Bret Bielema seems to have a pretty good idea of how he’ll handle Wisconsin’s murky quarterback situation this week. He’s just not sharing it right now.

After replacing starter Danny O’Brien with redshirt freshman Joel Stave in the second half of a narrow victory over Utah State, Bielema said Monday that he already had discussed the situation with his quarterbacks going into Saturday’s game against UTEP.

“They already know,” Bielema said. “They already know what’s going on. You won’t talk to them, but they know.”

The two were listed as co-starters on a depth chart released by the program Monday.

“It’s not really a competition,” Bielema said. “I think we have a plan we’ll move forward with as coaches. It isn’t a thing we’re sitting and waiting and wasting time on.”

Bielema’s decision to replace O’Brien was intended to send a message about turnovers, and Bielema said he reinforced that thought in a meeting with O’Brien.

“I told him on Sunday that the No. 1 reason he got the job to begin with was because of the way he took care of the football,” Bielema said. “Some of the things I said on Saturday are really true. So where we’re going to be on this coming Saturday will really be how we handle the week and make sure we put the right guy in.”

O'Brien transferred to Wisconsin from Maryland and was eligible to play right away because he already had graduated, following a similar path to that of last year's standout quarterback, now-Seahawks rookie
Russell Wilson.

Before the season started, coaches and teammates cautioned observers to avoid making direct comparisons between O’Brien and his predecessor, saying O’Brien needed to grow into the job on his own.

Unlike Wilson, who essentially came in as the starter, O’Brien had to win a three-way competition in camp, beating out Stave and senior Curt Phillips to win the starting job.

“I said when that decision was made we had three guys we felt could win football games,” Bielema said. “That hasn’t changed.”

O’Brien was solid in the Badgers’ season-opening victory over FCS school Northern Iowa, then struggled in the loss to Oregon State – as did the rest of the offense, including an offensive line that has yet to find the dominant form that has become Wisconsin’s signature.

O’Brien fumbled twice in the Oregon State loss, losing one. Then he lost a fumble and threw an interception in the first half of Saturday’s game, although the interception was nullified by a Utah State penalty.

Bielema praised O’Brien for supporting Stave after the decision was made.

“That’s why we have a chance,” Bielema said. “We have great kids that pull together and do things in the right way.”

Up next: UTEP at Wisconsin

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

TV: ESPN2

Line: Wisconsin 17 1/2