Iowa Hawkeyes

Badgers players ready for Big Ten battle with Iowa

Published Oct. 1, 2015 3:34 p.m. ET

foxsports

The temperature has started to dip, it can only mean one thing: Big Ten football is near.

When two rivals like Iowa and Wisconsin get together the intensity picks up even more than for a normal Big Ten game. The Badgers players realize this and are ready for a battle this Saturday. As a fifth-year senior, team leader Michael Caputo can share his experiences with the younger players:

“All the older guys, every single one of them, made certain that I knew how important Big Ten play was,” he said. “But you’ve got to experience it first before you truly understand how important it is and why guys take it so seriously. My freshman year, we opened with Nebraska. It wasn’t the game itself but the week of preparation that got my attention and allowed me to see how big the game was.”

“Every year we’ve played them,” Caputo said, “they’ve always come out and tried to smack you in the mouth straight-up. They came at you with the type of football that I like. That’s why I came to Wisconsin. It was a great fit and the Big Ten was a great fit."

The game on Saturday figured to be another hard-hitting showdown between the schools that will be the first game that also goes a long way to determine the Big Ten West winner.

(h/t Wisconsin Badgers)