Wisconsin hopes to end the 2021 season on a high note when it takes on Arizona State in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Thursday.

The Badgers (8-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten) will face a Sun Devils (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) program that will be missing some key pieces to its team. However, Jim Leonhard's defense needs to contain yet another dual-threat quarterback, and the offense's ground game must get back on track after a rough outing against Minnesota in the regular-season finale last month.

BadgerBlitz.com presents key stats, Arizona State players to watch and insight from DevilsDigest.com's Hod Rabino before a late Thursday evening tilt inside Allegiant Stadium (9:30 p.m. CT, ESPN).

*Record: 8-4 overall, 6-3 Pac-12

*Points per game: 29.7

*Opponents' points per game: 20.9

*Rushing yards per game: 204.5 (on 5.3 yards per carry)

*Opponents' rushing yards per game: 128.7 (on 3.6 yards per carry)

*Passing yards per game: 197.7

*Opponents' passing yards per game: 199.7

*Third-down conversions: 44.1%

*Opponents' third-down conversions: 35.9%

*Turnovers created: 20 (15 interceptions, five fumble recoveries)

*Turnovers lost: 21 (9 interceptions, 12 fumbles lost)

*Time of possession per game: 29:33

*Sacks credited: 25

*Sacks allowed: 20

*Running back Daniyel Ngata: 45 carries, 286 yards, three touchdowns

*Quarterback Jayden Daniels: 66.4% completion percentage, 2,222 yards, 10 touchdowns, nine interceptions; 119 carries, 670 yards, six rushing touchdowns

*Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall: 44 receptions, 515 yards, four touchdowns

*Wide receiver LV Bunkley-Shelton: 29 receptions, 370 yards, two touchdowns

*Tight end Curtis Hodges: 20 receptions, 374 yards, two touchdowns

*Offensive lineman Kellen Diesch: 86.4 2021 PFF Grade

*Offensive lineman Ben Scott: 75.2 2021 PFF Grade

*Linebacker Kyle Soelle: 82 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, three pass breakups

*Defensive lineman D.J. Davidson: 57 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, four pass breakups

*Cornerback Timarcus Davis: 22 tackles, two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, one fumble recovery

*Defensive back DeAndre Pierce: 57 tackles, one sack, two interceptions, four pass breakups

*Linebacker Merlin Robertson: 57 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, one pass breakup

*Defensive lineman Tyler Johnson: 33 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, three pass breakups, five quarterback hurries

*Defensive lineman Anthonie Cooper: 29 tackles, five tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks

Herm Edwards' era in Tempe certainly began with a lot of promise that you can honestly say, by and large, has not been fulfilled. In his first year, he won just seven games, although the team was one win away from clinching the South Division. The second year, that mark picked up to eight wins, but there was still a sense of a team that did somewhat underachieve. And after playing just four games in 2020, there is really not a whole lot to glean from a 2-2 record, although I still thought the team was somewhat marching in the right direction from the previous year.

Then comes the 2021 season, and you felt that this is the most talented squad we saw in Tempe in a long, long time. Predicting the squad to not only win the division but the conference crown was hardly wishful thinking, at least in my opinion. But then came the NCAA investigation regarding the allegations over recruiting rules violations, and seemingly overnight, everything changed for the worst. Three assistant coaches were put on admin leave in the summer, two of them just days into fall camp, and a recruiting class that was clearly headed to a top 25 or better ranking was stopped cold in its tracks.

There's no question in my mind that this significant off-the-field matter did hold back ASU and, in some respects, prevented it from having a much better season than it ended up posting. But really worse than that there isn't a whole lot of hope right now that things are going to get better before they get worse. We expect this coaching staff to mostly stay intact in 2022 but what the future holds for this program beyond that, in my opinion, is one big huge question mark. Everybody has and will be frustrated with the long process of wait and see when it comes to the results of the NCAA investigation, and to say that this will dictate everything about the program is a gross understatement. And it is that one exact issue that really does cast a dark cloud over the Herm Edwards era.