Wisconsin travels to Southern California to help welcome USC to the Big Ten in the Badgers' first conference game of the year. As game time draws closer, here are a handful of key matchups to keep an eye on Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum.

This will be a massive matchup in this game. At this point, opponents are well aware of Will Pauling and the damage he can do in the slot for Wisconsin. Especially after his nine-catch, 83-yard performance against Alabama, USC's defense will undoubtably hone in on the receiver and divert much of its attention to slowing him down.

Pauling should continue to get peppered with targets, as he's new starting quarterback Braedyn Locke's favorite option by far. During the first five games of last season with Tanner Mordecai at quarterback, Pauling tallied 30 targets. Over the next three alone, all games that Locke started, the receiver racked up 36 targets. Locke looked Pauling's way seven times against the Crimson Tide, and expect him to look his way with regularity in Los Angeles.

Greedy Vance Jr, meanwhile, is an experienced slot corner who spent time at Florida State and Louisville prior to playing for the Trojans. He's the top nickelback on this team, and therefore should matchup with Pauling frequently. Through three games, he's only been targeted once, according to Pro Football Focus. Given Pauling's importance to the Badgers' offense and his rapport with Locke, Vance's workload is set to increase dramatically come Saturday.

USC and Wisconsin are interesting in that both offenses' best wideout plays in the slot. Now, Zachariah Branch has split out wide on about 20 percent of the his snaps this season, an increase from 12 percent last fall. That indicates head coach Lincoln Riley is looking for even more ways to get the dynamic sophomore involved, but for the most part, Branch will do his damage from the slot.

Branch will be the most electrifying player on the field Saturday. His shiftiness and change-of-direction can be jaw-dropping at times. He's still developing as a receiver in terms of route-running and other fundamentals, but his athleticism is off the charts and he's one of those players that simply moves differently when the ball is in his hands.

Wisconsin's starting safeties will play a handful of snaps in the slot, but Max Lofy has led the Badgers in terms of nickelback playing time this season. He wasn't tested much against Alabama, targeted just twice in coverage as the Tide let their outside receivers go to work. Now, he'll face a massive challenge coming off a bye week.

Stopping Branch will be a group effort for the Wisconsin defense, but the tighter Lofy can play him, the less additional resources the Badgers will need to allocate in coverage to help slow him down.

When Braedyn Locke plays well, it's because he's making smart reads and executing the offense fluently. If Locke has time to read a defense, he can go through his progressions and find open receivers. He's a tactician, a chess master with his style of play. His opponent across the chess board is obviously the entire USC defense, but safety Kamari Ramsey will be involved in many of Locke's reads, meaning the two will more or less match up constantly come Saturday.

Ramsey, a UCLA transfer who followed his defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn across town, has been a crucial aspect to the revitalization of this defense. The redshirt sophomore is a highly versatile defensive back who almost evenly splits his time between the back end, the box and the slot. He's everywhere for the Trojans, and his stat sheet reflects that: 15 tackles, a sack, a pass-breakup and a forced fumble.

Given his time in the slot and the box, Ramsey is no stranger to playing around the line of scrimmage. That means this matchup will oftentimes be pretty direct, as Locke tends to thrive in the rhythm passing and RPO game. Ramsey could be the primary read on a good portion of those plays.

Given how last week unfolded for USC, with Michigan's physical dominance up front ultimately bleeding the Trojans to death, the trenches will certainly be a focal point of this game. On the edge, the matchup to circle is Leon Lowery Jr. going up against right tackle Mason Murphy.

Lowery has been Wisconsin's second-most utilized edge rusher this season, and he does most of his work from the strong side lined up against right tackles. Lowery has a sack this season, dumping Jalen Milroe two weeks ago to finally crack that category in Badger uniform. Still, he's created just two pressures, per Pro Football Focus; the pass-rusher needs to be able to create more "havoc," as the coaching staff would say.

Murphy, meanwhile, struggled mightily last week against Michigan's talented front seven. He allowed six pressures and three hits on his quarterback Miller Moss. It's the kind of game tape that'll make a pass-rusher lick his chops; the question becomes if Lowery can make Murphy's life miserable for the second straight week.

USC's defensive linemen are coming off an absolute bludgeoning at the hands of the Wolverines' offensive front. Michigan ran the ball down the Trojans' throat repeatedly, and they ultimately had no answer even when they knew it was coming. Given Wisconsin's tepid passing attack and this clear weakness USC just put on tape, expect the Badgers to see if Nate Clifton and Gavin Meyer, the Trojans' primary B-gap defenders, are ready for another fist fight up front.

Bear Alexander will also play in the defensive trenches, and he's the better-known name, but he's actually being out-snapped by Clifton and Meyer this season. Those two will go to work against the Badgers' interior linemen Joe Brunner, Jake Renfro and Joe Huber.

Wisconsin's offensive line played admirably against Alabama. Running lanes weren't exactly few and far between, but the Badgers fell behind so quickly they didn't get a chance to utilize them regularly. This is big identity game for both teams. USC knows it can't get pushed around up front again or it may be in for a physically excruciating Big Ten conference slate. Wisconsin, meanwhile, knows it needs to show some strength on offense, and the running game appears to be the best bet in that department.

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