The No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers hope to get back to their winning ways with a non-conference clash against Eastern Michigan this weekend.

BadgerBlitz.com breaks down its three keys to the game before head coach Paul Chryst and his program take the field against Chris Creighton and the Eagles on Saturday (6 p.m. CT, FS1).

The high temperature in Madison may reach near 90 degrees on Saturday. The Badgers need to turn it up a notch themselves in all three phases on the field to match Mother Nature this weekend.

Eastern Michigan opened its 2021 campaign with a 20-point win over FCS opponent St. Francis on Sept. 3. On paper, UW (0-1 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) should be presented ample opportunities to clean up their errors and come away with a win -- but, of course, the ole adage of "that's why they play the game" arises.

Wisconsin's defense started off the first half against Penn State last week with a fury, containing the Nittany Lions to just 43 total yards and 1-of-7 on third down conversions in the first two quarters. However, the offense sputtered -- despite gaining over three times the amount of yardage than PSU and receiving two red zone opportunities -- in not putting any points on the board.

Asserting dominance early would alleviate concerns and remove all doubt about the game's result in this non-conference tilt. Eastern Michigan has won three straight road contests against Big Ten teams from 2017-19, but this Wisconsin program is no Rutgers, Illinois or Purdue from those respective seasons. I expect a response from the Badgers after a game they should have one. We'll see if it starts in the first quarter.

So about dominance, that commences at the line of scrimmage. Wisconsin totaled 180 yards rushing on Penn State, and Eastern Michigan -- as our very own Raul Vazquez references below in the predictions section -- gave up over 240 per game last season (only 105 last week, for what it's worth).

On the flip side, the Badgers' defense generated plenty of pressure on the Nittany Lions on Saturday, though it resulted in only two sacks officially in the stats sheet. The Eagles allowed a couple of sacks during their season-opener.

The MAC program rushed for 221 yards, but it did so on just 3.8 yards per carry. Jim Leonhard's unit only allowed 50 yards on 2.8 yards per attempt last week against Penn State.

Wisconsin should be able to control the trenches in this contest. Wearing down the Eastern Michigan lines offensively and defensively could lead to big opportunities later on in the contest, if the game is not out of hand at that point.

The M.O. for defenses facing Wisconsin will always be to stop the run first and make the quarterbacks and respective passing attack beat them. Chez Mellusi and Isaac Guerendo ran for a combined 177 yards last week against Penn State, but Graham Mertz completed 22-of-37 throws for 185 yards and two costly fourth quarter interceptions.

Hitting some play action early will keep the Eastern Michigan defense honest from stacking the box, but getting the offense rolling in a rhythm early with the passing game could help make Mertz more comfortable in and around the pocket as well. In tune with the second read, keeping the Badgers signal caller upright and not allowing pressure to deteriorate optimal passing conditions will also be key as the Eagles recorded four sacks last week.

Wisconsin has the personnel at the skill positions -- wide receiver, tight end and running back included -- to pose threats in the passing game. Will we see more sustained examples of that on Saturday before a week off?

Wisconsin respects Eastern Michigan, as it does every opponent, and that should help the program avoid an upset this week.

I think we see a UW team that will dominate on both sides of the ball. I made my bold prediction earlier this week that Wisconsin will boast two 100-yard backs, and I will stick by that with Mellusi and Guerendo going over the century mark each, and I feel we will see improvement from the quarterback spot and offensive line.

Wisconsin will stuff the run and force Eastern Michigan to try to beat it through the air. I think the secondary responds well in that regard.

How much we take away from this contest two weeks out from a top-10 Notre Dame squad remains to be seen, if anything. However, it should be a victorious one.

Wisconsin 52, Eastern Michigan 7

A victory will do little to calm the angst of the fan base after last week’s season-opening disaster (that opportunity won’t come for two more weeks). However, a better performance on offense is sorely needed for this group to build on heading into the bye week. Mertz plays a (mostly) clean game, Mellusi finds the end zone multiple times, Jalen Berger makes a token appearance, the offensive line starts to get settled, and the Badgers have some fun under the lights in their last warmup before Notre Dame.

Wisconsin 38, Eastern Michigan 13

Facing unfamiliar territory of having to bounce back following a week one loss, Wisconsin has the opportunity to clean it up against Eastern Michigan before getting into the grind of their schedule. With the Eagles fielding a porous defense that allowed 243.2 yards per game on the ground in 2020, Mellusi and the tailbacks should roll to allow the offense to find a rhythm. At quarterback, Eastern Michigan is still figuring things out as they have Ben Bryant and Preston Hutchinson split time and Wisconsin’s defense should have no problem against the run after limiting the Nittany Lions to 50 rushing yards in Week 1.

Wisconsin 42, Eastern Michigan 3

Eastern Michigan may seem like a small road block on Wisconsin's map to the Big Ten title game this year. But after the offense's performance last Saturday, Mertz and company have plenty to correct. The Eagles should provide a nice opportunity to do that on Saturday evening.

Wisconsin 48, Eastern Michigan 13