KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA running back Clarence Farmer gets tackled by Wisconsin's Broderick Williams during Saturday's loss in Madison. Farmer rushed for 131 yards on 20 carries as the Wildcats' record moves to 2-1 on the season.

MADISON, Wis. ÷ There were 17 of them, all guys.

Those diehard UA football fans made the 2,000 plus mile trip to Madison, Wis., to represent their school, cheer on their football team and show the cheeseheads in the Midwest that their university isn't just a basketball school anymore.

Too bad the football team couldn't keep their end of the bargain.

However, by the end of this testosterone-filled, beer-drinking tour of unchartered territory ÷ this was the Wildcats' first game ever against the Badgers ÷ the crushing defeat didn't matter, because the memories they made were worth the embarrassment of the 21-point loss.

Final Score 31-10
Score by quarter Arizona 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final (2-1) 0 0 7 3 10 Wisconsin (5-0) 0 24 7 0 31
First downs
Arizona 13	Wisconsin 21
Yards Rushing
Arizona 154	Wisconsin 260
Rushes
Arizona 30	Wisconsin 47
Yards Passed
Arizona 138	Wisconsin 165
Completion-attempted
Arizona 14-32	Wisconsin 15-22
Penalties-yards
Arizona 8-66	Wisconsin 7-50
Time of Possession
Arizona 26:06	Wisconsin 33:54
Passing Arizona: Jason Johnson 13-27, 129 YARDS, 1 INT Wisconsin: Brooks Bollinger 13-19, 127 YARDS, 0 INT Rushing Arizona: Clarence Farmer 20-131 Wisconsin: Anthony Davis 16-110 Receiving Arizona: Bobby Wade 7-85 Wisconsin: Jonathon Orr 7-90 Play of the Game Early in the second Wisconsin junior linebacker Alex Lewis blocked a Danny Baugher punt that gave the Badgers the ball on the Arizona three-yard line, setting up Anthony Davis's second TD run to put the Badgers ahead 14-0 with 13:45 left in the second quarter.

Their journey started at a bar called State Street Brats, just minutes from the Capitol in downtown Madison.

State Street is where all the action takes place in Badgerland. Thousands of college students walk up and down this trendy-but-somewhat-hippie street that would make any bar-dwelling UA student drool.

The UA crew walked down State Street chanting "Bear Down Arizona" and "U of A" to anyone who would listen. They wanted to make sure everyone in Madtown knew they were there even though most didn't care about a bunch of kids from what they still think of as the Ol' West.

The UA crew wasn't looking for a fight but knew that if they went overboard with the trash talking it might come to that. Wisconsin students love their football team and would do anything necessary to defend it.

The difference with UW students is that they seem to be proud of their school. They wear their school colors, red and white, proudly at the bars at night and would even consider wearing them at their own wedding if their wives would let them.

Could you see someone wearing a UA hat, UA shirt and UA pants to O'Malley's on a Thursday night? Not likely.

Their night ended without anyone ending up in a Dane County jail, which is always a positive.

The real fun in Madison, however, doesn't start until four hours before gametime. That is when the drinking, the games, the party begins. On Saturday, that was at 7 a.m.

The game started earlier than usual because it was going to be played before a national audience on ESPN2. The feeling before the game was eerily similar to that of the last time the Wildcats ventured to a Big Ten opponent to play an early morning road game in front of the eyes of the nation.

Penn State anyone?

At 7 a.m., Langdon Street, Madison's version of Greek Row, really got going.

The smell of the grilled brats got the UA crew of 17 out of bed to join in on the pre-game festivities. Brats, chips and beer ÷ nothing like a hearty Midwest breakfast.

The locals in Madison know how to tailgate. Two-story beer bongs were hanging out of every apartment window, and every passerby wearing Wisconsin gear was invited to try to down as many as six beers in less than six seconds. Remember, this is 7 a.m. It's not UA students who have binge-drinking problems.

On the UA crew's walk down to the stadium they heard every obscenity and saw every gesture in the book from both Wisconsin students and Badger alumni.

No wonder Bucky has such a big mouth.

The UA crew didn't care because they still thought their team had a chance to win. And why not? The Wildcats put up huge offensive numbers against NAU and Utah, so why couldn't they do it again against the Badgers, the same team that escaped an embarrassing loss of their own the week before against Northern Illinois?

How wrong they soon became.

Now in the famous Camp Randall stadium, considered one of the best places in the country to watch a football game, the UA crew found their seats in the sea of red.

All 17 of them wore Arizona blue and stuck out like a sore thumb among the other 76,000 people.

The Wildcats held the Badgers on their first drive of the game and the 17 of them stood and shouted, starting to feel good about their team's chance.

However, it seemed that in the same time it takes a UW frat boy to down a beer, the Wildcats were down 14-0.

There was nothing left to cheer about except a Clarence Farmer touchdown late in the game, and even then the Badger fans threw peanuts at the UA crew for making some noise for the first time in what seemed like hours.

Although Wisconsin had the game in hand for the final three quarters, nobody left. Unlike at Arizona Stadium, where, no matter the score, most of the UA student section is long gone before halftime.

Even though the 17 Wildcat fans were feeling flattened, tired and shamed, they did not go home and hide.

They know the real season starts soon ÷ basketball season, that is.

And wearing their UA gear, they reminded everyone on State Street Saturday night that Arizona is still just a basketball school.