“I guess a little bit,” senior defensive tackle Mick Stoltenberg said Monday. “You kind of have to treat every game as the same, it’s all the same challenge, but it is obviously a huge game. These guys are nationally ranked, they know exactly what they are doing, they’re very successful, and a very physical team. To get up for this one is pretty easy.

“You circle Wisconsin week at the beginning of the year and you know it’s coming.”

De’Mornay Pierson-El, have you ever felt like an underdog at Memorial Stadium?

“I just go out there and play, man,” he said. “I’m not tripping about that, I go out there and do my best. That’s all I’m worried about.”

Collectively, NU did what it had to against Rutgers and Illinois. Riley said he thought his team now carries some fresh enthusiasm into the meat of its conference schedule.

Redshirt junior quarterback Tanner Lee is fresh off a confidence-building, turnover-free night of his own, having completed 17 of 24 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns against the Illini.

But he also knows the awaiting challenge.