The Badgers will play their penultimate out-of-conference game on a cool Saturday afternoon against South Dakota. As game time draws closer, here are a handful of key matchups to keep an eye on when the Badgers do battle with the Coyotes.

Wide receiver Carter Bell is South Dakota's unquestioned top receiving threat. He's coming off a career year in which he posted 51 catches for 896 yards and five touchdowns, and he was the Coyotes' leading receiver in the opener with three catches for 32 yards. That's not an intimidating stat-line, but South Dakota didn't need him to do much else in its 45-3 dismantling of Northern State.

At 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, Bell has the build of a shifty slot receiver. However, the Coyotes line him up everywhere, hence his matchup with all three of Wisconsin's starting cornerbacks. He'll play both in the slot and out wide.

South Dakota also likes to use Bell as eye candy. In their win over Northern State, Bell was sent into pre-snap motion often and used as a decoy on multiple jet sweeps and screens. The Badgers will surely have their eyes on Bell all afternoon, but they'll have to be careful not to overplay their hand with the receiver.

Mi'Quise Grace could be South Dakota's best playmaker on defense. He's essentially a hybrid edge player: at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds he's a lighter defensive end and a heavier outside linebacker. Grace is coming off a season in which he logged 34 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles-for-loss. He'll rush standing up and try to apply heat on Tyler Van Dyke, meaning he'll have plenty of one-on-one battles with Wisconsin's tackles Jack Nelson and Riley Mahlman.

Nelson and Mahlman each only allowed one pressure in the opener. From a pass-protection standpoint, Wisconsin's offensive line was just fine in Week 1. The dynamic Grace presents a new challenge in that department, but this matchup won't be exclusively about the pass-rush. The Badgers' entire offensive line, Nelson and Mahlman included, struggled to create push and movement up front in Week 1. They'll need to be better in Week 2, and prevent players like Grace from setting the edge and limiting Wisconsin's rushing attack.

Grace also had six pass breakups last season. Therein lies another layer to this matchup. Wisconsin's tackles will need to do a good job keeping Grace from getting his hands in the passing lanes. Van Dyke narrowly escaped Week 1 without throwing an interception. But if poor decision-making doesn't do him in against South Dakota, a pass swatted at the line of scrimmage very well might.

By now, you're familiar with the fact that Wisconsin struggled to win in the trenches against Western Michigan, both offensively and defensively. In theory, it should come much easier against an undersized FCS team, but the Coyotes still have some playmakers in the defensive trenches that will match up with the Badgers' interior offensive linemen.

Blake Holden and Nick Gaes both occupy starting defensive tackle spots for South Dakota. They're part of an experienced defensive line that features four seniors in the two-deep, themselves included. Last season, Holden logged 53 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack. He returns as the leading tackler on the defensive line, and is a bigger body on the interior of the unit who can both occupy blockers and gobble up ball-carriers around the line of scrimmage. Gaes, meanwhile, is more of a playmaker: last season, he recorded 6.0 sacks, 10 tackles-for-loss and seven quarterback hits.

Again, Wisconsin has the clear size advantage in this matchup. That should allow its center and guards to set the tone and consistently win at the point of attack. Still, Holden and Gaes are excellent defensive linemen at the FCS level. Don't expect them to go quietly.

Though he didn't log a sack, John Pius managed to apply the most pressure of any Badgers' edge rusher to Western Michigan quarterback Hayden Wolff in Week 1, per Pro Football Focus. After being blanked in the opener, these outside linebackers will certainly be chomping at the bit to log a sack in Week 2, and the matchup to watch here is Wisconsin's best pure pass-rusher against South Dakota's sophomore left tackle.

Joe Cotton started last season as a redshirt freshman, but he's still in the early stages of his career. Pius, meanwhile is a battle-hardened redshirt senior. These two figure to be matched up quite a bit, as last week, Pius lined up mostly on the weak side edge.

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