Last season was supposed to be the year Wisconsin challenged Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten.

Instead, the Badgers not only finished 2007 behind the Wolverines and Buckeyes but also upstart Illinois, which beat Wisconsin and played in the Rose Bowl.

After a 9-4 season in 2007, in which the Badgers lost two of their first four Big Ten games and finished 5-3 in league play, coach Bret Bielema isn't about to lower his program's expectations.

"A common question I get with this program is, 'Bret, how you doing with the expectations, the high expectations?'" Bielema said. "I say all the time, 'I'd rather deal with high expectations than low expectations.' I want our guys to have a higher standard than a low standard."

The Badgers backslid a bit in Bielema's second season as coach. After finishing 12-1 in the coach's first season in 2006, Wisconsin was undone by a defense that allowed 30 points or more in six games.

Bielema fired defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz and replaced him with Dave Doeren, who was a co-coordinator last season. With nine returning starters on defense, Bielema believes the defense can improve quickly.

"I think there were a lot of guys individually who didn't feel that they lived up to the way that they could play," Bielema said.

"We had good enough players and a good enough scheme to play better than we did," said cornerback Shane Carter.

Offensively, the Badgers will have to replace quarterback Tyler Donovan, who threw for 2,607 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Kansas State transfer Allan Evridge is the leading candidate to do so.

The Badgers' new quarterback will have a crowded backfield behind him. Junior P.J. Hill, who ran for 1,569 yards as a freshman and 1,212 yards last season, is finally healthy. Lance Smith, Zach Brown and highly regarded freshman John Clay also are competing for carries.

"I'm super excited," Evridge said. "Last year was a great learning experience for me as far as football and life and all those things. It's fun to get back out there. It's been a long time coming, that's for sure."

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