College football programs kick off Fall camps in less than a month. With the sport returning soon, BadgerBlitz.com dives into who Wisconsin will face on the field during the 2021 season.

Each preview breaks down an upcoming opponent, including last year's stats and who's back (and not back) on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Plus, we also receive insight from those who cover the respective programs.

*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

Jeff Brohm’s program once again hopes to reload offensively while finding its way on the defensive side of the ball. Gone to the NFL is its offensive spark plug, but the passing game should still put up huge numbers with two capable quarterbacks and an All-Big Ten receiver. Can the defense, with yet another scheme, get its footing?

The series between the two programs has been lopsided, especially in the past 18 years. Purdue has not beaten Wisconsin since the 2003 season, and the Boilermakers and Badgers did not play in 2020, as the scheduled November clash was canceled due to the latter’s COVID-19 issues.

*Record: 2-4

*Points per game: 27.2

*Opponents points per game: 29.8

*Rushing yards per game: 81.5

*Opponents rushing yards per game: 144.8

*Passing yards per game: 309.0

*Opponents' passing yards per game: 254.2

*Third-down conversions: 37.5%

*Opponents' third-down conversions: 43.7%

*Total turnovers created: 7 (three interceptions, four fumble recoveries)

*Total turnovers given up: 7 (four interceptions, three fumbles)

*Sacks: 5

*Sacks allowed: 12

Purdue will need to find others to step up to replace the dynamic Rondale Moore, who reeled in 178 receptions for 1,915 yards and 14 touchdowns in 20 career games between 2018-20. The Arizona Cardinals selected the heralded wide receiver in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

However, first-team All-Big Ten selection David Bell returns to the Boilermakers. The wide out caught 53 passes (second in the Big Ten) for 625 yards and eight touchdowns (tied for first) last year. He also led the conference in receiving yards per game (104.2). He and Milton Wright (24 receptions, 305 yards, two touchdowns) should provide ample opportunities for quarterbacks Aidan O'Connell and Jack Plummer to make plays.

Both signal callers played in three games in 2020. Plummer completed 71% of his throws for 938 yards and eight touchdowns to just two interceptions, while O'Connell connected on 64.7% of his passes for 916 yards with seven scores to two picks.

Running back Zander Horvath also comes back to the program for 2021, and he could showcase his multi-faceted abilities once again. He caught 30 passes for 304 yards in 2020 to complement his 442 rushing yards on five yards per attempt.

Both Gus Hartwig and Greg Long will be back on the Boilermakers' offensive line, and Western Kentucky transfer Tyler Witt likely could play a significant role on the unit.

Key returners: WR David Bell, RB Zander Horvath, QB Aidan O'Connell, OL Gus Hartwig, OL Greg Long, QB Jack Plummer, WR Milton Wright, TE Payne Durham

Key additions: OL Tyler Witt (Western Kentucky), WR Broc Thompson (Marshall)

Key departures: WR Rondale Moore, OL Grant Hermanns, WR Maliq Carr

*Hermanns, Neal, Coyle hope to hear names called in NFL draft

*Purdue adds Western Kentucky offensive line grad transfer Tyler Witt

Another year, another defensive coordinator(s) for Purdue. The program announced three assistants as "co-defensive coordinators" in June with Brad Lambert, Ron English and Mark Hagen all holding that title.

The Boilermakers return the always-dangerous George Karlaftis (9.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss in 15 career games), along with linebacker/defensive end DeMarcus Mitchell (34 tackles, six tackles for loss in 2020) in the front seven. However, the unit will need to replace leading tackler, linebacker Derrick Barnes (54 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss in 2020), and defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal.

The secondary also sees safety Cam Allen (27 tackles, two interceptions in 2020) and cornerback Cory Trice (31 tackles, two pass breakups) come back to the defensive backfield.

How key transfers figure into this defense will be something to watch. Those to keep tabs on include defensive tackle Damarjhe Lewis (Indiana), defensive end Joe Anderson (South Carolina), linebacker OC Brothers (Auburn), cornerback Jamari Brown (Kentucky), and safety Christopher Jefferson (Division II Findlay).

*Key returners: DE George Karlaftis, LB/DE DeMarcus Mitchell, DL Anthony Watts, S Cam Allen, CB Cory Trice

*Key additions: LB Yanni Karlaftis (four-star early enrollee), DT Damarjhe Lewis (Indiana), DE Joe Anderson (South Carolina), LB OC Brothers (Auburn), CB Jamari Brown (Kentucky), S Christopher Jefferson (Division II Findlay)

*Key departures: LB Derrick Barnes, LB/DB Tyler Coyle, DT Lorenzo Neal

Tom Dienhart from Gold and Black of the Rivals.com network answered a few of our questions before Big Ten Media Days and fall camp begin.

What is the position to watch during fall camp?

I'll say offensive line. That's a unit that's still a work in progress. It's never really been a strength under Jeff Brown. This is Year Five. They think they have their best depth ever, but there's still a lot of questions to be answered. They need to get better, more physical, especially in short yardage situations. When you have to get that one tough yard, those two tough yards, especially in the red zone, they typically come up short. I'll tell you this, too -- as far as I know, they can be maybe the only team in America that's got two full-time coaches devoted to the offensive line.

What they did, Jake, was they still have their normal coach. They took the senior analyst named Neil Callaway -- he used to be the head coach at UAB -- they promoted him to the assistant offensive line coach, and they don't have a tight ends coach. The tight ends [coach Ryan Wallace] got moved to an off-the-field role. He still works with tight ends. But on the field, the offensive line coach also coaches the tight ends, so that just shows you the emphasis and the urgency they have to make sure this offensive line comes together. It's finished last in the Big Ten in rushing each of the last two years, and they don't have to be Wisconsin. They don't need to average 200 yards rushing a game, but again, they just got to get better, more physical, more consistent, especially in those short yardage situations.

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

I'm going to give you the slot receiver, the guy taking Rondale Moore's spot. His name is T.J. Sheffield. Redshirt sophomore, 5-foot-10, 185 [pounds]. Had a great spring, carved out a niche last year as a kickoff return man. I think he finished third in the Big Ten in kickoff returns. He's a guy I think [is] gonna end up having a big kind of a breakout year in that offense. I think a lot of defense is going to focus on David Bell, one of the best wide receivers in the Big Ten. I think a guy like T.J. Sheffield has a chance to sort of be a breakout guy for that Purdue offense.

This season goes well if ...

Defense, buddy. Defense, defense, defense.

To me, the defense is going to tell the tale of the season for Purdue. Massive changes. Every assistant coach is new. Think about that, every assistant coach is new. They're on their third coordinator in three years. They have a new scheme. Jeff Brohm said over and over again, he's even going to be more involved with the defense. In one word, he said time and again, it's going to be more aggressive, more aggressive. They're going to blitz, they're going to stent. They're going to stem, they're going to come after teams that they feel like they gotta make things happen. They gotta generate more turnovers, more sacks, more negative plays. They know they're going to give up some. Anytime you play like that, you're going to get burned too, right? They just hope that they make their share of big plays.

They want their defense to sort of compliment their offense. They've always been sort of aggressive on offense, and they want that defense to sort of be the same. Bob Diaco was the coordinator last year, and it didn't work out. It was more of a passive scheme so they're totally going 180 [degrees] here in wanting to be more aggressive.

And again, whole new staff, and I'll tell you what too, buddy, they hit the portal hard, and they've got seven new transfers just on defense alone. So they've really tried to flip over that side of the ball as much as they can to get some more personal upgrades there, too.

This season goes off the rails if ...

... if they don't get consistent quarterback play. That's a storyline that gets buried a little bit. They still aren't saying who's going to be the quarterback. Still have the two main contenders back -- Aidan O'Connell, Jack Plummer. Both of guys are capable, neither guy's probably a pro. But if you really want to have a good season, typically gonna need a good year from your quarterback. Jeff Brohm has yet to have a quarterback start every game in a season. Every year somebody gets hurt, and he still really hasn't gotten great quarterback play, elite quarterback play.

This is a guy who's a quarterback himself, and that's a position that I don't think's fully lived up to its potential yet. Quarterbacks I think have to elevate their play. If they don't, I think it could end up being just an average season.

*Thanks to Tom Dienhart from Gold and Black for confirming the key returners, additions and departures -- which were initially put together looking at last year's stats and PFF grades, along with the aforementioned linked articles.