Badgers sophomore has made more plays with teams keying on O'Brien Schofield.

MADISON - University of Wisconsin sophomore defensive end J.J. Watt relishes the 1-on-1 battles at his position.

He has enough confidence to like his chances in those, no matter who he lines up against.

"I'm a big fan of 1-on-1 blocks," Watt said. "Big fan. They're obviously a chance for me against the other guy, to see who's better. That's something I love."

He also knows who he has to thank for them. It's senior O'Brien Schofield, the Badgers' other starting defensive end.

Last week's 37-0 victory over Purdue was a good example, when Schofield drew a double-team for almost the entire game.

"I had a lot of 1-on-1 blocks the whole game," Watt said. "Obviously, I can attribute that to 'O.B.' and kind of thank him for that. Hopefully, teams won't be able to do that in the future. If they want to double-team 'O.B.,' we have plenty of other guys willing to step in and make plays."

Schofield has attracted extra attention for most of the season, but Purdue went to the greatest lengths. While Schofield was held without a tackle for loss, only the second game all season that has happened, it came at a price.

Watt and the rest of the defensive linemen made the Boilermakers pay, as they finished with 141 total yards.

"It's probably the first team that's accounted for (Schofield) and doubled-teamed him on the majority of the plays," defensive line coach Charlie Partridge said. "Thankfully, now you have other guys stepping up and defeating single-teams and making some plays. That's big for these last (four) regular-season games."

It also presents a pick-your-poison dilemma for future opponents, including Indiana Saturday. How much attention can offensive lines give Schofield when Watt and the other defensive linemen are also playing well?

Schofield is tied for the lead nationally in tackles for loss with 2.06 per game (16.5 total) and Wednesday was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award given to the nation's top defensive player.

"I'm surprised it hadn't happened earlier, to be honest with you," Partridge said. "It's obviously a badge of honor when somebody starts sliding protection to you or making sure there's a second guy there for you.

"I really thought it would come earlier, with the success he's had and knew it was going to come eventually. Here we are."

It couldn't come at a better time for the Badgers, given Watt is getting healthy after fighting through illness and an ankle injury.

After a strong opener against Northern Illinois, Watt battled flu symptoms for two games and a sprained ankle.

"I'm not 100 percent yet, but I'm definitely a lot closer than I have been all year," he said. "When you're playing at less than your full potential, you feel like people aren't seeing the real you. Now, for these last couple games, I'm excited for everybody to see what I really can offer."

Fans saw the real Watt two games ago, when he had a season-high four TFLs against Iowa. Against Purdue, he was named by coaches as one of three defensive players of the week, along with senior defensive tackle Dan Moore and sophomore cornerback Devin Smith.

"You can tell (Watt) is playing on a healthy leg," Partridge said. "His fundamentals keep getting better. He comes in every day, 'Coach, what do I need to focus on today?' You've got a good chance with guys who have that kind of focus."

This could be the year of the defensive end in the Big Ten Conference. In addition to Schofield, there's Michigan's Brandon Graham, Iowa's Adrian Clayborn, Purdue's Ryan Kerrigan, Indiana's Jammie Kirlew and Ohio State's duo of Thaddeus Gibson and Cameron Heyward.

"There are so many good ones," Watt said. "It's really an endless list. It's a lot of fun to watch and it's fun to be a part of it, too, to hopefully have my name in that category."

Watt would like nothing better than to have UW's starting duo be considered the best in the league.

"That's what we're working toward," Watt said. "Who knows where we are in the race? Obviously, 'O.B.' is near the top overall of any of them. I'm just trying to help him out."

It's the least Watt can do, given all the single-team blocks he has gotten, courtesy of Schofield.