MADISON, Wis. — If you want to know what will be required of South Florida to spring the biggest upset of the college football season Saturday, allow Bulls coach Willie Taggart to provide the pithy prose.

Taggart’s message during an eight-minute teleconference with reporters this week essentially was that his team would have to play just about perfect to stand a chance. Given that Wisconsin is a 34-point favorite in some Vegas gambling circles — and no other game between FBS teams this week comes with a bigger spread — he’s probably right.

But what, exactly, is Taggart’s plan? Well, let him to take it from here.

"Our defense is going to have to come play their ‘A’ game," Taggart said.

"It’s going to take our ‘A’ game and we’ve got to lock in and have a great week of practice and go up there and compete," Taggart said.

"We’ve got to be sharp in what we do and have a great week of practice doing what we do better than what we’ve done before — and bring our ‘A’ game," Taggart said.

That’s right. In case Taggart’s repetitive talking point wasn’t clear, when South Florida (2-2) faces No. 19 Wisconsin (2-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday in Camp Randall Stadium, the Bulls had better not bring whatever their "B" or "C" game looks like.

At least Taggart recognizes that South Florida will face a monumental challenge at Wisconsin. The Badgers are coming off a game in which they set single-game program records for rushing yards (644) and total offense (756 yards) during a 68-17 drubbing of Bowling Green. And the Bulls are next on the menu.

"You watch that film and you’re like wow," Taggart said. "You hope the football gods are with us on Saturday. That was an impressive showing by those guys."

During that game, Badgers tailback Melvin Gordon carried 13 times for 253 yards and tied a program record with five touchdowns. Backup tailback Corey Clement added 111 rushing yards, and quarterback Tanner McEvoy set a single-game rushing record for a Wisconsin quarterback with 158 yards. It represented just the sixth time in school history the Badgers had three 100-yard rushers in a game, though five of those have come in the last 18 games alone.

"We’re going to be a physical football team, and that’s going to be important to play with low pad level and getting a lot of guys to the ball and tackle Gordon," Taggart said. "He’s a heck of a running back, and the offensive line does a great job. Not just Gordon. Both backs are good, and the quarterback’s a great runner, too."

South Florida will counter with its own talented tailback. Freshman Marlon Mack is averaging 125.5 yards rushing on 22 carries per game. A year ago, the Bulls’ top running back, Marcus Shaw, averaged only 76.5 yards rushing per outing.

Still, South Florida’s greatest offensive strength also happens to play right into the hands of Wisconsin’s defense. Badgers coach Gary Andersen described the Bulls as a team that loves to establish the run and then play-action pass in much the same way Wisconsin does.

Wisconsin ranks No. 14 nationally in run defense, allowing 91.0 yards rushing per game.

"Definitely as a linebacker, we like when teams try to run the ball," Badgers linebacker Derek Landisch said. "It makes it fun for us. Physical game. Being here at Wisconsin playing against our offensive line, we’re used to that and we like that. That’s football to us. Watching the film, they’re a very good offense, very good offensive line, so we’re looking forward to the challenge."

This year’s South Florida team already has matched its win total from a season ago, when the Bulls finished just 2-10 in Taggart’s debut season in charge. But the Bulls have a long way to go to achieve the heights the program reached back in 2007, when South Florida climbed to No. 2 in the BCS standings.

USF is allowing an average of 29.5 points per game and has been outscored by more than a touchdown through four games — which includes losses to Maryland and North Carolina State. Wisconsin, meanwhile, is now averaging 43.0 points per game after its showing against Bowling Green.

Taggart is one of the few South Florida members who knows what to expect in Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday. He served as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky in 2001, when the Hilltoppers lost 24-6 to Wisconsin in front of 75,662 fans. Based on his experience there, he’ll try to prepare his team for the crowd noise as best he can.

"One heck of an environment," Taggart said. "Those folks love their football up there. There’s going to be a lot of red up there. It’ll be fun. The kind of environment you want to play for and play in. I think our guys will really enjoy it."

And, of course, they’d better bring their ‘A’ game.

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