No team in the Big Ten gets a bigger bump from its home stadium, and it's not really that close.
John Clay and the Badgers enjoy the biggest home-field edge in the Big Ten. At Camp Randall, Wisconsin goes from middling to magnificent vs. conference opponents.THE MADISON MAD HOUSE
At Camp Randall, Wisconsin owns a home-field edge like no other team in the Big Ten.
From 2006, the first season under Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, the Badgers in Big Ten play are 14-3 at home, 7-10 on the road, by far the biggest difference in the conference.
Here are the home and road Big Ten records of each team since 2006, ranked by the difference between them.
• Wisconsin: 14-3/7-10 (+7)
• Indiana: 6-11/2-15 (+4)
• Iowa: 11-6/7-9 (+3.5)
• Penn State: 12-5/10-7 (+2)
• Purdue: 8-8/7-10 (+1.5)
• Michigan: 9-8/8-9 (+1)
• Minnesota: 5-12/4-13 (+1)
• Michigan State: 8-9/8-9 (0)
• Ohio State: 15-2/16-1 (-1)
• Illinois: 6-11/7-10 (-1)
• Northwestern: 7-10/9-8 (-2)
• Overall: Big Ten teams are 101-85 at home in conference play, winning 54 percent of the time since 2006.
— Doug Lesmerises
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's first test with its new No. 1 ranking will come against the second-best team in the Big Ten over the last five years. Not No. 18 Wisconsin. Wisconsin, at home.
No team in the Big Ten gets a bigger bump from its home stadium, and it's not really that close. In Bret Bielema's five seasons at Wisconsin, the Badgers have been an elite team at home and below average on the road.
The Buckeyes are the only conference team Bielema hasn't beaten yet, and talking before the season, he knew exactly when and where he had them this season, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 16.
"Camp Randall is pretty good, especially in the evening," Bielema said. "I think that's a good environment."
Good? Try magical. Not every team gets a lift from sleeping in their own beds like Bielema's boys.
A lot of good teams are good no matter where they play -- Ohio State is 15-2 at home and 16-1 on the road in Big Ten play since 2006.
A lot of average teams are average -- Michigan State is 8-9 both at home and on the road in the same span.
A lot of bad teams are bad -- Minnesota is 5-12 at home, 4-13 on the road.
The Badgers are like two different programs -- 14-3 at home in Big Ten play since 2006 and 7-10 on the road. That home record is second-best among conference members, behind only that 15-2 record from the Buckeyes. The 7-10 road record is tied for seventh.
So Wisconsin is seven games better at home than on the road in conference play in the last five seasons. Indiana is next with a four-game edge at home, but eight conference teams have nothing more than a two-game edge -- including three teams that actually have worse home records.
So home-field advantage in the Big Ten is something of a myth -- everywhere except Wisconsin.
"It was ridiculous," OSU senior linebacker Brian Rolle said, remembering Ohio State's last visit in 2008. "It was at night as well, and the student section I think is one of the best in the nation as far as making noise. They're in the game the whole time. We know how it's going to be."
The Buckeyes are among the three Big Ten teams to survive Bucky's barrage since 2006, winning, 20-17, in that 2008 game. Penn State beat the Badgers, 48-7, the next week in Madison, and Iowa won there by a 20-10 score in 2009.
Student sections don't win games, and good teams prove that. The 2008 Buckeyes and Nittany Lions and 2009 Hawkeyes all went to BCS bowls.
What the Badgers do at home is take down any team that is off its game. That was almost the Buckeyes last time, as they needed a 11-yard touchdown run from freshman Terrelle Pryor on an option keeper with 68 seconds to play to pull out the 3-point win.
"I think it started my confidence of being a quarterback," Pryor said. "Anytime you get that win it's huge, whether it was me or somebody else."
So the Buckeyes have been through this before. That wasn't the case in 2008. Because of some scheduling quirks, Ohio State's previous trip to Madison had been a 17-10 loss in 2003. So two years ago, no one knew what to expect. Now they know everything, including the tradition where the entire crowd shakes the stadium between the third and fourth quarter to the song "Jump Around."
"I don't get scared about that stuff, I think it's kind of fun," said OSU senior defensive tackle Dexter Larimore, who ranks Wisconsin behind Penn State on his list of toughest Big Ten places to play.
In 2008, the Buckeyes joined the crowd, jumping around themselves on the visiting sideline.
"They do the jump, jump," Pryor said. "I guarantee we'll be jumping with them. That's just the type of team we have. We'll be jumping. It that atmosphere, you've got to have a swagger going into stuff like that. It'll be a tough game, but if we don't turn the ball over and give our defense a chance, we should take care of business."
If they do, the Buckeyes will have won a big one. It's one thing to beat Wisconsin. It's another thing to beat the Badgers at home.