CHICAGO -- The elephant inside Wisconsin's team meeting room felt conspicuous five months before the Badgers had even played a game in the 2016 season. Linebacker Vince Biegel, one of the Badgers' emotional leaders, decided he should be the one to remove it.
Biegel offered teammates an impassioned speech during an early April practice at Lambeau Field in Green Bay -- 155 days ahead of the team's season opener there against SEC power LSU. He spoke about building physically and mentally for a campaign that will be unlike any other at Wisconsin.
His central message: Don't waste time listening to those who suggest the Badgers will take a significant step back because of perhaps the most difficult schedule in program history.