Coming off of back-to-back wins against Purdue and Rutgers, the Badgers are back in action Saturday as they take on the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Illinois.
Last season, the Wildcats came into Camp Randall and stomped over the Badgers in their controlling two-score victory. Wisconsin will have a chance to avenge this loss when they head to Northwestern's lakefront stadium this weekend.
The Wildcats come into this matchup with a 3-3 record after picking up their first Big Ten win in dominant fashion against the Maryland Terrapins last Friday. Before that, Northwestern had dropped their first two Big Ten matchups against the Washington Huskies and Indiana Hoosiers.
On the other hand, the Badgers have been one of the hottest teams in the nation over the past two weekends. In their commanding wins over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Purdue Boilermakers, Wisconsin combined for 94 points after failing to eclipse that mark in their first four contests of the season.
Offensive coordinator Phil Longo's air raid offense is finally starting to take off and give Wisconsin a very uncharacteristic-looking offense. In years past, the sole focus of the Badger offense was on the ground game, but now under Longo it has completely opened up.
Quarterback Braedyn Locke will look to continue his superb play on Saturday. After looking shaky in his first start against the University of Southern California, Locke has not looked back after two impressive starts against Rutgers and Purdue. With the redshirt sophomore performing at his highest, the Badgers should be looking pretty.
Butthe Badgers are playing with a very banged-up receiver core. One of the Badgers’ top receivers, Will Pauling, is currently questionable for Saturday after suffering a brutal blow last game. In the previous game against Rutgers, the Badgers were already without Bryson Green and Tyrell Henry.
With these injuries, plenty of other Badgers have been able to step up and will be key difference-makers come Saturday. One Badger to highlight is running back Tawee Walker. Walker, a transfer from the University of Oklahoma, who has fully asserted himself as the number one running back for Wisconsin in the absence of Chez Mellusi.
Walker has recorded eight touchdowns in his last three games and ranks second in the Big Ten in rushing touchdowns behind Iowa's Kaleb Johnson. Walker will have a tall task against the Wildcats rushing defense, which ranks ninth in the nation.
After allowing just 13 combined points in their last two games, the Wisconsin defense will once again look to dominate against Northwestern's subpar offense. The Wildcats rank 120th out of 133 FBS teams in total offense this season, averaging just under 300 yards per game.
This is a must-win game in the Badgers’ hopes of making a bowl game this season. Coming up for Wisconsin includes the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions, the Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 2 Oregon Ducks.
If Wisconsin wants any chance at being a serious threat for an upset in these upcoming games, they need to take care of business on Saturday in Evanston. Kickoff is at 11 a.m.
