Not so fast, as the man says. The return of Wisconsin's All-Big Ten receiver, Lee Evans, which had been widely expected for the Badgers' Big Ten opener against Penn State Saturday, is not a given.

It's still possible. But it's also possible Evans simply isn't ready to realize his goal of returning for the Badgers' Big Ten opener Saturday against Penn State. There have been no setbacks, a Badger insider said. But the Penn State game was simply the date in Evans' mind, not a medically-based timetable.

Another Emotional Game For Ty

This is why coaches come to Notre Dame. Under the Golden Dome, it's one dramatic matchup after another, and this week is no different. Or is it? The last time out, Tyrone Willingham returned to his alma mater, Michigan State, in a contest that matched two of the nation's four African-American head coaches. This week, it's even more personal. This isn't about a cause, or a stadium in which he played decades ago. This is about flesh and blood people he went into battle with every autumn Saturday, and lived with every day. This is Willingham's Irish playing host to Stanford, where Willingham coached the last seven years. "It's going to be fun," Cardinal quarterback Chris Lewis told a South Bend newspaper. "Guys have marked this game on their calendar from the start. He may be gone, but he's still our friend. He was like a father-figure to me." Willingham also knows the Stanford players well enough to know they'd like nothing better than to beat him. "I can't say this is more difficult than the Michigan State game," he said. "But I can say that it is more involved. Because when you look at the most recent stretch of my life, it involves the vast majority of that football team." In the last month, though, the stakes have changed. Willingham has Notre Dame, which wasn't supposed to do much, off to a 4-0 start. It is not only in the top 10, but in the middle of national title talk now. Judging by the first month of the season, none of the Irish's opponents look scary. Which means Notre Dame still has everything to play for. Which means that sentimental feelings for players he recruited and coached can't be allowed to intrude. "I'll probably have the full range of emotions about those guys," the ND coach said. "But having been with them, I know they will be fierce competitors when game time arises. And that will be the mindset I will be in. When 1:30 p.m. rolls around, it will be football." -- Herb Gould

"Nothing has changed with Lee," Alvarez said Tuesday, adding that he won't give any more updates because there isn't much to update until Evans, his coaches and the team's medical staff agree he's fit to play. "We'll announce when Lee is going to play when he takes the field."

Evans, who underwent major knee surgery after going down with a freak injury in Wisconsin's spring game last April, had set the goal of playing against Penn State, if not sooner. The progress reports have been encouraging until recently, when they have remained the same: He's close, but he's not ready yet.

With or without Evans, the Badgers, who were off last week, will begin pursuit of their fourth Rose Bowl trip since 1993 against a Penn State team that remains dangerous despite its overtime home loss to Iowa last week.

That's particularly true because it's hard to get a handle on Wisconsin, which still has doubters. Even though it is 5-0, it had narrow escapes against Northern Illinois and Fresno State. Even its best win, 31-10 over struggling Arizona on Sept. 21, is hard to gauge when compared against the Nittany Lions' dismantling of Nebraska, even if Nebraska is down.

On the other hand, the only other times Wisconsin has started faster under Alvarez -- it opened 9-0 in 1998 and 6-0 in 1993, it wound up winning the Rose Bowl.

Wisconsin has a lot of pieces in place. Quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who led the '99 Badgers to their third Rose Bowl win under Alvarez, is reminiscent of Darrell Bevell, the unlikely hero of '93. Neither QB is a dazzler. But like Bevell before him, Bollinger is a gritty winner, skilled at using his maturity to guide the talented players around him to victory.

The Badgers' defense is not imposing. But the offense -- with Anthony Davis, who led the Big Ten in rushing last fall, operating behind an excellent line that returns five starters -- might have enough to put Wisconsin in Pasadena again.

That's especially true if Evans returns soon. It wouldn't be surprising if the 5-11 senior from Bedford, Ohio, returned this week. On the other hand, if the holdups persist, Wisconsin is prepared to carry on.

Alvarez knows what Evans, who set a Big Ten record with 1,545 receiving yards last fall, would bring to the equation when he returns.

A healthy Evans, Alvarez said, "is one of the best players in college football. He's a home-run threat and a playmaker. He brings a lot of offense with him. He also brings leadership. He'd be a tremendous asset just because of the confidence he would bring to the rest of the offense."

During Evans' absence, though, the Wisconsin offense has learned to play without him. Other players have learned to shoulder a load that would be lightened by the return of a talent like Evans, even if his excellent speed is down a bit.

With sophomore Darrin Charles diminished by a nagging ankle injury, freshmen Jonathan Orr and Brandon Williams have combined for 40 of the team's 73 catches and 647 of its 1,014 yards. Both have had 100-yard games.

"We've had to have some freshmen step up and that has really helped us as a football team," Alvarez said.

But Wisconsin's championship hopes would be bolstered by the return of their star receiver.

Without Evans, Bollinger said, "It's not the same offense."

Around the Big Ten

Illinois
The Illini gave San Jose State and Michigan 45 points off of eight turnovers, a sure-fire formula for trouble. Mix in the fact that Illinois has only four fumble recoveries -- and no interceptions -- in its first five games after coming up with 27 takeaways last year, and it's not hard to see why the defending Big Ten champions were struggling heading into their Thursday ESPN2 matchup with Minnesota. ... Illinois was trying to break a four-game losing streak in domes when it met the Gophers in the Metrodome. And those four losses are some of the most wrenching setbacks the Illini have experienced in the last decade. A season-opening upset loss to Missouri at St. Louis' dome on Aug. 31 set the tone for Illinois' 1-4 start. In the Sugar Bowl last New Year's, Illinois, which wanted to prove it belonged in a BCS bowl, didn't have as many gears as LSU, which won 47-34. The other two dome losses came at Minnesota, including a 44-10 drubbing two years ago and a 23-21 loss in 1996 in Lou Tepper's final road game as Illinois coach.

Indiana
Coach Gerry DiNardo gave his players a few days off while he and his staff went recruiting during this bye week. The Hoosiers, who play their next two games at home against Wisconsin and Iowa, are coming off a 45-17 loss at Ohio State. IU was encouraged by only being down 14-10 after scoring with 2:09 left in the half before the Buckeyes seized control. "Things were looking good going into halftime," quarterback Gibran Hamdan said. "Our second-half performance wasn't as good as we would have hoped, but I thought we fought hard."

Iowa
The Hawkeyes thrust themselves into the top 25 rankings and the Big Ten title chase with a 42-35 overtime victory at Penn State. Iowa will have an opportunity to prove it belongs there the next two weeks, when it plays host to Purdue and Michigan State, a pair of programs that also hope to assert themselves. ... The Hawkeyes benefit from not facing Ohio State this season. Illinois is its other no-play. ... Iowa has won four of its last five games outside Iowa City. Before that, it had lost 16 of 17 away from home.

Michigan
Coach Lloyd Carr was encouraged by the performance of John Navarre, who threw for 264 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-28 win at Illinois. "John Navarre had his best game since he came to Michigan," Carr said. "Five or six times, he hit his third receiver. And on quite a few plays, John audibled us into the right play." ... The Wolverines have an open date to prepare for their next game, a key home date against Penn State. ... Junior Troy Nienberg stepped in for struggling kicker Philip Brabbs and connected on his only field-goal attempt, a 21-yarder. He also was 6-for-6 on PATs.

Michigan State
Wide receiver Charles Rogers caught a touchdown pass for the 14th straight game against Northwestern, setting NCAA and Big Ten records. The scoring catch was his 13th straight in regular-season games, an NCAA record. The 14-game overall streak broke a Big Ten record held by former Michigan star Desmond Howard. ... The Spartans have an open date after their 39-24 victory over Northwestern, which hung around longer than expected. A big part of the problem was a pair of interceptions thrown by Jeff Smoker, whose tendency to look for Rogers was a factor. "The quarterback is in love with him," said NU cornerback Raheem Covington, who made both pickoffs.

Minnesota
Quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq led the nation in passing efficiency going into the Purdue. He dropped to 22nd after the Boilermakers dropped the Gophers 28-15. Abdul-Khaliq completed only 16 of 48 passes (33 percent) and had an interception returned for a touchdown. ... The Gophers faced a hurry-up week. Their home game against Illinois was moved up to Thursday from Saturday because the playoff-bound Twins have priority at the Metrodome. Coach Glen Mason had planned to practice Sunday, but he canceled the workout. "We didn't get back until late Saturday night, and the kids are tired and sore," Mason said. "We weren't prepared to go out and practice for Illinois Sunday."

Northwestern
The last time the Wildcats defeated Ohio State, Richard Nixon was in the White House and the Watergate was just another Washington building. NU, which hasn't beaten the Buckeyes since 1971, faces an uphill battle when it tries to break its 22-game losing streak in the series this week. Ohio State was not on the Northwestern schedule in 1995 and 1996, when the Wildcats were conference champions. ... Junior Jason Wright ran for 134 yards on 22 carries at Michigan State, his third straight 100-yard game. "Jason's getting better and better. We have to expand his role even further," coach Randy Walker said.

Ohio State
Freshmen aren't supposed to be Heisman Trophy candidates, but tailback Maurice Clarett may have voters rethinking that bias. After missing a game due to arthroscopic knee surgery, Clarett ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes past Indiana 45-17. Clarett is fifth in the nation in rushing and he's tied for third in the nation in scoring (15 points a game).

Penn State
The excitement surrounding the Nittany Lions' 40-7 pounding of Nebraska lasted only two weeks, until Penn State was stunned 42-35 in overtime by Iowa. Penn State's comeback from a 22-point deficit was not all that encouraging, considering that Penn State was supposed to be poised to flex its muscle in conference play this fall after two down years. Most ominous of all is the schedule, which sends Penn State to Wisconsin and Michigan the next two weeks. And both the Badgers and the Wolverines will be coming off bye weeks when they play host to Penn State.

Purdue
The Boilermakers, who beat Minnesota 28-15 despite continuing fumble problems, will try to do a better job of holding onto the ball this week at Iowa. Purdue, which lost three fumbles and had a punt blocked to trail 9-7 at halftime, now has lost a Big Ten-worst 13 fumbles this season. The Boilermakers lost only 12 fumbles all last season. ... Purdue has won its last two meetings with Iowa, in 1998 and last fall, but both were at home. It has lost in its last two trips to Iowa, in 1993 and in 1997.

Wisconsin
Wisconsin is tied for first in the nation in turnover margin (plus 2.6 per game). The Badgers have come up with 16 turnovers, and turned over the ball only three times, for a plus-13 mark. ... Despite their 5-0 start, the Badgers have been criticized for their uneven play against an undistinguished non-conference schedule. But coach Barry Alvarez said his team has grown from its struggles: "We saw about everything. That will help us in the Big Ten." ... The Badgers are 3-2 vs. Penn State under Alvarez, and have won the last two games, including an 18-6 victory at Penn State last season.

Around the Independents
Connecticut disappointed a crowd of 16,849, the largest home crowd in school history, by losing 24-21 to Ball State in overtime. "This very easily could have been a win for us, but we're not good enough to makes the mistakes we made and be successful," coach Randy Edsall said. "They got 14 points on an interception and us fumbling an interception." UConn faces a difficult trip to top-ranked Miami this week. ... Navy faces a tough trip to Air Force this week after failing to follow up on a promising start in its 43-17 loss to Duke. The Midshipmen led 10-3 early in the second quarter, but mistakes opened the flood gates. The Blue Devils scored three touchdowns before halftime and remained in control the rest of the way. "To get better, you have to be honest. We're not very good right now," first-year coach Paul Johnson said. "But I'm not going to quit on them, and I don't think they'll quit on us. The thing we have to understand is we're all in this together." ... Johnson said he'll stick with quarterback Craig Candeto, who was pulled in the third quarter against Duke. ... Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham said he doesn't have a handle on whether quarterback Carlyle Holiday, who injured his left shoulder at Michigan on Sept. 21, will be able to play against Stanford Saturday. If not, Pat Dillingham, who threw the game-winning touchdown at Michigan State, will be at quarterback. ... While head coach at Stanford from 1995 until last season, Willingham was 3-2 vs. Notre Dame. The home team won each of those games. ... South Florida stayed with Oklahoma during a scoreless first quarter, but wound up losing 31-14 when it gave up three turnovers that set up three Sooner touchdowns and was whistled for 15 penalties for 124 yards. The Bulls found a little comfort in the fact they were more competitive than in their previous loss, a 42-3 blowout at Arkansas. "Our defense did some good things," South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said. "The difference between this game and the last game was that our offense had some production." The Bulls outgained Oklahoma 328-239. ... Troy State is glad to be finished with the Big 12 portion of its schedule. The Trojans lost at Missouri 44-7 a week after being pounded 42-12 at Iowa State. "An old-fashioned woodshed loss," said Troy State coach Larry Blakeney after the Trojans fell to 1-4. Missouri outgained the Trojans 495-300 and came up with five turnovers. Troy State plays host to Austin Peay this week. ... Utah State lost a shootout at Boise State 63-38 that was marked, incredibly, by a scoreless third quarter. The game was dizzyingly similar to 2000, when Boise blasted the Aggies 66-38. Quarterback Jose Fuentes passed for 297 yards to eclipse Tony Adams' school career total offense record.

Herb Gould covers college football for the Chicago Sun-Times.