BadgerBlitz.com's weekly feature, "The 3Cs," returns for the 2021 season. The staff takes a look at one thing we're curious, confident and concerned about heading into No. 18 Wisconsin's non-conference showdown against Eastern Michigan.

Senior writers Jake Kocorowski and Benjamin Worgull, and staff writer Raul Vazquez each give their thoughts on the aforementioned topics for this week's contest.

Kocorowski: I wonder how this team will respond on Saturday after a conference game they know they should have won if not for self-inflicted errors, with a non-conference contest they should also win. Will there be a hangover of sorts, or will the program come out with a fury and overwhelm Eastern Michigan on both sides of the ball?

For that matter, the program’s open weekend follows this game before a huge non-conference match-up at Soldier Field against an old friend who plays in South Bend. That contest, along with another cross-divisional clash against Michigan the week after, will likely tell where the team really sits heading into the rest of the 2021 season. For now, it will be intriguing just how Wisconsin executes in all three phases against Eastern Michigan.

Worgull: Against a solid season-opening opponent, having a Wisconsin quarterback go 26-for-35 for 366 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception is an incredible stat line. Too bad those numbers come from former UW, and current Notre Dame senior Jack Coan, who was effectively run out of town in favor of redshirt sophomore Graham Mertz.

Mertz entered Wisconsin with bravado, confidence, and swagger, deservingly so after being the highest rated QB recruit in program history. All of those traits may someday shine bright, but it’s strange as to why it appeared he hasn’t taken off in his development. Last year was full of many built-in excuses: lack of an offseason, COVID, shoulder injury, missing key receivers, a lack of flow with canceled games, etc. He went into last Saturday with a full offseason workout program, all his key receivers back in the fold, and a renewed running game. What Mertz delivered instead was only 185 passing yards on 22-for-37 passing, no touchdowns, a pair of intentional grounding calls, a fumble, and interceptions on UW’s final two drives.

Talented defenses have got the playbook down on Mertz, which is to fluster him by dialing up pressures, resulting in him telegraphing throws or rushing decisions. The latter came into play late when Mertz didn’t see receiver Chimere Dike wide open for what probably would have been the game-winning touchdown. There were a handful of other examples when Mertz had a clean pocket but stayed locked on the primary target, missing opportunity for higher percentage completions.

Mertz has played against four ranked opponents in the past two seasons and the results have been ugly: 56.7 completion percentage, one touchdown, seven interceptions, and three lost fumbles. Not surprisingly, the offense has averaged just 7.5 points in those four games (all losses).

Whether fair or not, Mertz’s performance is going to be compared to Coan and the first week of the season suggests that UW would have beaten Penn State if the current Notre Dame quarterback was still in Madison. Mertz promises he’ll be better, and he likely will this weekend, but there’s a big difference between succeeding against Eastern Michigan and what is thriving against Notre Dame, Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State, etc.

Vazquez: I am curious to see how Paul Chryst and his staff try to get Mertz in a groove early against Eastern Michigan. Chez Mellusi showed what he can do this past Saturday to kickoff the season, leaving the passing attack vital for the outlook of the rest of the season. Do they look to get Mertz and the offense in a rhythm by incorporating more jet sweeps to Chimere Dike, Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor, or do they include some short timing throws to a tailback out of the backfield?

As a bonus key I’ll be looking at this Saturday, it’ll be important for the team to clean up mental errors which, in the words of Jake Ferguson, forced Wisconsin to play against two opponents. A blocked field goal, some key defensive miscues, a penalty in the red zone and a botched handoff could very well have been the difference in Wisconsin opening the year with a win.

Kocorowski: I’m confident about Wisconsin’s pass rush not just heading into this game against Eastern Michigan, but the rest of the season. Though recording just two sacks in the stats sheet against Penn State, Pro Football Focus reported 19 total pressures -- two sacks, four hits and 13 hurries.

Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard called out Nick Herbig on Monday for having “an unbelievable game,” along with mentioning defensive linemen Matt Henningsen and Isaiah Mullens and inside linebacker Jack Sanborn by name during his availability regarding this topic. Getting home to opposing quarterbacks will be key, but I have confidence this defense will be a pain for offenses to contend with.

Worgull: After Wisconsin’s lack of success in the running game bogged down the offense in 2020, the production of the group against a quality defensive front signal that big boy Badgers football is back. Mellusi getting a career-high 31 carries is aggressive in his debut, but the junior delivered with a career-high 121 yards. Moreover, seeing the often-injured Isaac Guerendo get 56 yards on 13 carries (career bests in both categories) is an encouraging sign. Redshirt freshman Jalen Berger should eventually get his number called, too, giving the Badgers three quality options to wear down defenses this season.

Vazquez: Mellusi’s debut as a Badger may have overshadowed the performance of teammate Danny Davis, who came down with eight catches for a career-high 99 yards. The senior wideout made a pair of highlight catches and looks in line to be a reliable threat for Mertz.

Look for Davis to have another big day and haul in a deep pass or two. His ability to make contested catches and track deep balls makes him a valuable asset for Mertz, who continues to grow as a signal caller.

Kocorowski: Ben’s taken the offensive line talk below, so I’ll look at the passing game here. I’m not overly concerned yet, but improvements need to be made. Wisconsin did not complete a pass longer than 23 yards on Saturday against Penn State, and Mertz hit on only three passes over 15 yards in the loss.

Ben already called out Mertz’s stats from this past weekend, but Penn State also tallied 16 pressures in the contest, according to PFF’s grading. Teams will continue to put eight to nine players in the box to contain UW’s rejuvenated rushing attack. Locking down the pass rush and completing deeper throws via play action will help keep defenses honest against the ground game.

Seeing signs of improvement will be huge before a week off and then meeting All-American safety Kyle Hamilton and a fierce Fighting Irish defense.

Worgull: Associate head coach/offensive line coach Joe Rudolph was blasted over social media last year because of his play-calling choices. A likely unrelated note this offseason, Chryst decided to take back those play-calling duties after quarterback coach Jon Budmayr left and the choice was made to hire a cornerbacks coach instead of Budmayr’s replacement.

But even with Chryst back under the headset, Wisconsin’s offense looked sluggish and sloppy. How else could you explain the Badgers holding the ball for over 42 minutes and running 95 plays but only generating 365 yards (3.8 per play), one touchdown and 7-for-21 on third down? The Badgers got inside the Penn State 25 five times but came away with only 10 points.

UW’s offensive line was overwhelmed at times by PSU’s pressure (surprising considering the UW’s No.1 defense they practiced against all month), resulting in .38 yards per rush in the red zone (13 attempts, five yards) and an untimely penalty on backup center Kayden Lyles at the PSU 2. Rudolph mixed and matched lines by design, according to Chryst, but didn’t have a group that truly seemed in sync.

Yes, there is always rust in the first game of the season and the mistakes made Saturday are all correctable. However, the season opener continued a trend for Wisconsin of sloppy offensive execution against Power Five competition, the type of performance that will keep the Badgers from reaching a championship level in 2021.

Vazquez: For as well as the defense played, the group failed to notch a single takeaway in the Week 1 contest. The unit’s performance was certainly good enough to come out with a win, but Leonhard has often preached the desire for the group to be more disruptive. And in a one-possession game, a takeaway or two may have been game changing. Along the defensive line, Ross Kolodziej and his group expressed the need to let loose and get after the quarterback more, but Isaiah Mullens was the only lineman to force a hurry, with no lineman coming away with a sack.

As for the offense, it’ll be important for Wisconsin to improve on their ability to convert third downs and come away with points when it gets in the red zone. On three separate possessions where UW got inside the 10-yard line, they came away with a whopping zero points, and the group was just seven of 21 overall on third downs.