CHAMPAIGN - It often begins as an exciting challenge, jumping into a sumo wrestler pose, pads low, cleats digging into the turf and straining until you feel hernias threatening to pop, all the while trying to hold off the behemoth University of Wisconsin offensive line.

Good teams initially put up a resistance, somehow stalling the onrush of tackles, guards and a center that look like they were assembled pad-by-pad by Caterpillar or John Deere. Earthmovers, these guys are.

Really good teams hang in there until the second half, keeping the football outcome in doubt.

But then the predictable often takes place. Wisconsin's strength and bulk, combined with its battering-ram commitment to run the ball, begin taking a toll.

By the time the fourth quarter rolls around, attrition becomes a factor. Defenses begin to wilt. The resistance wears down. And Wisconsin's punishing style gains a decided upper hand.

Illinois might face the challenge of withstanding Wisconsin's power running assault Saturday when the fifth-ranked Badgers invade sold-out Memorial Stadium.

But it's the persistent way in which Wisconsin pounds at a team's defensive front, the way it detects cracks in the second half, that has helped the Badgers hold the nation's longest winning streak at 14 games.

When Barry Alvarez arrived as Wisconsin's head coach in 1990, he prioritized finding massive linemen and placing a wall of them in front of strong, quick, workhorse running backs.

As Alvarez was resurrecting a downtrodden Wisconsin football program, the climb to success coincided with a Big Ten-record 10 straight seasons in which the offense produced a 1,000-yard rusher.

The strategy makes sense. Within the state if Wisconsin, in places like New Berlin, Mequon, Cottage Grove and Sturgeon Bay, coaches can find huge, raw-boned farm boys who turn into road graders when introduced to the Badgers weight room.

Then those same coaches can turn to places like New York and New Jersey for running backs and plug them in behind the wall of blockers.

When Illini coach Ron Zook addressed his team early this week, he let them know they'd be banging with a big, physical team that knows how to win close games.

"They remind me of the Indianapolis Colts with those two tight ends and their power game," Zook said. "They have the physicalness of Penn State. Their quarterback (Tyler Donovan) reminds me of (Chase Daniel) of Missouri. He's so accurate, he throws the ball so well.

"We told our guys they'd better put their big boy pads on. … The sun goes away when they stand up. They are a big, big group of guys, and Wisconsin has done that for years."

Wisconsin appears to have hit the recruiting jackpot with tailback P.J. Hill, who arrived with a bang last year when his 1,569 rushing yards made him CBSsportsline.com's national freshman of the year.

This season, at 5-foot-11, 227 pounds, he looks even better.

"He's a downhill runner, and a lot of guys load up and try to bring all they have tackling him, but he's also shifty, which makes him unique," Illini linebacker J Leman said. "He likes to smash you, but he also has great footwork."

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Men of mass

The tale of the tape for Wisconsin's starting offensive line:

Pos. … Name, class … Ht. … Wt.

Left tackle … Gabe Carimi, fr. … 6-8 … 292

Left guard … Andy Kemp, jr. … 6-6 … 324

Center … Marcus Coleman, sr. … 6-6 … 295

Right guard … Kraig Urbik, jr. … 6-6 … 332

Right tackle … Eric Vanden Heuvel, jr. … 6-7 … 325

Average size: 6-6 1/2, 313.6 pounds

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Illinois vs. No. 5 Wisconsin

When: 11 a.m., Saturday

Where: Memorial Stadium, Champaign

Records: Wisconsin 5-0, 2-0; Illinois 4-1, 2-0

TV/radio: ESPN, WTRX-FM (93.7), WPXN-FM (104.9), WJEZ-FM (98.9)