There is the "Woe is me" reaction or the "I'm mad as heck" reaction.

How each responds could determine the outcome.

For the Badgers, the pain of back-to-back late-game losses is fresh. After a 3-0 start propelled it to a No. 9 ranking, Wisconsin (3-2 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) fell at Michigan two weeks ago and to Ohio State last Saturday.

After leading in Ann Arbor, 19-0, the Badgers surrendered 27 consecutive points in the second half. They answered with a late touchdown but failed on the two-point conversion and lost, 27-25. Last week, Wisconsin outplayed the Buckeyes and led by four with 61/2 minutes to play. But Ohio State scored a last-minute touchdown and escaped Madison with a 20-17 win.

Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema spun the blows the best he could.

"We're five points away from being a 5-0 football team," he said Monday.

For No. 6-ranked Penn State (6-0, 2-0), its two-game losing streak is a four-year-old ache. The Nittany Lions' last two trips to Wisconsin ended with bruising defeats. In 2004, the Badgers knocked both Penn State quarterbacks out of the game before winning, 16-3. In 2006, the Lions' offense was ineffective again, and lost, 13-3.

This time, Wisconsin knocked Penn State's coach from the game when Badgers linebacker DeAndre Levy upended Joe Paterno on the sideline.

The 81-year-old Paterno, whose rickety legs could force him to coach from the press box tonight, spun the blow the best he could.

"I had a lot of fun going out," Paterno said of the collision that broke his left leg. "Didn't enjoy it coming home."

Still, the players will decide how each team counters its dubious past, both recent and distant.

Wisconsin had the unfortunate luck to become the first Big Ten team to open its conference schedule with Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. Whether that affected their psyche, the Badgers dropped the first two and have seen their conference and national-championship aspirations dry up.

"Certainly, as they look at the tapes of the last two games, they're saying to themselves: 'Boy, we could have had both of those games. Let's see if we can make up for it,' " Paterno said Tuesday.

Wisconsin has the manpower to do it. The Badgers qualify as the most physical team the Lions will face. One of the few programs that still use a traditional offense in the Big Ten, Wisconsin needs to establish the run with its massive line (average height and weight: 6-foot-6, 320 pounds) and bulking running backs.

P.J. Hill (236 pounds) and John Clay (237 pounds) will look to wear down a Penn State defensive front thinned by dismissals and injuries. But for the Badgers to succeed, quarterback Allan Evridge will have to be consistent.

There have been calls to replace Evridge with backup Dustin Sherer, but Bielema said he's sticking with the Kansas State transfer. Evridge could earn points by getting all-American tight end Travis Beckum (12 catches for 128 yards) involved early.

Penn State would be wise to reflect on a few omens in its favor. For one, Ohio State put a dent in Wisconsin's home-field advantage when it ended the Badgers' 16-game winning streak at raucous Camp Randall Stadium. And two, the Lions drubbed Wisconsin at home last season, 38-7.

"I'm pretty sure their coaches are going to be like, 'Remember what happened last year. We can't allow that to happen this year,' " Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark said.

That blowout came from a Lions offense that was mediocre and more on par with the 2006 and 2004 versions.

In Penn State's multifaceted attack, Clark has led a spread offense that averages 44.8 points a game.

"We get no type of respect, and that's fine," Clark said. "There's nothing better than going out and proving people wrong."