BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - When Terry Hoeppner left the Indiana Hoosiers two weeks ago to have brain surgery, he instructed his 2-0 team not to use his absence as an excuse.

When he came back this week, Indiana was 2-2 and trying to pull itself out of a self-inflicted funk.

Whether it was Hoeppner's absence, the emotional rollercoaster or something else, the Hoosiers' second-year coach knows it will take more than his mere presence on the sideline to turn things around against Wisconsin (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten).

"I told them not to use it as a distraction, and I'm not saying they did," Hoeppner said. "But we didn't play very well the last two weeks. We need to play better."

Indiana players spent much of the week answering questions about Hoeppner's amazingly swift recovery, and how much it meant to have him back on the sideline, running practices and meetings. The best news was that doctors removed what they determined to be scar tissue, not a recurrent brain tumor as they initially feared.

There has been an outpouring of support from outside of Bloomington, too.

Hoeppner said he received hundreds of letters from fans and well-wishers not even associated with Indiana, and coaches ranging from New Orleans' Sean Payton to Big Ten colleagues like Iowa's Kirk Ferentz also offered support. Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White even paid for a catered dinner to Hoeppner's home.

Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema joined the chorus.

"I've had a few opportunities to be around coach and know that he's very highly regarded in this profession," Bielema said. "It's great to know that he'll be back on the sidelines this week and be able to lead his team into our game on Saturday."

At the same time, Bielema has warned his players about the potentially emotional cyclone they will face at Indiana.

But as much as Hoeppner's return could give the Hoosiers a lift, it may be even more important to get receiver James Hardy, their top player, back.

Hardy's two-game suspension ended this week, and Indiana's beleaguered offense needs him after a poor performance against Connecticut. Indiana produced zero rushing yards, something Hoeppner acknowledged must change against Big Ten foes.

His first task will be choosing a quarterback after last week's rotation between Blake Powers and Kellen Lewis failed. Hoeppner is not expected to name a starter until Saturday, but he's already decided one thing -he's not planning to use a rotation.

"We have to get back to playing on offense, especially, because I thought we regained our level of confidence on defense last week," he said. "Giving up only seven points on defense should be good enough to win a college football game."

The bigger issue may be defending Wisconsin's rugged ground game.

Indiana allowed UConn to run for 257 yards, and Wisconsin comes to town with the Big Ten's No. 2 rusher, freshman P.J. Hill. Hill has already piled up 469 yards and is tied for the conference lead with five TDs rushing.

Then there's Wisconsin's typically bulky line, which includes one of the nation's top tackles in Joe Thomas. To Hoeppner, it's reminiscent of old Wisconsin teams.

"Bret's done a great job maintaining what they do," Hoeppner said. "It looks like a typical Barry Alvarez type team, and I think Bret would feel good about that. It's a tremendous challenge for us."

A week ago, the Badgers lost at Michigan, and under Alvarez, Bielema's predecessor, Wisconsin had a penchant for running the ball even more following losses. Bielema isn't likely to change that emphasis this week.

"The biggest thing we've got to be able to understand is we need to have productivity for four quarters," Bielema said. "At times, we were successful (against Michigan). … Now they have a film to reflect back for four quarters of what it means to play that way for that entire time."

The bigger challenge for Indiana is making its own corrections.

The Hoosiers have won only two conference openers since 1991, and if that's going to change Hoeppner knows execution must trump emotion this weekend.

"The good news is we're playing the Big Ten. The reality is we're playing Wisconsin," Hoeppner said. "We have to play our 'A' game, and anything less than our 'A' game, won't be good enough because this is the Big Ten and we need to play well."