Wisconsin hopes to continue its drive to a Big Ten West title heading into this home stretch of the regular season. To keep those good vibes -- and wins -- rolling, UW (5-3 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) will need to defeat Rutgers (4-4, 1-4) on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J. (2:30 p.m. CT, BTN).

BadgerBlitz.com submits its weekly 3Cs roundtable before the Badgers and Scarlet Knights battle this weekend. Senior writers Jake Kocorowski and Benjamin Worgull, along with staff writer Raul Vazquez, break down one area of curiosity, confidence and concern each heading into the cross-divisional clash.

Kocorowski: Raul takes one angle of Braelon Allen and the rushing attack below. I'll take another -- does the true freshman back go for over 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game? The 6-foot-2, 238-pound bruiser has rushed for 483 yards on 66 carries (7.3 yards per carry) with four touchdowns in those past quartet of contests.

Rutgers allowed Ohio State's and Michigan State's ground games to pile up 208 and 249 yards, respectively, in October matchups in Piscataway. Though the Knights held Northwestern and Illinois to a combine 242 yards in their past two games, the Badgers possess far superior rushing attacks. It should be interesting to see how the Scarlet Knights defend this now-potent area of the offense for Bucky.

Worgull: I am intrigued by what we saw Saturday from Graham Mertz. The third-year quarterback has always exuded confidence but his play for the better part of two seasons has been average; borderline awful against ranked opponents. From a stats perspective, Saturday was not spectacular with only 104 passing yards accompanied by a 50 percent completion percentage (11-for-22). However, Mertz was smarter when he threw the football (no interceptions in consecutive games against a Power Five opponent for the first time since Week 1-2 of 2020), displayed better awareness (no sacks, no fumbles), and was more opportunistic (two rushing touchdowns, 5-for-11 with a touchdown on third down). It’s the kind of performance Mertz can build on, especially when his offensive line didn’t allow Iowa to come near him.

Wisconsin is firmly in the driver’s seat for the Big Ten West and the next three weeks really shouldn’t yield any major stumbling blocks (Rutgers, Northwestern and Nebraska are a combined 3-13 in Big Ten play), setting up a potential winner-take-all game in Minneapolis for the Big Ten West in the regular season finale. The last time that happened, UW pummeled Minnesota, 38-17, in 2019.

The Scarlet Knights are last in the conference in pass efficiency defense, tied for last in the conference with four interceptions, and rank ninth in the league in sacks and quarterback hurries. This should be a defense Mertz can have command against.

Vazquez: Amazing how things can change in a matter of eight weeks. Early in the season, I pondered the distribution of work at running back with Jalen Berger the back accompanying Chez Mellusi. Now after four straight 100-yard days, I am curious what the breakdown of carries will be this Saturday between Allen and Mellusi.

This past Saturday marked the first game in which Allen saw more carries than Mellusi. With the Clemson transfer totaling just 48 yards on 19 touches, Allen racked up 104 yards on 20 rushes. The 17-year old true freshman, who entered the season as the apparent fourth back on the depth chart, is not only playing well at such a young age but likely the best option at tailback. Does Allen see the most carries this weekend? Do they receive a similar amount of touches again?

Kocorowski: I feel confident Wisconsin will once again shut down an opponents' rushing attack. Jim Leonhard's unit continues to lead the nation in rushing defense, allowing 49.6 yards per contest. That includes last week's win where Iowa -- which came in averaging 116.6 yards per outing on the ground -- only mustered 24 yards on 30 carries.

UW has tallied 20 tackles for loss in the last two weeks -- 56 total in eight games -- and opponents have mustered 1.7 yards per carry. Rutgers enters the contest averaging 143.0 rushing yards per outing but only on 3.5 yards per attempt, though it has racked up at least 196 yards three times in 2021.

That said, I think Wisconsin constricts yet another foe on Saturday.

Worgull: I am positive that Rutgers stinks and should be kicked out of the Big Ten. Seriously.

The Scarlet Knights were a head-scratching choice from a competition standpoint when the conference invited them in 2012. That may have looked good on paper with their play in the Big East (six bowls in seven years, averaging eight wins a year), but Rutgers had no history of consistent football success. If former commissioner Jim Delaney could have a do over, I wonder if he’d take it?

Not only has Rutgers had off-the-field embarrassments, but the football team is also on its way to seven straight losing seasons. Since joining the Big Ten, Rutgers is 11-55! The Scarlet Knights were added to the conference in part to get that coveted New York television but who in their right mind would want to watch this garbage on a weekly basis?

Vazquez: This is more so of a prediction as opposed to a spotlight on a specific unit or matchup, but I am confident Wisconsin can keep it rolling and dominate the Scarlet Knights this Saturday. UW has to hit the road for the tilt but SHI Stadium is far from a house of horrors the way that the RAC has come to be for Wisconsin basketball.

UW has churned out four straight victories with its latest being a pair of wins over ranked opponents. Most importantly, the offense, led by their rushing attack, has played their part in wins. The Badgers have picked up 1,052 yards on the ground the past four games, and with the top defense on the other side, UW is playing exactly how they’d draw it up. As Faion Hicks put it in an Oct. 23 tweet, “We gone play good defense and run the [insert angry emoji] ball… Wisconsin football baby!” With that kind of performance from the backs and the improved play of the offensive line, you don’t need much, if anything, from Mertz, but his 9-for-10 start against Iowa showed a level of comfort that is encouraging.

Wisconsin, which had struggled to turn teams over, has done so in bunches now. The unit has racked up eight turnovers the past two weeks after it generated just four in the first six weeks, which elevated the defense's production from an elite group to historically good. After scoring no more than 13 points in conference play the first four games, Rutgers totaled 20 to top the Illini, but the Scarlet Knights won’t be given much of an opportunity to build on their its conference win with the nation’s top defense coming to town.

Kocorowski: I think special teams will be something to watch, with or without former Wisconsin/current Rutgers wide receiver and kickoff returner Aron Cruickshank available.

Cruickshank claimed first-team all-Big Ten honors and the conference's return specialist of the year away last season in his first year in Piscataway. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native started off well in 2021 before he suffered a shoulder injury against Michigan State on Oct. 9 and has not played since. Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano was asked about his dynamic players' status during his Monday press conference.

"I don't know about Aron. That's gonna be close," Schiano said. "I know he wants to. He's been trying to, but there's a difference between want to and physically able, and we're never going to put a guy out there and risk their health if they're not ready to go."

If he does not participate, that helps UW but it still has allowed big returns at times this season. It currently ranks tied for 80th in the nation in kickoff return defense (21.9 yards allowed per return).

As noted in our piece on Cruickshank on Tuesday, Rutgers averages over 12 yards per punt return, thanks in significant part to the fourth-year player's efforts. On the flip side, it only allows just over four yards per punt return, which is good for 23rd in the nation. Opponents gain just 17.3 yards per kickoff return, which ranks 18th in the FBS.

Regardless if Cruickshank plays or not, can the coverage and return units contain potential big plays on the road?

Worgull: Wisconsin’s offensive coaching staff, especially tight end coach Mickey Turner, must thank their lucky stars that tight end Jake Ferguson returned for his senior season. Not so much because Ferguson leads the team in catches (25), but the depth in the group has been hit hard by the injury bug over the last few weeks.

Hayden Rucci and Cam Large missed last weekend’s game and have already been ruled out for Saturday. Clay Cundiff was carted off the field on an ambulance at the end of the third quarter Saturday with a right leg injury and has been ruled out for the rest of the season. That leads Jack Eschenbach as the lone backup with experience and he missed the win at Purdue because of injury. UW might need to rely more on Jaylan Franklin, who didn’t record any offensive snaps against Iowa and has played sparingly since being moved from linebacker last season.

UW should be OK as long as Ferguson continues to play (he’d probably play in an iron lung if needed), but the Badgers likely are uneasy about the production of the group behind him.

Vazquez: Thinking along the same lines as Ben here but Wisconsin has to be praying John Chenal stays healthy the rest of the way. There is no concern with the fullback position and how Chenal has played, but in a scenario where he goes down, UW literally does not have a backup at the position listed on their depth chart.

Chenal has been solid at the position for Wisconsin as Paul Chryst continues to utilize him in short yardage situations, occasionally as a pass catcher and of course as a blocker.

Quan Easterling, who entered the transfer portal a week ago, would have been the backup and could have likely seen the field.

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