BadgerBlitz.com brings back its All-Out Blitz weekly series for the 2024 season, where you can find everything you need to know about Wisconsin's upcoming opponent. We look at UW's seventh opponent of the season in the Northwestern Wildcats, who the Badgers will host Saturday morning in Evanston, Illinois, at 11:00 a.m. on BTN.

QUICK PROGRAM FACTS

Head Coach: David Braun (10-8 career record, second season)

Northwestern All Time Record: 560-698-40 (.431)

2024 Record: 3-3 (1-2 Big Ten)

Rankings: N/A

Series vs. Wisconsin: 39-61-5

The Wildcat offense is led by quarterback Jack Lausch, who became the starter prior to their Week 3 matchup against Eastern Illinois.

Lausch is still lacking in consistency but has shown promising flashes, especially with his mobility and willingness to take deep shots.

Ninety of Lausch’s 203 passing yards last week came from two passes — a 40-yarder to receiver A.J. Henning in the first quarter and a 55-yarder to receiver Bryce Kirtz in the fourth. Lausch has developed some solid chemistry with both Henning and Kirtz, who are also the team’s top two receivers by a solid margin.

Henning lines up in the slot and is the top priority for both Austin Brown and Max Lofy, who both logged slot cornerback snaps against Rutgers, per Pro Football Focus. Henning is only listed at 5-foot-10, 192 pounds, which makes him a perfect assignment for cornerback Ricardo Hallman, who’s similarly built.

But the real pressure is on Wisconsin’s edge rushers to not give Lausch enough time to make plays. They showed improvement against the run last week in Piscataway, but Darryl Peterson and co. need to actually crash the pocket on dropbacks.

However, given the recent play from Northwestern’s running backs, they’re gonna have to rely on Lausch to make plays. The Wildcats as a team averaged 162 rushing yards per game in their first three games, but just 77 per game in the last three.

It could be that their schedule is getting tougher, but running back Cam Porter’s lower body injury hasn’t helped, either. He missed the game against Washington, when the offense cratered without him and only mustered five points.

Porter’s workload has decreased, but nobody else is really taking his place. Joseph Himon II was given more carries against Indiana, then it was Caleb Komolafe against Maryland, but nobody has looked like a capable backup.

A major factor in both the running and passing game will be the Wildcat offensive line. In an inconsistent and streaky offense, the front line has been maybe the most chaotic part of the operation.

They’ve used three different lineups in the first six games due to injury. Left tackle Caleb Tiernan and right guard Josh Thompson have been the only full-time starters. Thompson even left the game late last week against Maryland, but coach David Braun said that he expects him to play.

Like Rutgers, Northwestern likes to take runs outside, which obviously means the edge rushers will be crucial, but the linebackers need to stay ready. It’ll be a big week for Jake Chaney in the middle of the defense, as well as Jaheim Thomas, who could rush the passer a bit more than we’ve seen in past weeks.

Christian Alliegro may get used as a quarterback spy again, just like he did against Illinois and Luke Altmyer last season.

It’s difficult to predict which version of Northwestern’s defense we’ll see this week, as they’ve looked completely different in each of their last two games.

Against Indiana, they allowed a whopping 529 total yards and got boat raced, 41-24. They only allowed 10 points against Maryland, but still let them hold the ball for 34 minutes and finish with 355 yards. The reason they were so successful is they got four takeaways, including a fumble recovery for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

The performance against the Hoosiers showed that their pass defense is especially vulnerable.

Starting cornerbacks Theran Johnson and Evan Smith have started on the perimeter all season. After a good 2023, Johnson has emerged as one of the best players on the defense. He’s been targeted a team-high 41 times but has only allowed 20 receptions for 226 yards, per PFF.

Johnson will be a challenge for Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke, who’s turned into a different quarterback over the past two weeks, completing 40 of 59 passes for 599 yards and four touchdowns.

Locke has become more willing to take deep shots. Receiver Vinny Anthony has caught a 40+ yard pass in three straight weeks, catapulting him to the top of Wisconsin’s yardage leaderboard with 287 on the season. He’s also averaging a nation-first 26.1 yards per reception.

But Locke will need time to get it there. The offensive line has been absolutely instrumental in the team’s improvement over the past two weeks and will need to build on their momentum.

Edge rushers Aidan Hubbard and Anto Saka pose a real threat, with a combined 32 pressures on the season between them, while the Wildcats’ 15 sacks this season are tied for sixth in the Big Ten.

The front line will also need to create room for running back Tawee Walker, another guy who’s turned into a completely different player over the past two weeks. His numbers against Purdue and Rutgers were great — 43 rushes for 292 yards and six touchdowns — but he could be even more important this week than he has all season.

Against the best defense they’ve played in weeks, led by star linebacker Xander Mueller, things could get ugly.

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