By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS - It's not just the bye week that has made the Buckeyes eager to play tonight. Nor is it their first road game of the season that's creating anxiety.

It's simple: After an unimpressive five-game homestand against lesser competition, they yearn to find out if they have what it takes to win the Big Ten and possibly repeat as national champions. The answer could come at Wisconsin.

"This will tell us how good we are," Ohio State linebacker Robert Reynolds said.

Third-ranked OSU (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) takes its 19-game winning streak into raucous Camp Randall Stadium. The No. 23 Badgers (5-1, 2-0), who have rebounded from an early home loss to UNLV, could stamp themselves as a favorite in the league with a win.

The matchup will pit Immovable Object, OSU's run defense ranked No. 1 in the country, vs. Irresistible Force, a UW rushing offense ranked ninth nationally.

The Badgers join Minnesota as the only teams in the country with three tailbacks who have rushed for 300 or more yards, so they won't despair if Anthony Davis, who has two of the three 100-yard rushing games OSU has allowed in the Jim Tressel era, is slowed by an ankle sprain. They'll just run Dwayne Smith (467 yards). Or even third-stringer Booker Stanley, who has two 100-yard games this season.

"If we go in there flat, they're going to run all over us," OSU safety Will Allen said.

It's time to find out if the Buckeyes can muscle up, for UW will run right at them. Northwestern ran for a respectable 121 yards on OSU by attacking between the tackles, perhaps exposing a weak link in a defensive front that's fast but not especially physical.

OSU's previous four foes had averaged just 24 yards rushing.

"This is what Big Ten football's all about: people going at it up front," Buckeyes defensive end Simon Fraser said.

The other tussle in the trenches will come from the Buckeyes trying to establish their own run game and negate the seven-minute advantage UW has averaged in time of possession. An offensive line that returned from the Fiesta Bowl hasn't yet created holes for Maurice Hall and Lydell Ross.

"I question the offensive line," ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said. "An area that was supposed to be a strength has been as inconsistent as ever."

OSU gets quarterback Craig Krenzel back after four weeks off with an elbow injury and also should have offensive lineman Alex Stepanovich and defensive lineman Darrion Scott back.

Krenzel isn't worried about rust.

"I definitely think I'm going to be fine," he said.

He may have a new target in erstwhile two-way star Chris Gamble, who hasn't played receiver since the season opener. Tressel has said he's more likely to increase Gamble's duties as the weather cools.

Last year, OSU struggled at times on the road, as Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Purdue and Illinois all took it to the wire. Yet as hostile as this setting is, the Badgers are just 3-9 at home in Big Ten games the past three years. The Buckeyes have won their last three games in Madison.

No. 3 Ohio State at No. 23 Wisconsin

Kickoff: 9:10 p.m. today, Camp Randall Stadium (76,634), Madison, Wis.

Records: OSU 5-0 (1-0 Big Ten), UW 5-1 (2-0).

TV: ESPN.

Radio: WBOB-AM (1160); WPFB-AM (910).

Series: OSU leads 50-15-5.

Line: OSU by 2 1/2.

What to watch: Wisconsin has had a 1,000-yard rusher each of the past 10 seasons. UW also has seen Lee Evans, who set a Big Ten record with 1,545 receiving yards in 2001, return to form after two knee surgeries. He leads the league in average receiving yards per game (86.2).

OSU	Team stats	UW
298.4	Offense avg.	422.3
127.2	Avg. by rush	222.5
171.2	Avg. by pass	199.8
273	Defense avg.	337.5
43.4	Avg. by rush	106.2
229.6	Avg. by pass	231.3
26.4	Avg. points for	30.5
15.4	Avg. pts. against	23.5

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E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com