5 Things to Watch for Against Illinois

Wisconsin hasn't played Illinois in Madison in what seems like forever (2008) and because of that the visiting team has no one on the roster that was part of that team and it could be an advantage for the Badgers. 

Overall, there are so many intriguing storylines heading into an important game that on paper may not seem important, that narrowing this game down to just 5 Things to watch was rather difficult, but here are the biggest things we're watching for on Saturday afternoon:

1) The Streak: Wisconsin has won 10 straight Big Ten home games and 19 straight home games overall, but this team has had trouble at home this season, struggling in wins over Northern Iowa and Utah State especially. Can they come out and protect the streak? Does that streak play into the motivation for Bucky on Saturday? Wisconsin needs to find some spark and quickly or this season could head downhill. I say protecting that 10 game Big Ten winning streak could be the spark, so let's see how they protect Camp Randall on Saturday.

2) Two Headed Monster: I've talked to a variety of people all week long about Illinois and the two names that come up most often are Donnovan Young and Josh Ferguson. These running backs are about as close to Thunder & Lightning as the Big Ten has this season. Wisconsin struggled against a dynamic duo in the loss to Nebraska last week. So, we should be watching to see if they can shore up that issue against two very good running backs this week. If they can't we could be in for a shoot out at Camp Randall. If we stop the rushing game and make the offense of the Illini one dimensional the Badgers could blow this game open quickly.

3) Gordon's Role: We mentioned this last week and it's still holding true – Wisconsin's offense opens up the most when Melvin Gordon is being used. Whether he is a decoy or actually getting the ball he changes how defenses must react to Wisconsin and that just opens up a world of possibilities. Do the Badgers pass, hand off to Gordon, roll him though and fake it? No matter what Gordon changes defensive reactions and makes them back off the extra man in the box. That's not so when Ball is in the backfield. Teams are teeing off on the run when he is and I say it's about time we get a game where we really see what Gordon has on a full scale. I'm watching to see if Gordon gets 15 or so touches, whether in the run game exclusively or through receiving and rushing – if he is expect Wisconsin to benefit from it in big ways.

4) Kickers: The place kicking situation has nearly become critical condition for the Badgers. Against Utah State a missed extra point by Kyle French didn't become a big deal because Utah State missed a chip shot field goal of their own to end the game. But, against Nebraska a missed extra point and a missed field goal finally came back to bite us. Those 4 points taken off the board were the difference between winning and losing. If Jack Russell makes that field goal up 20-10 the Badgers are up 23-10 and Nebraska's game plan has to change. Instead it stayed a 10 point game and Nebraska could still run the ball at will. Is it too much to ask to see a game where the place kicker – in this game it's back to French – actually makes all of his extra point attempts? I mean seriously, I think that's a fair starting point, no?

5) 4 Quarters: It seems like the 30 point mark is the magic number for this team. If they can get beyond that mark in this game look for the Badgers to possibly be blowing the game wide open. I just get the feeling that once things click this offense has the capability to really open up a can. What better team than Illinois to do it against? They've given up major points to a power offense in La Tech and less than great offense in Penn State in back-to-back games, so why not make it a third. So, watch out for the Badgers offense to finally put four quarters together and give us a full glimpse of what a Matt Canada led offense with Joel Stave, Montee Ball, and Jared Abbrederis all hitting on full cylinders looks like. It could go a long way to determining where this team goes the rest of the season.