Last Saturday the Badgers beat Minnesota for the ninth-straight year, matching the longest winning streak for either team in major college football's oldest rivalry.

It also improved Wisconsin's home winning streak to 21 games, and the victory gives Bret Bielema's teams a 44-3 record at Camp Randall Stadium. The 44 wins on the home turf is the best among FBS teams since 2006.

There is one other note that has gone a bit under the radar. In University of Wisconsin football history, there have been 27 head coaches. With Saturday's result, Bielema has led his teams to more victories than all but one.

I am pretty sure you have heard of the coach who tops the list.

Now in his seventh year as the Badgers' head coach, Bielema's record is 66-21, with a Big Ten mark of 36-16. His winning percentage is top-five among active coaches, ahead of well-known figures such as Mark Richt, Brian Kelly, Les Miles and Nick Saban.

It is dangerous, if not reckless, to compare Bielema's first half-dozen-plus years with Barry Alvarez, whose 118 wins leads the pack at UW. The circumstances were much different. In 1990, Alvarez inherited a mess. In 2006, Bielema moved from being Barry's defensive coordinator to the head man of a program coming off an impressive bowl victory against Auburn.

Still, Bielema inherited a set of expectations, and the pressure that goes with it. The record shows he is handling it quite well, thank you.

Bielema coaches aggressively, and at times does things many would consider outside the box, be it a trick play or his use of timeouts. When those decisions work, observers consider him innovative. When they backfire, observers often have a different description.

This season has a long way to go, with perhaps the best defense Wisconsin will see all year coming to town on Saturday. Yet the fact remains the Badgers are very much in the chase to win a third-straight Big Ten championship, which would be a first in school history.

In August, many already had them at least getting to Indianapolis, if not Pasadena. By the end of September, there was reason to wonder. The offense was scuffling, and Purdue became the new sexy pick to win the division. Now that has changed, and everyone is talking about the improvement going on in Madison.

The offensive line, injuries and all, is coming together. The tight ends and fullbacks are picking up their overall play. Montee Ball (both Mon-tay and Mon-tee) and James White are running with force, and the defense continues to be among the top 20 nationally.

There is enough credit to go around, but since the head man gets the blame when things are going wrong, he probably should get some credit for what is happening now. Bielema saw something on his staff that he believed needed fixing, so he fixed it.

He saw a couple of positions that he believed needed a change in personnel, so there were changes.

The timing of such moves might be out of the norm, but to this point, the returns are encouraging.

We get to find out together how the second half of the conference season will unfold. Maybe the Badgers win out, maybe they lose out, or perhaps they will end up somewhere in between. However it plays out, my guess is Bielema will continue to do things his way, regardless of how -- as he calls it -- the "outside world" reacts.

Can't say I blame him. It seems to be working out OK.

No matter where you stand, the numbers speak loudly. In year seven, Bret Bielema is the second winningest coach in Wisconsin football history. Bielema said Alvarez told him he would be very happy to see his successor move up one more notch.

Only 53 wins to go, right?

Call me paranoid, but Saturday's Wisconsin-Minnesota football game has me a bit concerned.

The annual Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe has been a one-sided affair of late. The Badgers have won the previous eight meetings. There have been some blowouts, including last year's 42-13 pounding in Minneapolis, but four of the last eight games have been one-score contests.

The most famous of those close encounters is the 2005 Miracle in the Metrodome, when Jonathan Casillas blocked a punt, and Ben Strickland recovered in the end zone with 30 seconds to play, giving Wisconsin a stunning 38-34 victory.

When one team is dominating another, it is easy to say it isn't much of a rivalry. Such was the case when Iowa had a 20-year run of not losing to Wisconsin. The Badgers busted that streak with a 13-10 decision in 1997.

Given Wisconsin's string of success against the Gophers, the words "isn't much of a rivalry" seem to be popping up again, be it from fans, media or other observers.

Kinda makes me cringe.

When I prepare for a game broadcast, I try to consider what those on the other side might be thinking. Compared to a coach or a player's preparation, what I do is pretty low-level stuff, but it never hurts to put yourself in the other guy's shoes.

In this case, the Gophers have issues. After a 4-0 start, the Gophers have lost two straight games. Last week, things could not have started much worse. A muffed opening kickoff that Northwestern recovered. The Wildcats needed one play to score. On the ensuing kickoff, the Gophers' return man fielded the kick, but promptly lost his footing, giving Minnesota lousy field position.

Eventually they did settle down a bit, but the Cats still won the game 21-13.

Then there is the issue of Coach Jerry Kill's health. After finishing with his media obligations last Saturday, Kill suffered another seizure. He has a history of dealing with seizures. Thankfully, once again, he seems to have recovered quickly.

Keep in mind that, while Kill's situation is unusual, most of his staff has been with him for several years. That includes offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover and defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys. It only makes sense to believe they know what to do, and they know how Kill runs his program. It is hardly ideal, but when Coach Kill needs medical attention, it is logical to believe that the assistants are prepared to handle it.

On the field, the health of quarterback MarQueis Gray is a key storyline. After an injury on Sept. 15, Gray returned to the field last week and made some plays. Listed at 250 pounds, Gray is a dangerous runner, and the statistics indicate he is an improved passer.

However, he suffered another ankle injury in the third quarter.

From what I have seen and heard, all of this seems to have at least some folks expecting the Badgers to keep possession of the Axe without much in the way of drama.

Look, if that is how it plays out, great. I just think assuming such things can be extremely dangerous. Especially in the Big Ten. Especially this year.

If I'm on the other side, I am sick and tired of watching my opponent take the victory lap. If I'm on the other side, you better believe it is a big-time rivalry.

That's because it is. Lopsided in recent years? Yes. But in Wisconsin and in Minnesota, that does not change what this rivalry means.

Never has. Never will.

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A couple years ago, inspired by the "Make a Wish" campaign, the UW Athletic Department began its own version with "Wish Upon a Badger." A number of different sports have participated, including men's basketball, women's tennis, football and softball (View all "Wish Upon a Badger" videos).

In cooperation with the American Family Children's Hospital on campus, children are given the opportunity to go behind the scenes with their favorite team, meeting the players and coaches, touring the facilities and hanging out at a practice.

On the Friday before facing UTEP, the Badger football team had the opportunity to host James Helmuth. James has been undergoing treatment since August and is a huge football fan, with his favorite player being Montee Ball.

As you can see in the video, James got to spend the day immersed in Badger football, spending some time in Coach Bielema's office then getting a special present from his favorite player.

Don't know about you, but I am still trying to figure out baseball's infield fly rule, and why some fans might cheer when one of their favorite team's own players is injured.

It sure has been an interesting week in the world of fun and games.

Every now and then, fan behavior becomes the focus of attention, and that certainly has been the case in the last seven days.

During the baseball playoffs last Friday, the Atlanta Braves had runners at first and second with one out. The hitter, Andrelton Simmons, lifted a fly ball to shallow left field. Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma ran out to try and make the play, while outfielder Matt Holliday drifted in to do the same. The ball dropped, but umpire Sam Holbrook declared the infield fly rule, meaning the batter is out, and the runners can advance at their own risk.

Fans were irate and littered the field with bottles, cans and other assorted debris. After nearly 20 minutes, the game resumed. The Cardinals won, while Braves fans left the stadium angry -- and because of the actions of some -- looking foolish.

Then last Sunday, while the struggling Kansas City Chiefs were in the process of losing a low-scoring game to Baltimore, much-maligned quarterback Matt Cassel was injured. While opinions vary, it appeared at least some fans at Arrowhead Stadium were cheering at the sight of Cassel not getting up.

How many fans were cheering is very much open to question, but there were enough to send offensive tackle Eric Winston into a postgame rant.

"When you cheer somebody getting knocked out, I don't care who it is. And it just so happened to be Matt Cassel. It's sickening. It's 100 percent sickening," said Winston. "I've been in some rough times on some rough teams -- I've never been more embarrassed in my life to play football."

Strong stuff.

While Winston has stood by his comments, the following day he did point out that he was not referring to everyone in the stadium. "It might have been 7,000. It might have been 700. It's still too many," Winston told reporters.

No doubt fans in both Atlanta and Kansas City are stinging at the national reaction to the actions of some.

Clearly, and yes, sadly, what happened in those stadiums can happen in any number of cities. While the above examples are from professional sporting events, it seems cases of anger in the stands is becoming more and more evident, even during college games.

Maybe not to the extent of what we have witnessed in the last week, but for some, going to a game is less about enjoyment and more about venting why so-and-so stinks.

It would be irresponsible to claim that fans are the only ones at fault. The media, of which I am a member, has become less about information and more about stirring the pot -- the louder the better.

A common postgame question in the sports talk/message board/Twitter world/blogosphere crowd is "Who's to blame?"   

If we disagree on something, no matter how minor, it is an OUTRAGE!  

All too often, we specialize in overreaction. By "we" I mean media, as well as fans.

No doubt part of this is because of the high salaries of today's pro athletes, and the big bucks pulled in by college coaches. Mega-million-dollar salaries and higher ticket prices can equal increased expectations. But I tend to believe the bigger reason is simple. We have so many avenues to vent, from talk radio, to reader comments in the online editions of newspapers, and of course, through social media.

Everyone has a voice, and it is open season, 24/7/365.

I would like to believe most fans still love the game more than they love to be angry. While not unprecedented, what happened in Atlanta is still the exception to the rule. Kansas City is known as a terrific sports town, especially when it comes to the Chiefs.

So who's to blame? Maybe a lot us, myself included, can start by looking in the mirror.

It's no secret that Camp Randall Stadium provides some very friendly confines for the Wisconsin football team. The Badgers are 42-3 at home since Bret Bielema took the helm in 2006.

With that in mind, it will feel good for the Badgers to return home Saturday after suffering a tough loss on the road at Nebraska last week.

Beyond the fact that UW loses so rarely at home -- the Badgers are 21-3 in Big Ten games at Camp Randall under Bielema -- history says that last week's setback won't derail Wisconsin's league title aspirations.

In the previous five seasons in which the Badgers lost their first Big Ten road game, UW went on to post a combined record of 24-7 after suffering that initial road loss.

That includes a 5-1 mark last season and a 7-0  record in 2010 after losing conference road openers at Michigan State.

Wisconsin has won 18 Big Ten games since the start of the 2010 season, tying with the Spartans for the most league wins of any conference team over that span.

In other words, don't write these Badgers off just yet.

There is classroom work and study table. There are position meetings, team meetings, video sessions and practices. There is travel, which can include long flights and bus rides.

Then there are the games, with packed arenas, stadiums, and perhaps up to a few million more fans viewing every play.

A college athlete signs up for all of this. So do the coaches.

Yet, at the University of Wisconsin, the 800 or so student-athletes and coaches make time to give back to the community. For the past several years, it was thought to be a safe guess that UW student-athletes donated some 1,500 hours a year to community service projects.

Turns out the number was more than double that.

Last year, Badgers players and coaches engaged in more than 3,600 hours of community service, ranging from hospital visits and trips to schools to promote reading to projects such as Habitat for Humanity.

"It's really remarkable, with all of their busy schedules, with classes, practices, games and so on, that they make the time to do all of this," UW Associate Athletic Director for External Relations Justin Doherty said.

Yet they do it eagerly.

"Our student-athletes are just amazing with the kids," says Doherty. "The hospital visits, with reading. They have become kids themselves again."

Now the process of connecting with UW Athletics is easier. The department recently launched a new platform called "Badgers Give Back." The goal is to better serve fans and the Madison community.

Organizations can make a request online via the "Badgers Give Back" page at UWBadgers.com.

"It (the request) goes through compliance," explains Doherty. "It goes through our community relations coordinator (Kayla Gross). The process is easy now. We feel good about it, and we feel good that we can communicate what we do."

Coaches spend countless hours trying to figure out how to win the next game. Nobody understands that any better than UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez. Yet, he knows the importance of reaching out to the community, and he wants every team on campus to embrace the concept.

"We've tried to take this to our players. We have to give back, too," Alvarez said. "It is not just about our fans giving to us. It is about us giving back to the community. All of our student-athletes buy into that. We know we are an important part of this city, and we want to make sure we give back."

And they have. And they will continue to give back.

In recent years, certain stories have gained a fair amount of attention, such as former Badgers quarterback Scott Tolzien's relationship with a young man who has battled cancer.

While he played basketball at Wisconsin, Michael Flowers also became friends with a young man going through a rough stretch.

Those are just two examples of countless stories where a fan can see a student-athlete away from the athletic arena.

I can tell you from personal experience that the athletes and the coaches enjoy using their platform accordingly, and often are very touched by the people they meet.

During the games it is easy to get excited when the Badgers win, or frustrated win they lose. But it is good to know that there is a lot more to UW student-athletes than where their teams are in the conference standings or national polls.

With the "Badgers Give Back" initiative, it now is a more efficient process for those efforts to continue.

Good to see that Russell Wilson wasted little time before he got involved in one of the more controversial plays in NFL history.

There's just something about Mary, as in Hail Mary, that will always be a part of this state.

If nothing else, the former Badgers quarterback showed his usual coolness under fire, and the last-second throw was where it needed to be, giving Golden Tate a chance (push-off or not).

While that was a stand-alone Monday night game, I have become addicted to a channel called NFL Red Zone, which on Sundays in the fall takes the viewer from game to game. The big sales pitch is the Red Zone channel will show every touchdown. It is great for fantasy players and anyone else who just likes to keep tabs on what's going in the league.

I am not one of those fantasy players, but for me the Red Zone channel helps me watch all those former Badgers making an impact in today's NFL.

Last Sunday I watched J.J. Watt come up with a big sack of Peyton Manning. In his second year, Watt is becoming a force. In last week's edition of Sports Illustrated, longtime NFL writer Peter King noted that he thinks by the end of the year, Watt will be the league's best 3-4 defensive end.

Owen Daniels isn't half bad, either. A teammate of Watt's in Houston, Daniels scored a big fourth-quarter TD against Denver. But I can't pull too hard for the Texans because Jim Leonhard is a Bronco. Right now his primary role is as a punt returner, but I will not dismiss his chances of working his way into the Denver secondary.

Before Monday night's game with the Packers, the channel allowed me to watch Seattle's first two games, including Wilson's regular-season debut, when he nearly led the Seahawks to victory at Arizona. It is fun to watch the not-quite 5-foot-11 quarterback continue to impress, if not amaze, the doubters with his play-making ability. I also get a kick out of watching John Moffitt and Chris Maragos.

It is much the same with Kevin Zeitler and Chris Pressley of the Cincinnati Bengals, and Joe Thomas with Cleveland. Then there is O'Brien Schofield with the surprising Cardinals, DeAndre Levy with Detroit, Matt Shaughnessy with the Raiders and Brad Nortman with the Carolina Panthers.

While I felt badly for Travis Beckum when he was hurt in the Super Bowl, I had to smile knowing his Giants won it all, and the one-time Badgers tight end had earned a championship ring.

There are others of course, but you get the idea. For a program that supposedly doesn't land very many Parade All-Americans, the Badgers sure have a lot of guys in the NFL.

Yes, I make every effort to set aside three hours to catch the Packers. You can't live in this state nearly half of your life and not get caught up in the rich tradition of the franchise. The fact that it is such as well-run operation makes it even more fun.

However, being a fan of the game in general, it is my own Sunday tradition to keep an eye on those former Badger standouts that are making a mark at the next level.

Considering there are some two dozen Badgers getting NFL paychecks, keeping up with them is a challenge, but it sure makes Sundays more enjoyable.

At this early stage of the college football season, it appears to be a familiar story at the top of the rankings. The SEC is well represented, with four or five other teams still jockeying for position. Otherwise, it looks as though there will be some wide open races for conference championships.

That includes the Big Ten.

For now, this proud, tradition-rich league will have to put up with criticism from various pundits and fans across America. So far, the conference has not performed well in the bigger stage games. Fair or unfair, the jabs go with the territory.

However, it is fair to suggest that this is a league where several of the better programs are in transition, from new head coaches at Penn State and Ohio State, to new starting quarterbacks and wide receivers at Wisconsin and Michigan State.

The process of change can be painful at times, and three of the four above mentioned teams already have a loss. The fourth, Ohio State, while unbeaten, seems to be far from a finished product.

In the meantime, everyone just keeps working to get better. Including the Badgers, who last Saturday extended their home winning streak to 18 games.

No, it wasn't pretty, but no apologizes are needed either. Utah State has made a habit of taking BCS teams to the very end, and last weekend was no exception.

The game reminded me of the 1997 season, when the Badgers needed a late touchdown to beat Boise State 28-24. This was before Boise State became the national name it is today. Badgers quarterback Mike Samuel somehow avoided what would have been a game-sealing sack and converted a game-saving fourth-down play that led to the clinching score.

In college football, sometimes looking pretty can be important. Other times, it can be overrated. Right now for the Badgers, scoring one more point than the other guy is pretty enough.

They have company.

Take a look at Stanford. The Cardinal is coming off an emotionally charged victory against USC, a team many tabbed as a BCS favorite. The seven-point win against the Trojans is not the tightest game Stanford has played this season. So far, the closest call was against San Jose State. The Cardinal won that game 20-17. Not very pretty, but I would guess the good folks in Palo Alto said thank you very much and moved on.

Remember Oklahoma State, a team that last fall was on the cusp of playing for the national title? Like the Badgers, the Cowboys are 2-1. Unlike the Badgers, the one loss was a beat down, 59-38 at Arizona. I am guessing fans in Stillwater prefer winning ugly to losing ugly.

At the moment, the national stage shows a fairly clear separation between the national title contenders and the rest of the pack.

The Big Ten shows a much different picture. Each week, opinions vary on who is the best team. There is talent, but everyone shows a flaw or two. It will be interesting to see which team can make the most improvement in the shortest amount of time. In what is shaping up to be an up-for-grabs conference title chase, little if anything will be easy.

Something tells me that several teams in this league have their best work ahead of them. If I am right, the image of the league could change for the better sooner than later.

More importantly, it would lead to one crazy and entertaining season of Big Ten football.

Three freshmen on the Wisconsin football team made a special visit to their hometown of Waunakee, Wis., to inspire elementary students at the Prairie Elementary School's all-school assembly on Wednesday

Derek Straus, Austin Maly and Jack Russell surprised more than 100 students when they walked into Prairie Elementary School's gymnasium Wednesday morning. During the half hour assembly, they answered questions about the importance of academics, goal setting, and balancing athletics with their studies.

"I remember when I was younger, in that same school, some badger players came to talk to us and I was just in awe by them," said Straus. "To get the opportunity to do the same thing for all those kids was a great feeling. It's important to me to remember where I'm from and to give back to the community."

No matter what you think of the onside kick replay reversal, and I have an idea what many of you believe, perhaps the best line on the subject comes from Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema, who told reporters on Monday that the Badgers "never should have put ourselves in that position."

So, after further review, it is time to move on.

These are interesting and challenging days for Wisconsin football. There is a coaching change at offensive line. That is the big news of the week, and it certainly is understandable.

There also is another good opponent coming to town. It is becoming more and more clear that the non-conference schedule is more difficult than most expected.

Which sets up quite the contrast in perceived intangibles Saturday night.

On one side is Utah State, a team riding high after last Friday's victory against in-state rival Utah. Through the first two games of the season, dynamic sophomore quarterback Chuckie Keeton has completed 77 percent of his passes. When the Aggies choose, the offense is up-tempo and features a little bit of everything.

Add to that an aggressive defense and a special teams unit that scored a touchdown on a blocked punt against the Utes, and you probably have the ingredients for a confident bunch coming to Madison this weekend.

On the other side is Wisconsin. The Badgers are in search of answers to fix an ailing offense. It probably was unrealistic to assume they could continue to put up the historic numbers of the past couple of years, but no doubt even neutral observers were surprised at what happened last weekend in Corvallis.

First, give some credit to Oregon State. It is a proud program with a proven head coach who is determined to get his own program back to its winning ways.

Second, maybe we should take a step back and understand there are three new primary starters on the offensive line (I say primary because Ryan Groy did have four starts last year, but gone are Peter Konz, Kevin Zeitler and Josh Oglesby). The wide receiving corps is very young, and became younger when Jared Abbrederis was injured in the second quarter last Saturday.

Beyond the adjustment to a new offensive line coach, it seems logical to suggest that the lack of established threats outside can result in an opposing defense to focus even more on the running game.

Hopefully sooner than later, those young guns can become established threats.

One more thing to consider before jumping off the ledge: While those of us in the media can spend a lot of time writing and talking about what is wrong these days, and while some fans do the same, a team just moves ahead.

An easy reference is the 1999 Badgers, which lost at Cincinnati, then dropped the Big Ten opener the following week to Michigan. At that point Wisconsin was 2-2 overall, 0-1 in the conference. It never lost again.

An easier reference is last year, after back-to-back setbacks to Michigan State and Ohio State. If I remember correctly, things improved a bit after those two games.

Yes, sometimes teams are unable to get back on track, and the above examples are different teams in different years. But perhaps the lesson isn't so much for the Badgers themselves, but for those of us who follow them.

I am not even close to being smart enough to know how this season will unfold, but I would like to believe there are plenty of folks out there who are open-minded enough to give this team a chance to fix what needs fixing.

The Badgers will have that next opportunity beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday evening.