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FACTS & STATS: Site: TCF Bank Stadium (50,300) -- Minneapolis, Minnesota. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Wisconsin 4-0, Minnesota 1-1. Away Record: Wisconsin 0-0, Minnesota 2-0. Neutral Record: Wisconsin 0-0, Minnesota 0-0. Conference Record: Wisconsin 1-0, Minnesota 1-0. Series Record: Minnesota leads, 59-51-8.

GAME NOTES: Big Ten Conference foes collide at brand new TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers play host to the Wisconsin Badgers.

Wisconsin scored 21 points off four Michigan State turnovers last weekend en route to a 38-30 victory over the Spartans. The Badgers are a perfect 4-0 this season, including 1-0 in Big Ten action, but the team has played all four of its games at home and needs to prove that it can win on the road this weekend. With Ohio State and Iowa on the schedule in the coming weeks, it is important that coach Bret Bielema's Wisconsin squad doesn't look past Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers are an impressive 3-1 this season, which includes a 35-24 victory over Northwestern last weekend in the conference opener. The schedule is daunting for Minnesota, which must face Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa on the road. However, Tim Brewster is a fantastic coach and has his players ready to compete each week.

Minnesota owns a 59-51-8 series advantage over Wisconsin, but the Badgers won last year's meeting with a 35-32 verdict.

Wisconsin has had little trouble moving the ball or scoring points this season, as it is racking up 36.0 ppg and 428.0 total ypg. The Badgers are generating 197.8 ypg on the ground at a clip of 4.7 yards per carry, and they have 10 rushing touchdowns thus far. John Clay leads Bielema's bunch with 398 rushing yards and four touchdowns. As for the passing attack, Scott Tolzien has completed 66.7 percent of his attempts for 884 yards and eight touchdowns with only two interceptions. Nick Toon leads the receivers with 18 catches for 236 yards and two scores, and while the casual college football fan probably hasn't heard of any of the three players mentioned, all are performing quite well thus far. Thanks to a balanced offensive attack, Wisconsin posted 436 total yards against Michigan State last week. The Badgers got 142 rushing yards and a score from Clay, while Tolzien completed 19-of-31 passes for 243 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions en route to Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. Garrett Graham was clearly the most dangerous of the Wisconsin receivers, as he had three touchdowns on the day.

Considering the fact that Wisconsin has allowed 12 touchdowns to opposing offenses through four outings, there is certainly some room for improvement. Foes are gaining 371.8 total ypg against the Badgers, who are giving up 23.8 ppg. On a positive note, Wisconsin has 12 takeaways to its credit, a tremendous figure by any standards, and the team can also take pride in its nine sacks. Mike Taylor and Jaeve McFadden are tied for the team lead with 30 tackles apiece, and Taylor has five TFLs to his credit. He has forced a fumble and intercepted a pass as well. Chris Maragos has three picks, and O'Brien Schofield has 7.5 TFLs. Wisconsin allowed 486 total yards to Michigan State last weekend, including 396 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Fortunately, the Badgers came up with four takeaways, so while the overall defensive effort was rather weak, there were enough big plays made to win the game.

Eric Decker continues to be one of the best receivers in the nation, although the Minnesota standout receives very little national attention. Tough as they come, Decker has 35 catches for 499 yards and four touchdowns this season despite the lack of a legitimate threat on the opposite side of the field to draw attention. The quarterback of the Gophers, Adam Weber, as connected on 58.1 percent of his passes for 879 yards and five touchdowns against five interceptions, modest numbers by most standards. The ground attack lacks a standout, although Duane Bennett has four rushing touchdowns in as many games. In the hard-fought victory over Northwestern last time out, Decker finished with eight grabs for 84 yards and two touchdowns, while Bennett ran for 89 yards and three scores. Minnesota was 8-of-14 on third down conversion attempts, a major reason the team was able to win the time of possession battle by more than three minutes.

Opponents are scoring 23.0 ppg against Minnesota, which is yielding 357.8 total ypg. The Golden Gophers are permitting 144.5 rushing yards per game and have allowed seven rushing scores, but the fact that they are yielding a mere 3.3 yards per carry suggests that the run defense has actually been a strength rather than a weakness. The pass defense hasn't been quite as strong despite the fact that opposing quarterbacks have just four passing touchdowns against the Gophers. Nate Triplett has been a strong performer for Minnesota thus far, as he leads the team with 47 total tackles. Eric Small has three sacks to his credit and needs to be accounted for on passing downs by Wisconsin. Minnesota was able to limit Northwestern to 64 rushing yards last weekend, a major factor in the victory. The Golden Gophers did permit 309 passing yards, but the fact that Northwestern only averaged 9.7 yards per completion suggests that the Wildcats had to settle for short passes.

Don't expect a blowout here, as the Badgers and Gophers are evenly matched. Give the edge to Minnesota based solely on the home field advantage.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Minnesota 23, Wisconsin 20