Wisconsin will close out its season with two trophy games, the first of which being a test against Nebraska on the road with the Freedom Trophy on the line. The Badgers are looking for their 11th straight win over the Cornhuskers.

Below are three keys to the game, as well as BadgerBlitz.com staff predictions.

When: Saturday, Nov. 23 (2:30 P.M. CT)

Where: Memorial Stadium (capacity 85,458)

All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads, 13-4 (Wisconsin leads 4-3 in Lincoln)

TV: BTN (Jeff Levering on play-by-play, Jake Butt as the analyst and Brooke Fletcher as the sideline reporter)

Local Radio: Badger Sports Network (Matt Lepay on play-by-play, Mark Tauscher as the analyst, Patrick Herb as the sideline reporter)

Betting line: Nebraska -1

Projected game-time weather: ~ 56 degrees and partly cloudy

If there's one advantage to canning your offensive coordinator mid-season, it's that defenses aren't sure what to expect going forward. The formations and schemes can't change all that much in just a week's time, but Wisconsin now can do essentially whatever it wants on offense, and why wouldn't it? It might as well, with an interim offensive coordinator and no clear direction for where this unit is headed schematically yet.

Phil Longo had some creative play designs, but he became awfully predictable in his tenure as the play-caller in Madison. First downs were almost always running plays. There was little creativity on a play-to-play basis. Defenses had plenty of tape to dissect Longo's tendencies, many of which were fruitless.

Now, Wisconsin can call whatever it wants and get whoever it wants involved. It's no longer constrained by a broken offensive system. It can dial up any number of plays the Badgers have never put on tape. The offensive play-calling figures to be a collaborative effort this week, which could mean a Frankenstein-esque gameplan with all kinds of concepts and ideologies on display.

In the same vein, having ditched its middling offensive system, Wisconsin needs to focus on getting its playmakers involved. The play-call should be somewhat secondary to who's getting the ball. Results aside, the Badgers have talented players on offense, some of whom — Trech Kekahuna comes to mind — haven't gotten a proper opportunity to shine. Interim play-caller Nate Letton should be less worried about dialing up specific plays, and more worried about getting the ball in particular players' hands.

Longo's system prided itself on taking what the defense gave it, but it still appeared overly complicated at times. At a certain point, the ball simply needs to wind up in the hands of the best players on offense and let them do the rest. Even though the coordinator would tell you that's exactly what his scheme is designed to do, the lack of a concerted effort to get the ball into the hands of players like Kekahuna, Darrion Dupree and even Will Pauling at times, tells you otherwise.

The Badgers need to blitz quarterback Dylan Raiola, and they need to do it early and often. Why wait? Don't give him a chance to settle in; speed up the true freshman's internal clock and force him to make mistakes.

According to Pro Football Focus, Raiola's completion percentage drops about 22 points when he's pressured from 70.3 to 48.6. The Badgers haven't managed to generate consistent pressure with a four man front, so Mike Tressel will need to deploy some blitz packages. Against a quarterback who's started 10 collegiate games, the more exotic the better.

It's a significant difference from facing the FBS's all-time touchdown leader in Dillon Gabriel last week to a quarterback who doesn't even have a full season of experience under his belt. Tressel's defense will still need to be sound, but there may be more room for error and perhaps more of a green light to be ultra aggressive.

Both teams are absolutely in desperate need of a win. Nebraska has dropped four straight. Wisconsin has lost its last three. The Badgers' precious bowl-eligibility streak is in serious peril, while Nebraska's excruciating bowl game drought is so close to being snapped. Both programs are dealing with internal turmoil on offense. This game is going to come down to who wants it more. If the Badgers defense plays with the same intensity it did against Oregon, I think Wisconsin ekes out a win.

Wisconsin 16, Nebraska 13

I'm expecting a classic Big Ten West slugfest. Both teams have putrid offenses that are being carried by strong defensive play. Except I'd rather trust the defense that just limited Oregon to 16 points than the one that couldn't stop UCLA.

Wisconsin 21, Nebraska 17

Wisconsin was embarrassed by Iowa after a difficult lost to Penn State earlier this year. Falling to No. 1 Oregon, 16-13, at home was another gut punch, and I don't know how this team will respond on the road against Nebraska. Maybe there's a bolt of energy with a change atop the offense, but I'm going with the Cornhuskers in a close one.

Nebraska 24, Wisconsin 21

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