BadgerBlitz.com brings back it's Behind Enemy Lines series, where we get an opposing beat writer's take on the upcoming matchup.

For Week 8, we spoke to Louie Vaccher of Wildcat Report and touched on Northwestern's quarterback play, second-year head coach David Braun and much more.

Vaccher: Lausch has improved quite a bit in a span of just a few starts and is now firmly entrenched as QB1. He looked shaky in his first Big Ten game at Washington, completing just 8 of 27 passes for 53 yards with two interceptions, as the Wildcats eked out just 112 total yards. But in the last two games, he’s been pretty good, going 33-for-56 for 446 yards, with two TDs and no interceptions; plus, he’s added 68 yards and another score on the ground. Against Maryland, he connected on some long ones – he had three completions of 40 or more yards. He still has issues with consistency – he still misses some short throws badly – but he takes care of the football and gives Northwestern a dual-threat guy who can make plays inside and outside of the pocket. His confidence is growing every week.

Vaccher: The Wildcats definitely come into Saturday’s game on an upswing and with some confidence. Through four weeks, the offense was dreadful and it looked like it could be a long year. But they’ve made major strides the last two weeks. Against Indiana, the offense finally showed some life, but the defense got shredded by the buzzsaw that is Indiana’s offense. Last Friday against Maryland, the Cats finally put a full game together in all three phases. The offense made some big plays and scored 30 points, the defense created three takeaways and scored a TD on a scoop-and-score, and the special teams created one turnover while Luke Akers earned the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week award for handling punting, placekicking and kickoff duties.

As far as the stadium goes, both the team and the fans love it. It’s got to be the most unique environment in college football right now. The only downside has been the Indiana game, where Hoosier fans made up about half of the crowd. Hopefully, Northwestern fans will hold onto their tickets and support their team on Saturday.

Vaccher: Last year, Braun proved he could coach a team and won the Big Ten Coach of the Year award in the process. This year, it’s been more about his leading a program. He had to make some hiring and firing decisions on his coaching staff at the end of last season. He helped spearhead the drive to build Martin Stadium, NU’s temporary facility on the lake, and even contributed a six-figure donation to the cause. He recruited part of the Class of 2024, and all of the Class of 2025. He has proved himself to be a decisive leader – after just two games, he replaced grad transfer Mike Wright, by far his most experienced quarterback, with the unproven Jack Lausch, and the last couple weeks have shown it was the right move. That choice took some courage. I think he’d be the first to admit that he’s still learning on the job – his decision to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal against Washington is one example – but he is coming into his own. This is now his program.

Vaccher: The word “dangerous’ makes this an interesting question. It’s not best, necessarily, but someone the other team has to account for on every snap.

On defense, that guy is Anto Saka. He’s a junior defensive end and pass-rushing specialist who comes in on passing downs. He’s a dangerous man for offensive tackles. A fast and powerful rusher off the edge, he has the speed and bend to go around tackles on the outside, and the power to bull-rush them into the backfield. Northwestern has had its share of very good defensive ends over the years, including several -- like Earnest Brown, Joe Gaziano, Adetomiwa Adebawore and Dean Lowry – who are playing on Sundays. But I don’t think they’ve had a quick-twitch guy like Saka. He’s one to watch.

AJ Henning is the burner at wide receiver, but I’m going to go with his running mate, Bryce Kirtz, because he is red-hot right now. Against Indiana two weeks ago, the grad student wideout had 10 catches for 128 yards, including a 47-yarder. Then, last week, he averaged an unbelievable 41 yards on three receptions – a 28-yarder, a 40-yarder and a 55-yarder. He’s proven that he’s more than a possession guy and can hit the big play.

Vaccher: One of them is Carmine Bastone, a former walk-on defensive tackle who was elected a team captain this year. Then, he missed the first five games of the season with an injury. He finally got back in the lineup against Maryland and made his presence felt immediately, sacking Billy Edwards Jr. and forcing a fumble that defensive end Aidan Hubbard took into the end zone for a touchdown. He will be a key for Northwestern’s run defense up the middle against the Badgers.

Another guy is Kenny Soares, an outside linebacker and pass rusher who is on the field when NU is in their base 4-3 but comes off when they go to nickel. He got a season-high 32 snaps last week and really played well. Against Wisconsin, I think he’ll be on the field quite a bit again. He’s a versatile and athletic player who can make plays from sideline-to-sideline, or in the backfield.

Vaccher: Northwestern seems to have found its groove the last couple weeks, particularly on offense. The problem is that so has Wisconsin, which has outscored its last two opponents 94-13. I think Northwestern’s defense will keep them in it. The question for me is whether the Wildcat offense is consistent enough to win. Last week, they scored a lot of points thanks to four turnovers, but they gained less than 300 yards and had five three-and-outs, including four in a row at one point. They need to move the chains consistently to eat the clock and keep Wisconsin’s offense off the field.

I don’t have to tell you how close this series has been: the Cats and Badgers have split the last 10 games. Home field used to be a big factor, but Wisconsin won the last time they were in Evanston, and the Cats returned the favor with a road win last year. I think this will be another tight, physical, low-scoring, Big Ten slobberknocker on the lake. I reserve the right to change my mind when I make my “official” pick on Friday, but right now I’m leaning toward taking the Badgers, 20-17.

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