Fall camp looms over college football in just under a week. With the sport returning soon, BadgerBlitz.com dives into who Wisconsin will face during this 2021 season.

We'll quickly break down each opponent, including last year's stats and who's back (and not back) on both sides of the line of scrimmage. We'll also receive some insight from those that cover those respective programs as well.

*Sept. 4 -- vs. Penn State

*Sept. 11 -- vs. Eastern Michigan

*Sept. 18 -- BYE

*Sept. 25 -- vs. Notre Dame (at Soldier Field)

*Oct. 2 -- vs. Michigan

*Oct. 9 -- at Illinois

*Oct. 16 -- vs. Army

*Oct. 23 -- at Purdue

*Oct. 30 -- vs. Iowa

*Nov. 6 -- at Rutgers

*Nov. 13 -- vs. Northwestern

*Nov. 20 -- vs. Nebraska

*Nov. 27 -- at Minnesota

Wisconsin will see another old friend -- or really, old friends -- this season, though not necessarily have to contain them on the field. The Badgers will need lock down quarterback Jack Coan (Notre Dame) and wide receiver Aron Cruickshank (Rutgers) as current players on opposing teams in 2021, but head coach Paul Chryst will need to out duel Bret Bielema and his staff on the sidelines in October.

Bielema led the Wisconsin football program from 2006-12, with Chryst on his staff, before bolting to Arkansas. Now after his time in Fayetteville and the NFL, he returns to the Big Ten. Familiar faces on the Illinois coaching staff included former Badgers offensive line coach Bart Miller, linebackers coach Andy Buh and defensive back Aaron Henry. Henry now coaches the secondary for the Fighting Illini.

*Record: 2-6

*Points per game: 20.1

*Opponents points per game: 34.9

*Rushing yards per game: 196.1

*Opponents rushing yards per game: 230.1

*Passing yards per game: 152.9

*Opponents' passing yards per game: 237.1

*Third-down conversions: 38.1%

*Opponents' third-down conversions: 43.0%

*Total turnovers created: 15 (seven interceptions, eight fumble recoveries)

*Total turnovers given up: 9 (four interceptions, five fumbles)

*Sacks: 18

*Sacks allowed: 15

Illinois loses the NFL-bound Kendrick Green (third round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers) and Josh Imatorbhebhe (signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent). However, it retains its top three rushers from last year -- Chase Brown (540 yards, 5.2 yards per carry, three touchdowns), Isaiah Williams (389, 6.2, one), and Mike Epstein (367, 5.3, four).

Williams, a former quarterback, will move to wide receiver and could form an intriguing duo with Notre Dame transfer Jafar Armstrong for quarterback Brandon Peters to throw to. Peters completed just 48.8% of his throws in 2020 for 429 yards and three touchdowns in five games. Former Rutgers signal caller Artur Sitkowski also heads to Champaign.

Though Green departs for his opportunity at professional football, offensive linemen Doug Kramer and Alex Palczewski return.

*Key returners: TE Daniel Barker, RB Chase Brown, RB Mike Epstein, TE Luke Ford, OL Doug Kramer (2020 PFF Grade 65.0), OL Alex Palczewski (2020 PFF Grade 71.4), QB Brandon Peters, WR (former QB) Isaiah Williams

*Key additions: WR Jafar Armstrong (Notre Dame), TE Max Rosenthal (Michigan State), QB Artur Sitkowski (Rutgers)

*Key departures: OL Kendrick Green (2020 PFF Grade 88.0), WR Josh Imatorbhebhe

Bielema will have some key returners to work with in reshaping the defense to his liking. That includes its top six tacklers from last year. Linebackers Jake Hansen (68 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, two interceptions in 2020) and Khalan Tolson (39 tackles, six tackles for loss) come back, along with now-outside linebacker Owen Carney, Jr. (team-leading five sacks in eight games), can help the transition with a new coaching staff.

Hansen, Carney and Tolson combined for 23 tackles for loss last year.

The defensive backfield will miss defensive back Nate Hobbs (31 tackles, one interception, two pass breakups in 2020), but Tony Adams (51, one, one), Jartavius Martin (38 tackles, two pass breakups), Sydney Brown (36 tackles) and Devon Witherspoon (33 tackles, two interceptions) all come back as well.

*Key returners: DB Tony Adams, OLB Owen Carney, Jr., OLB Isaiah Gay, LB Jake Hansen, DB Jartavius Martin, DL Roderick Perry, LB Khalan Tolson, DB Devon Witherspoon

*Key additions: LB Calvin Hart (N.C. State), DB Eddie Smith (Alabama)

*Key departures: LB Milo Eifler, DB Nate Hobbs

Alec Busse from Orange & Blue News of the Rivals.com network answered a few of our questions before fall camp begins.

What is the position to watch during fall camp?

New head coach Bret Bielema and defensive coordinator Ryan Walters are moving away from the base Cover 2 defenses that Lovie Smith ran at Illinois since 2016. While Bielema and Walters haven't made it clear what exactly they will run, they have said it will be multiple and it appears to have a base 3-4 front, which is a switch from the 4-3 that Smith ran in his Tampa-2 coverage. Illinois moved most of their defensive ends in Smith's scheme to outside linebacker in the new formations, so the evolution of outside linebackers Owen Carney Jr., Isaiah Gay and Seth Coleman into new positions is key for the Illini defense when training camp starts.

Entering fall camp, who could be a surprise for the team?

On a national scene, the name Isaiah Williams might not ring too many bells, but in the Illini football world he is a player that fans have been clamoring over since he committed to Illinois in March 2018. Williams, a former top-50 recruit, committed to Illinois to play quarterback, but he made the move to wide receiver in the spring and most of the talk coming out of Illinois' final three spring practices and summer workouts have been that he has adjusted really well to the slot receiver role.

At Big Ten Media Days, Bielema said that Williams is "lighting in a bottle" and that he is "special." Williams might not live up to all the expectations the Illini are setting for him, but he has the potential to be a big-play threat in their offense. Another player to keep an eye on is super senior defensive back Tony Adams. Adams has the versatility to play corner, free safety and nickel back, but the Illini plan to use him at corner, and defensive backs coach Aaron Henry has spoken highly of Adams since spring football.

This season goes well if ...

It's no secret that the Illini defense really struggled under Smith, and it's a major reason why he was fired before the conclusion of the 2020 season. With the new coaches and different schemes, if the defense is able to better defend against spread offenses -- which is a major if -- the Illini could potentially see themselves in a bowl game. However, it's hard to project that because many of the players on the defense were recruited to play in a different scheme, so how they adjust to a new scheme with new coaching is a legitimate question.

This season goes off the rails if ...

Not to take the easy route here, but if the defense looks like a bunch of square pegs going into round holes, it's going to be tough for the Illini to stop their opponents. Another thing that could lead the Illini down an ugly path would be if they can't run the ball effectively with Chase Brown, Chase Hayden, Mike Epstein and Reggie Love behind a veteran offensive line. If they can't run the ball, Illinois is going to be forced to rely on Brandon Peters to throw it a lot, and that's not a recipe for success.