stadium.”

        The Badgers (5-2, 0-2) have lost two straight, including a 32-29 loss at Indiana last week when they surrendered 22 unanswered points.

        “You're going to come out a little bit more excited for these types of games,” Wisconsin defensive lineman Darius Jones said. “We get to come back and show the fourth quarter wasn't really the Wisconsin defense.”

        Last year, Ohio State blew a 17-0 lead and lost to the Badgers. But the Buckeyes have Maurice Clarett this season, who is fifth in the nation in rushing, averaging 141.2 yards per game.

        The animosity between the programs started in 1999 following Wisconsin's 42-17 victory in Columbus when several Badgers danced on the “O” in the middle of the field.

        The Buckeyes got their revenge in 2000 by dancing on the “W” at midfield after their 23-7 victory in Madison.

        And the Badgers returned the favor last year by celebrating their 20-17 victory over OSU by jumping up and down at midfield.

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