Wisconsin hopes to climb back closer to the .500 mark and notch its first conference victory of the season this weekend on the road and against one of the program's former head coaches.

BadgerBlitz.com brings you its weekly "3-2-1" series where we highlight three additional observations from the weekend that was, two questions we have heading into the matchup between Wisconsin (1-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) and Illinois (2-4, 1-2), and one bold prediction for the divisional clash on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, BTN).

Dike has only caught six passes in four games, but he's averaging 15.5 yards per catch. Against Michigan, he reeled in back-to-back throws from quarterback Graham Mertz -- the final one an incredible grab for an 18-yard touchdown with seven seconds before halftime.

Dike's stat sheet impact may be small with 1.5 catches per game, but there have been opportunities for bigger plays with him. If Mertz hits the Waukesha (WI) North product with under 30 seconds to play against Penn State, Wisconsin's likely staring down a 2-2 record heading into this week. The former three-star prospect also worked to get open on a nice route against Notre Dame for what could have been a splash play as well.

Wisconsin boasts threats at the wide receiver spot with Dike, Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor. If the rushing attack stagnates once again as it has since the idle weekend, could rolling with 11 personnel and hitting short, quick passes down the field to these wide outs, perhaps mixed with some tempo, get the gears turning for the offense?

Three of Braelon Allen's five carries on Saturday came in the second quarter for 18 yards. That included a nine-yard run that helped ignite Wisconsin's three-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that spanned a mere 15 seconds.

This is an extremely small sample size, but it stood out regardless that head coach Paul Chryst and running backs coach Gary Brown put him in there in non-garbage time. Wisconsin holds a tailback room with Chez Mellusi, Jalen Berger and Isaac Guerendo. Each provide their unique skill sets to the offense, as does the 6-foot-2, 238-pound Allen as a bruising power back who takes more than an arm tackle to bring down.

The Fond du Lac, Wis., native already holds a place on at least the kickoff coverage unit. It will be interesting to see if he receives more opportunities in reps that are not in mop-up time on offense, especially if the line cannot get the push to create holes and the true freshman needs to create yards himself.

Wisconsin sits in the cellar of the Big Ten West with Northwestern at 0-2. At the top sits No. 3 Iowa (5-0, 2-0) after decimating Maryland (4-1, 1-1) on the road. The Hawkeyes forced seven turnovers on the Terps that translated to 17 points on way to a 51-14 win.

At the moment, facing Kirk Ferentz's program will be the toughest remaining game on Wisconsin's schedule -- and potentially the most one-sided based on how each team has played this year. Iowa already has forced 16 turnovers through five outings. UW has coughed it up 12 times (eight interceptions, four fumbles) in four contests.

No. 4 Penn State and No. 9 Michigan, who have already beaten Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium early this season, also boast undefeated records heading into this week.

Five Big Ten teams are within the top 11 of the latest AP poll as 4-1 Ohio State (No. 7) and undefeated Michigan State (No. 11) also hold impressive rankings through Week 5 of the season.

Chryst noted after the loss that Mertz went to a hospital after exiting the game with what UW designated as a chest injury following a sack by Michigan's Daxton Hill and Josh Ross. The program stated that the redshirt sophomore was released later on Saturday afternoon, according to the statement.

Will he or won't he play on Saturday is a question we may know more about on Monday when Wisconsin releases its Week 6 depth chart and preliminary status report. UW also announced he will speak with reporters during the weekly availability. That seems like a positive sign, but we will know more soon.

Mertz has completed 62-of-110 passes for 681 yards with two touchdowns to six interceptions through four games. However, he looked sharper at the end of the first half against Michigan, at one stretch completing 8-of-10 throws that included the two dimes to Dike at the end of the half.

Illinois currently allows 24.7 points and 417.3 yards per game through six contests heading into Saturday's matchup. That includes nearly 293 yards through the air, but it also has tallied 15 sacks and 10 takeaways in six games. If Mertz plays, keeping him upright and comfortable will be a paramount task.

Wisconsin never faced Bielema when he coached at Arkansas, which, honestly, would have been quite the entertaining week leading up to a matchup.

Admittedly, I was caught off guard last year during Wisconsin's Pro Day when I saw him inside the McClain Center. I recall going to a UW official, paraphrasing of course, "Is that who I think it is?"

Bielema, at the time, coached as an assistant for the NFL's New York Giants. He worked through drills with linebackers like Zack Baun and Chris Orr and defensive lineman David Pfaff during that particular Pro Day, which happened mere days before the cancellation of the Big Ten and NCAA basketball tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chryst -- who worked as an assistant under Bielema from 2006-11 -- will take on his former boss in a Big Ten West division clash. The Fighting Illini staff holds some Badgers connections to it, with former UW defensive back Aaron Henry, offensive line coach Bart Miller, and linebackers coach Andy Buh, among others, on staff (see Mike Lucas' tweet below).

We mentioned some defensive stats already, but Illinois is averaging just under 21 points per game offensively as it churns out 355.3 yards per contest -- but over 187 of which come from a ground game averaging 4.5 yards per carry. The Fighting Illini snapped a four-game losing streak last weekend against Charlotte with a 24-14 victory.

Quite honestly, this was the toughest section to write, as what defines "bold" but not "stupid" or foolishly trying to get something to stick to a wall? I really don't feel confident in anything with this team outside of a front seven that can constrict opponents' run games -- but that's not a bold prediction for Wisconsin's line and 'backers to stifle Illinois' ground attack, is it now?

I feel this may not be a bold prediction, per se, but a necessary key to the game. Illinois has allowed only 125.2 rushing yards per game on 3.7 yards per carry. It has not allowed more than 133 yards since Week 2 of the season.

Wisconsin has floundered with its bread-and-butter on offense in the last two weeks. This team needs to start churning the wheels offensively -- and getting the ball to its receivers and tight ends, even its running backs, via the air appears to be a potential, vital option.

If Mertz cannot play, that lowers my expectations for this prediction. No. 2 quarterback Chase Wolf will need to improve his decision making and not short-arm throws like he has with his two interceptions this season. Regardless, the passing game may be the key to rejuvenating the offense if opponents keep dissecting Wisconsin's abilities on the ground.