Wisconsin seeks its first Big Ten win at home against a Purdue program it hasn't lost to in 20 years.

As kickoff draws nearer, BadgerBlitz.com football beat writers Seamus Rohrer and Donnie Slusher will decide if they're "buying" or "selling" on various storylines surrounding the Wisconsin football program.

ROHRER: Buy

Braedyn Locke's commitment to completing exactly half of his passes is impressive. I kid, of course, but the numbers don't lie. Locke completed exactly 50.0 percent of his passes in 2023. This season, he's 26-for-52 passing — you guessed it, a perfect 50.0 percent.

Now, the prevalence of the exact 50 percent isn't what matters here; this is about Locke's inconsistency as a passer. Play-caller Phil Longo's offense is designed to "take what the defense gives," meaning that lots of the throws made in this scheme should be high percentage. Thus, completing just half your passes won't quite cut it.

Longo has raved about Locke's "mastery" of his system; about how he knows it like the back of his hand. Fine. I'm sure he does, but what does that matter if he can't complete the requisite percentage of throws to keep this offense operating smoothly?

I believe Locke will surpass 50 percent against Purdue, but not necessarily because I expect the Badgers' passing game to heat up all of the sudden. Wisconsin should be able to run the ball down Purdue's throat with relative ease given the fact that the Boilermakers are the fourth-worst defense in America in terms of rushing yards allowed per-game. That should open up the passing game to some extent, at least to the point where Locke has plenty of easy, un-contested throws.

SLUSHER: Buy

Locke’s numbers have been far from impressive, but they deserve some context.

Last season, he was thrown into the middle of the game against Iowa, then had to play Illinois, Ohio State and Indiana. This season, he was thrown in early against Alabama, then had to travel and to play USC.

Three of his seven opponents so far have been ranked. I’m still not even really sure how good he is, but Purdue will be the worst team he’s ever played. Besides maybe linebacker Kydran Jenkins, the Boilermakers’ defensive front won’t pose too great of a threat for Locke. It should be his most comfortable game yet.

And while Locke has definitely struggled these past two games, his receivers deserve some of that blame, too. They’re simply not winning enough 1-on-1 battles to get open, making Locke’s job even harder.

Receiver Will Pauling should rebound after what was perhaps the worst performance of his career against USC, when he finished with just two catches and 11 receiving yards while also dropping two passes.

ROHRER: Sell.

I understand that head coach Luke Fickell wants to focus on two to three tailbacks, like he expressed this week at his Monday morning presser:

“It's such a tough position, and we got a little bit of a tough ride right now at the running back spot, meaning we've got a bunch of guys. And it's probably one of the things that [I’ve] put on the offense a little more to say, ‘Look, I don't know that you can play four and five running backs.’ We've got to focus in on who's going to be one, who's going to be the next guy, and then who's the spare. It doesn't give them an opportunity to get into rhythm,” he said.

Still, I don't think the Badgers will hold themselves to that this week. Much like my previous take above, I'll base this answer in Purdue's porous run defense. Wisconsin should be able to get the ground game humming to a point where using three or four tailbacks becomes a necessity.

Even though the departure of Chez Mellusi certainly shortens the running back rotation, I believe Wisconsin will utilize a staple of backs against a Boilermakers' run defense that couldn't stop a strong breeze.

SLUSHER: Buy

The recent news that Mellusi is stepping away from the program changes the view on Fickell’s comments quite a bit.

He had been the Badgers’ leading rusher through four games, with 232 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the season, but his wear-and-tear had never been more obvious. He’s simply not close to the player he was prior to the three major injuries he’s suffered in Madison. The news was a surprise, but ultimately quite understandable.

The silver lining for the Badgers is that there are now far more opportunities for some of the younger backs on the team. And because Fickell made it clear that he doesn’t believe in using four or five backs and much prefers a “one”, a “next guy” and a “spare”, the loss of Mellusi actually makes the hierarchy quite clear.

Transfer Tawee Walker looked like the best back on the team during spring and fall camps and should take over that top spot. However, he’s yet to fully recover from his early-season injury. So he may not receive the workload that the coaches want to give him, just yet.

We should see quite a bit of action from Cade Yacamelli, who’s been the most efficient-yet-underused Badger back so far this season, averaging 7.2 yards per carry on just 21 carries.

Freshman Darrion Dupree should also see his most carries of the season, as the majority of his reps have come during garbage time.

All in all, Walker’s injury could keep them from rolling out their ideal rushing attack, but I still believe we’ll see some semblance of the coaches’ desired hierarchy.

ROHRER: Buy.

Wisconsin's secondary, the supposed strength of its defense through two weeks, has allowed back-to-back excellent performances by opposing quarterbacks Jalen Milroe only threw for 196 yards, but he completed 70 percent of his passes and tossed for three scores. Miller Moss, meanwhile, also threw three touchdowns while amassing 308 yards through the air.

Still, Purdue's passing attack is one of the least intimidating in the Big Ten. Quarterback Hudson Card has struggled, but he doesn't deserve all the blame as his supporting case of wideouts leaves much to be desired. The Boilermakers' best receiving option is their tight end Max Klare, who Wisconsin will surely dial in on. He could feasibly do some damage over the middle while in coverage against linebackers or safeties, but I expect Wisconsin's cornerbacks to have a bounce-back performance and win far more 1-on-1 matchups than they did in Los Angeles.

Purdue doesn't have wideout talent close to the level of Ryan Williams, Zachariah Branch or Ja'Kobi Lane. I fully expect the Badgers' secondary to lock down and refocus against a suspect Boilermaker passing attack.

SLUSHER: Buy

If Card has a great passing day and consistently finds holes in Wisconsin’s secondary, that could inspire more panic than either of the losses to Alabama or USC.

In his three games against Power Four teams this season, he’s completed just 53% of his passes for 354 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions.

He is, however, coming off of an efficient performance against Nebraska’s tough defense, having completed 72% of his passes for 174 yards, a touchdown and an interception, all while being sacked five times. But he ultimately won’t inspire nearly the same amount of fear as Moss or Milroe did.

Still, the Badgers’ recent troubles could allow almost any quarterback to have a great game.

Starting corner Nyzier Fourqurean has especially struggled over the past two games, having been targeted 11 times, allowing nine receptions and 141 passing yards. He should have a bounce-back game going against Jahmal Edrine rather than Zachariah Branch, with all due respect.

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