The hype had been building for nearly two months, from the time the 2003 University of Wisconsin football team gathered privately in preseason training camp and declared as one of its team goals that it wanted to make sure there was a lot on the line for its Oct. 11 game against Ohio State.

"Even before the first game," UW radio play-by-play announcer Matt Lepay said, "it was obvious that there was part of that team that had its sights set on that Ohio State game."

The Badgers did their part to make it a big game by winning six of their first seven games, the only setback being an embarrassing 23-5 home loss to UNLV. UW stood 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference and was ranked No. 23 in the nation heading into the Ohio State game.

And the defending national champion Buckeyes did their part, winning their first five games of the season to extend their winning streak to 19 games. Ohio State stood 1-0 in league play and was ranked No. 3.

More than 300 media credentials had been issued for the game. By kickoff time at 8:10 p.m., most of the 79,793 fans who passed through the Camp Randall Stadium turnstiles had settled in their seats for a showdown that was televised nationally by ESPN. There was a buzz in the air -- quite literally in some cases, since fans had the entire day to party. There was also rain in the air -- heavy rain, and sometimes it was even blowing sideways.

It was even more electric inside the stadium when the game ended exactly three hours later. In those 180 minutes, fans had been treated to a season's worth of memorable highlights in one game. They saw great plays, bone-crushing hits, a linebacker choking a quarterback, unlikely heroes emerging from the home team and the end of an amazing streak. Heck, they even saw a streaker.

"If you're serious about the game and if your focus is on the task at hand, a lot of times you don't hear the crowd and you don't worry about it," said Madison native Jeff Mack, a senior linebacker for UW in 2003. "The crowd never really affected me. But that game was amazing in that the electricity in the stadium was constant."

Afterward, UW coach Barry Alvarez called his team's 17-10 victory "one of the most gratifying wins" of his career.

He didn't have to explain why he felt that way.

The week began with talk of rubber bands.

Seriously.

Alvarez wanted to make the game special for the Badgers, so he spent part of Monday's staff meeting brainstorming with his assistants on a way to do just that.

Author Brian Curtis, who had been granted full access that week by Alvarez, was there for the staff meeting.

"The coaches decide on an 'I'm In' campaign," Curtis wrote in his book, "Every Week a Season," which included a chapter devoted to the UW-Ohio State game. "The staff will have rubber bands with 'I'm In' written on them, and when players believe they are fully ready to work hard and focus on Ohio State, they can tell any coach and they'll be given a rubber band to wear on their wrists.

"Not only does it add meaning to a practice week, but Alvarez points out that wearing the bands forces players to think about the game 24 hours a day. On a suggestion from assistant coach Brian Murphy, the words 'I'm On' are added, emphasizing the significance of being totally committed."