The No. 19 Wisconsin Badgers look to improve to 2-0 as they host the Washington State Cougars at Camp Randall Stadium.

BadgerBlitz.com breaks down its three keys to the game before head coach Paul Chryst and his program take the field against Jake Dickert and the Cougars on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, Fox).

When: Saturday, Sept. 10

Where: Camp Randall Stadium (capacity 75,822)

All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads 2-0 (2-0 at home)

TV: FOX (Jason Benneti doing play-by-play, Brock Huard as the analyst and Allison Williams as the sideline reporter)

Local Radio: Badger Sports Network (Matt Lepay doing play-by-play, Mike Lucas and Mark Tauscher as analysts, Patrick Herb as the sideline reporter)

Betting line: Wisconsin -17

Illinois State was able to sustain drives early in the game last weekend due in part to some shaky tackling and personal fouls against the defense. Junior leader Nick Herbig noted that the group came out flat and pointed to a need to clean up communication and tackling. The unit’s communication will especially be tested this week against an offense that opts to go up tempo. The secondary will already be shuffling bodies with Hunter Wohler out and Alex Smith likely sidelined once again. With that, reserves will have to be on top of calls.

Going up against a Washington State offense that looked to throw on 70 percent of its offensive snaps, Wisconsin can’t allow any short balls to turn into 15- or 20-yard completions. On the ground, quarterback Cameron Ward and Nakia Watson pose a threat of their own. UW linebackers will have to stay disciplined whenever Ward looks to make a play with his legs. Watson, who is a familiar face after spending time at Wisconsin before transferring in 2020, brings a physical approach. He looked noticeably lighter in the opener, according to Jim Leonhard.

This can be applied to almost every week for Wisconsin, but especially on Saturday against a stout Washington State front seven. As I noted in the 3Cs this week, the performance of the offensive line will be one to monitor. In Week 1, the Cougars compiled 12 tackles for loss to go along with seven sacks, which was the product of 28 pressures on the night.

Graham Mertz, like most quarterbacks, has always been best on schedule and allowed to calmly deliver a throw. Avoiding long second and third downs can prevent him from forcing deep throws or having to fire it downfield. If Mertz and the offense are able to compile consecutive solid games, that will likely be a result of controlling the Cougars front seven.

In its opener, Idaho got up to a fast start against Washington State after forcing a fumble and returning it for a touchdown. That miscue in the first quarter from the Cougars was the first of three fumbles lost on the day. Those led to 10 points for Idaho.

When looking back at the film, neither were particularly spectacular plays. The second turnover was the result of loose ball security from a wide receiver after a 10-yard catch on a hitch route. Washington State displayed some weary ball security, which could provide Wisconsin some extra opportunities to put some points on the board.

We’ve written this week about the new faces to fill on for Wohler on the back end, along with a new test for the defense. With that in mind, I expect Wisconsin’s defense to have some struggles, but ultimately think it bends but does not break. As for the offense, Mertz provided an encouraging start to the season and if he sticks to taking what’s there, the Badgers should put together another solid performance. In what it is an intriguing non-conference matchup, UW will have a decent test to prep for a pass-happy Ohio State offense that it will see in two weeks.

Wisconsin 31, Washington State 13

The Badgers are once again heavy favorites, but Washington State has a real chance to do some damage, especially in the passing game against Wisconsin's depleted secondary. Ward should be good for a few gorgeous passes that get past the Badgers' coverage. It'll be interesting to see how Leonhard manages his defensive rotations to counter this, especially at corner and safety. Wazzu’s best hope is to get into a pass-heavy, high-scoring affair. Barring a shootout, though, Wisconsin wins handily.

Wisconsin 27, Washington State 14

Last week was a perfect scenario for Wisconsin. The Badgers beat an overmatched opponent in dominating fashion, pitching a shutout with eight new starters on defense, generating some chunk plays on offense and making plenty of mistakes that are correctable. It’s timely because Washington State should provide a much tougher test this afternoon.

The Cougars have a quarterback - Cam Ward - that led the FCS in touchdown passes and was third in passing yards a year ago, two receivers - Donovan Ollie and De’Zhaun Stribling who caught seven passes last week and a defense that held Idaho to 62 rushing yards on 34 carries. There’s also the side story of former Badgers tailback Nakia Watson rushing for 117 yards in WSU’s victory.

It’s hard to put much stock in either team’s opener against a FCS team, good or bad, but the Badgers are at home and have better talent on paper. That usually makes the difference in these nonconference tilts.

Wisconsin 31, Washington State 14

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