MADISON - It was nothing short of a tumultuous weekend for Wisconsin football. It started with an absolute beatdown at the hands of their ex, Bret Bielema and the Illini. It ended with Athletic Director Chris McIntosh pulling the plug on the program's third-winningest coach of all time.

With Jim Leonhard now at the helm for the reeling Badgers, the program enters a new era. With an interim head coach, it's hard not to feel like Wisconsin is in aimless limbo right now. This couldn't be further from the truth; these next seven games are critical for the Badgers. They're important for so many reasons, the most pressing being they provide Leonhard an opportunity to show what he can do.

Below, BadgerBlitz.com provides a special edition of burning questions, not just for the Northwestern game but for the remainder of the season. What questions does Wisconsin need to answer with Jim Leonhard at the reins?

Leonhard is widely considered one of the best young minds in the sport, and one of, if not the best, defensive coordinators in the country. You can feel the passion for defense radiating out of him, and usually, it shows in his defense's performances. The past two games, that hasn't been the case. Against Ohio State and Illinois, Wisconsin's defense looked the worst they have in several years.

It wasn't just the defense that underperformed, though. Top to bottom, this team has made mistake after baffling mistake. Leonhard's history offers hope the defense can get on track. It's a different story for the rest of the team. As the head coach, will Leonhard's meticulous attention to detail and fundamentals eventually trickle down to the rest of the roster? Essentially, can his coaching carry over to the offense and special teams? Can the same tactics he uses to coach his defense into a well-oiled machine be used for the entire team?

The Northwestern game alone won't be able to answer that, hence why these questions apply for the rest of the season. It may take a few weeks for his philosophies to really set in for units that aren't used to being coached by him. The rest of the season will tell us if Leonhard is cut out to lead the whole team, or if his talent is better served exclusively on defense.