Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez has a huge hole to fill — a 258-pound hole to be precise.

College football's all-time leading rusher and Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne will no longer carry the load for the Badger offense.

Dayne's 2,034 yards from last season, his 20 touchdowns and experience are gone. That leaves junior tailback and Big Ten sprint champion Michael Bennett with big shoes to fill.

"Michael is so fast, the thing we have to do with him is slow him down," Alvarez said.

"But he's a totally different type of runner. His strength is his speed. And he's got to learn to use his speed, to be patient," said Alvarez.

The success of Bennett will be key as he seems to be the lone question mark on a squad that is vying to go the Rose Bowl for the third straight season. The Badgers, however, are projected to finish second in the conference this season behind Michigan.

Bennett will have help, though, with a massive offensive line opening the holes and leading the way.

Center Casey Rabach is the next in line to perpetuate the line tradition after the departure of Chris McIntosh and Mark Tauscher as the bookends that helped Dayne rush into the record books.

"You always want to get better," Rabach said. "You never want to take a step back."

Wisconsin might not have to do that with Brooks Bollinger at the helm this season. Bollinger made eight starts last season, guiding the Badgers to their second consecutive Rose Bowl victory, the latest a 17-9 win against Stanford.

The fleet-footed North Dakota native rushed for 454 yards, passed for 1,133 and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year after starting eight contests.

Senior Chris Chambers and junior Nick Davis, a special teams threat last season as the conference's leading kick returner and second leading punt returner, will serve as Bollinger's primary targets.

Wisconsin's defense is just as experienced as its offense.

Perhaps no area of the Wisconsin defense is as knowledgeable as its secondary with Jamar Fletcher in the mix.

Fletcher has led the Big Ten in interceptions the past two seasons.

He is a candidate to claim the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back this season.

He is just as offensive as he is defensive with five punts returned for touchdowns — two of which came against Purdue's Drew Brees.

"I want to set out to prove that Wisconsin is a good football team," Fletcher said.

"That we can compete with the Florida States, the Floridas — not just Michigan and O State, that we can compete with anybody,"he said.

Joining Fletcher in the secondary will be fellow cornerback Mike Echols, who is also coming off an All-Big Ten season. He broke up 12 passes last year.

Jason Doering is Wisconsin's last line of defense at safety and recording 111 hard-hitting tackles last season.

The talented and experienced secondary should help the linebacker spot, which might have taken the second biggest hit (after Dayne's departure to the New York Giants) with Wisconsin's graduation ceremonies.

The team's top (Chris Ghidorzi) and third-leading tackler (Donnel Thompson) are gone after starting the past two seasons at the linebacker spot.

But Thompson's brother Bryson is vying to fill their shoes.

On the defensive line, Ross Kolodziej, who doubles as Wisconsin's shot putter, will tow the line this season.

Eric Mahlik, an all-league mention, is the incumbent at nose tackle.

John Favret, a three-year starter who made 28 tackles for loss last season, also returns.

Although the Badgers have winning experience and talent, there is one question that remains.

Can they beat Michigan?

"God, I hope so," Rabach said. "They are the only team we have not beaten in the last two years.

"It's going to be a big game, and it is something that everybody has thought about and everybody dreams about.

"But it is something that we have to put on the back burner for now," Rabach also said.

Wisconsin will go head to head with Michigan on Sept. 30.