Bielema hopes O'Brien starts fast

By TOM LEA
tlea@espnwisconsin.com

MADISON – Take a minute to peruse various rankings and it will quickly become quite evident that Camp Randall Stadium is revered as one of the more intimidating places to play, not only in the Big Ten, but nationally.

Forget the fact Wisconsin has won 16-straight at home — only one behind LSU for the longest active home winning streak — or the fact there’s a movement between the third and fourth quarter large enough to register on the Richter Scale.

It’s just a concrete jungle opposing teams go to lose.

And now junior quarterback Danny O’Brien will be in charge of maintaining the winning streak inside a stadium he’ll call home even though he’s never stepped on its field during an actual game day.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how he handles the composure of Camp Randall,” Bielema said during his weekly Monday press conference. “I know Maryland has a great stadium and that he’s played in some good stadiums. But we have the second-longest winning streak in college football for a reason.

“Our fans are great. Our people get into it.”

In a perfect world come Saturday afternoon, O’Brien would be able to start his career as UW's starting quarterback much like Scott Tolzien did.

Remember that game against Northern Illinois in 2009?

Remember when Tolzien, making his first career start, threw a dart to Isaac Anderson for an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage?

But this isn’t a perfect world, not even close.

In Bielema’s eyes, though, getting off to a fast start — though it doesn’t necessarily have to be with an 80-yard touchdown pass — will be critical for O’Brien to soothe any nerves that may be present.

“Camp Randall is a very electric environment,” Bielema explained. “And on the same account, even at the home stadium, that can cause some people to get some jitters. It’s going to be important for him to start off very, very positive.”