If you thought last week’s Badger game was big, the Homecoming showdown between Iowa and Wisconsin tomorrow is on a completely different level.

Saturday’s match with the Hawkeyes for the Heartland Trophy is the type of game that can make a good season a great one.

It was in this column last week where I revealed why I thought the Badgers could take down the powerful Buckeyes, but, unfortunately, Ohio State’s three non-offensive touchdowns didn’t give my column, or the hometown Badgers, much of a chance.

But as disappointing as UW’s performance was last Saturday, it means very little in the grand scheme of things — something my fellow Sports editor Jordan Schelling pointed out earlier in the week.

There is no shame in losing to the Buckeyes in Columbus, and to be quite honest, that is a game most (including me) expected them lose. I firmly believed Wisconsin was capable of knocking off OSU, but when you make that many mistakes on the road, you can toss that upset bid right out the window.

But last week’s loss won’t define Wisconsin’s season.

It’s tomorrow’s game that will tell the story of the 2009 Badgers.

Saturday’s matchup with the No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes presents the Badgers with their final opportunity to claim a victory over a highly-ranked team, and they must take full advantage.

There is a slim chance the Michigan Wolverines will be ranked when they visit Camp Randall in a few weeks, but aside from the maize and blue, there is no other potentially ranked opponent.

If the Badgers want to make any sort of run at a BCS bowl game, they need to crack the top 25, and they need to do it soon. Winning this weekend will allow them to do just that.

Thanks to a weak schedule, a victory over Iowa would put UW in prime position to finish with an astounding 11 wins, but a loss changes things — significantly.

Let’s say the Badgers lose to Iowa but win the rest of the games on their 2009 slate. That would give them 10 wins — zero of which came against a ranked opponent. Good luck crashing the BCS party when your most impressive win is at Minnesota or against an overrated Michigan team at home.

UW needs this win to prove that it is a legitimate threat, to prove that it can do more than conquer middling Big Ten opponents. This team desperately needs to beat the ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, because in all likelihood, this will be the final ranked opponent they face this season.

But this game is not just important for the 2009 Badgers. This game is crucial for this football program as a whole.

Since Bret Bielema took over as head coach, the Badgers have been pretty successful if you look at their overall record, but exactly how successful have they been? Who have they beaten?

In 2006 — Bielema’s first season as head coach — UW had an incredible season, finishing 12-1. Not bad. And an impressive win over No. 12 Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl put the finishing touch on a tremendous debut for the first-year head coach.

To this day, though, that is the Bielema-led Badgers’ most impressive win.

In 2007, Wisconsin beat every team it was supposed to as it went 9-4. The four losses came against that Rose-Bowl-bound Illinois team (what a tumble that program has taken), Penn State, Ohio State and Tennessee in the Outback Bowl.

In 2008, the Badgers finally earned a regular season win over a ranked opponent (albeit a MAC squad) when they handed No. 21 Fresno State a defeat out in California (that win lost its luster after the Bulldogs went on to lose five more games).

But for the 2008 Badgers, things went downhill from there.

Highly-ranked Ohio State and Penn State teams came to Madison and both games ended with UW on the losing end.

The only other ranked team UW faced was Michigan State in East Lansing and, once again, the Badgers headed home with a loss. Noticing a pattern here?

Wisconsin has had numerous chances to defeat ranked opponents, but it has missed out on almost every opportunity.

When will UW play a complete game against a strong conference foe? When will the Badgers rise to the challenge and earn a victory over a team in the rankings?

Saturday’s matchup gives this coaching staff, these players and this proud program yet another shot to earn a signature, season-defining win.

The Badgers failed in Columbus, but tomorrow’s game in Camp Randall gives this team one more chance to display its merit, and senior linebacker Jaevery McFadden is well aware of what is at stake.

“This game can say a lot about our team,” McFadden said. “We couldn’t do it in the Horseshoe, but we still have a perfect opportunity this week to get some respect from the outside world.”

It has been well-documented that Bielema played for Iowa and the Hawkeye tattoo on his leg has gotten plenty of attention. But the young coach now has a chance to defeat his alma mater, to topple a highly-regarded opponent and to silence critics by earning arguably his biggest win as the man in charge of Wisconsin football. And he can do all that in one game.

What a statement that would be.

Max is a junior majoring in journalism. Do you think the Badgers have what it takes to win tomorrow against Iowa? Let him know at [email protected]