The Badgers will look to make it three straight victories when they take the field on the banks of Lake Michigan in Evanston.

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

When: Saturday, Oct.19 (11:00 A.M. CT)

Where: Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium (capacity 12,023)

All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads 62-38-5 (Wisconsin leads 30-20-1 in Evanston)

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: Wisconsin -7.5

Projected game-time weather: 62 degrees and sunny

It'll be imperative to limit the damage the mobile quarterback does with his legs, and keeping him in the pocket is the way to do that. Jack Lausch has played well in recent weeks, but he's still developing as a pure pocket passer. He has a tendency to bail from the pocket whenever his initial read is shut down.

In Northwestern's loss to Washington, the Huskies provided an excellent blueprint for limiting Lausch, and in turn the entire Wildcat offense. Washington contained the quarterback's legs better than any other team. His 21 yards rushing in Seattle are his fewest all season. As a result, without his mobility as the great equalizer, Lausch struggled immensely through the air. He tossed for 53 yards and two interceptions while completing 29.6 percent of his passes.

How do the Badgers keep Lausch between his tackles? Collapsing the pocket is a sure-fire way to do that. Easier said than done considering Wisconsin's defensive line and pass-rush have been lackluster all season. Still, right tackle Ben Wrather has had his struggles this season, allowing nine pressures already per Pro Football Focus. He looks like a potential weakness in the Wildcats' offensive trenches.

If the Badgers can force Lausch to play without his mobility, their defense could be in for another huge day.

Conventional wisdom usually has it the other way around, but Wisconsin should look for its passing game to soften up the Wildcats' defense and open up the ground game.

Against Rutgers, the Badgers did just that. The first play of the afternoon was a slot fade to Will Pauling that fell just incomplete. The same drive featured a 34-yarder rainbow to Vinny Anthony, who took advantage of single coverage with no safety help over the top.

Against Purdue, the Badgers didn't have the same success on their opening drive; in fact, they went three-and-out. Still, all three plays were passes. Offensive coordinator Phil Longo has displayed a tendency to favor the passing game early in recent weeks, and it's been working.

If Wisconsin can hit on deep shots early like it has the past two weeks, it'll force Northwestern to divert more resources to the secondary. Cover two, cover three looks will all be in play, which should make the Wildcats' stout defensive front much easier to run on. The Badgers certainly still want to lean on their running game, especially on the road. But the passing game, and particularly the deep passing game, will be instrumental in making that happen.

Northwestern quietly has a talented pair of veteran receivers who do most of the work as pass-catchers in this offense. AJ Henning and Bryce Kirtz are the Wildcats' playmakers through the air, and Wisconsin knows plenty about the former, especially.

Henning was a big problem in Madison last season. He caught a 23-yard touchdown pass while exploiting a busted coverage, and also reeled in a 41-yard deep ball with Hunter Wohler in coverage. He's an explosive player, and last week he reeled in a 40-yard catch against Maryland.

Kirtz might be even more problematic. The northwestern writer we spoke to earlier in the week Louie Vaccher called him the most dangerous player on offense. Last week, he averaged 41 yards-per-catch, each of his receptions going for huge gains. He plays on the perimeter and will be matched up with Ricardo Hallman, Nyzier Fourqurean and Xavier Lucas all afternoon.

I think Northwestern's defense will offer much more resistance than Purdue or Rutgers did, but the Badgers' offense, especially the offensive line, is rolling right now. They're playing with a mojo that's tough to stop, even on the road. Don't expect another blowout — this is suddenly a feisty Northwestern team that's hitting its stride as well. Still, I don't think the Wildcats have enough juice on offense to make it two straight against Wisconsin.

Wisconsin 28, Northwestern 21

Unlike Wisconsin’s two previous victories, which have come by a combined score of 94-13, I don’t foresee a blowout on Saturday. Northwestern’s defense is strong enough to keep it ugly, and Lausch will make a few big plays. But the Wildcats are ultimately too inconsistent to beat a team that’s better than them. It’ll be close early, but not for too long.

Wisconsin 23, Northwestern 14

Northwestern's win over Maryland, coupled with Wisconsin's historical struggles in Evanston, gives me some pause here. But the Badgers are running the football effectively and should be able to play well enough on defense to improve to 5-2 on the year.

Wisconsin 28, Northwestern 17

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