Wisconsin continues preparation for its final non-conference foe of the regular season, Army. This will be quite the test for the Badgers (2-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) in facing a Black Knights (4-1) program with its triple-option offense and a stingy defense.

Here are significant stats and key Army standouts to know before Saturday's matchup inside Camp Randall Stadium (7 p.m. CT, BTN), plus in-depth insight from our Q&A with GoBlackKnights.com's senior writer, Gordon Larson.

*Record: 4-1 overall

*Points per game: 34.4

*Opponents points per game: 20.8

*Rushing yards per game: 318.2

*Opponents rushing yards per game: 61.2

*Passing yards per game: 69.6

*Opponents' passing yards per game: 215.0

*Third-down conversions: 50.0%

*Opponents' third-down conversions: 35.3%

*Total turnovers created: 5 (four interceptions, one fumble recovery)

*Total turnovers given up: 3 (two interceptions, one fumble)

*Sacks: 13

*Sacks allowed: 1

*Quarterback Christian Anderson: 58 carries, 431 yards, 7.4 yards per carry, five touchdowns; 8-of-15 passing, 187 yards, three touchdowns

*Running back Tyrell Robinson: 25 carries, 237 yards, two touchdowns; three receptions, 66 yards, one touchdown

*Running back Jakobi Buchanan: 57 carries. 187 yards, four touchdowns

*Running back Anthony Adkins: 40 carries, 185 yards, three touchdowns

*Quarterback Tyhier Tyler: 40 carries, 109 yards, two touchdowns; 1-of-5 passing, 26 yards, one interception

*Wide receiver Isaiah Alston: Three receptions, 75 yards, one touchdown

*Offensive lineman Connor Finucane: 74.7 PFF Grade for 2021

*Offensive lineman Dean Powell: 72.5 PFF Grade for 2021

*Linebacker Arik Smith: 26 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, six quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery

*Defensive back Marquel Broughton: 23 tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, three pass breakups

*Outside linebacker Malkelm Morrison: 23 tackles, one tackle for loss, two pass breakups

*Linebacker Spencer Jones: 23 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack

*Outside linebacker Andre Carter II: 15 tackles, 7.5 sacks, one pass brekaup, two quarterback hurries

*Outside linebacker Nathaniel Smith: Four tackles, two sacks, two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry

*Defensive back Cedrick Cunningham Jr.: 16 tackles, four pass breakups, one quarterback hurry

There are mixed opinions among Army fans, although the general opinion is that the team is one of the best head coach Jeff Monken has fielded in recent years. Prior to the loss, there was a lot of chatter about being a Top 25 team, and even the ESPN commentator suggested that should be the case before the start of the Ball State game. The loss at Ball State was a rude awakening for those who thought we should be in the Top 25. Army was missing its starting quarterback in that game, and his absence was a factor, so there is still a lot of optimism for the season.

In his Monday press conference, Monken mentioned that several players were recovering from minor injuries, but made no firm statements about injury status for the game. No key player is out for sure, and he was hoping that some of the injured starters will return to active status in time for Wisconsin. The biggest question mark for most Army fans is senior quarterback Christian Anderson, who missed the Ball State game with a shoulder injury. Most Army fans think he would be a big difference maker. Monken did mention that senior quarterback Jabari Laws is now fully available to play after missing all last season with an ACL injury. Laws had a great season going in 2019 before he was injured, but there are lingering concerns about whether he is back to full speed. Starting center Connor Bishop has missed a couple of games but is likely to return this week as well.

Complaining about cut blocks seems to be a common theme among Army’s opponents. The coaches spend a lot of time teaching everyone how to block effectively, and it does include legal cut blocks.

Contrary to popular opinion, the triple option offense does not always include three options. Many of Army's plays have a predesignated ball carrier, but most plays start with a handoff or fake to the fullback, and the fake is almost always a good one, which usually forces the defense to commit their inside linebackers to defending the dive. The primary edge comes from the fact that the option forces the defense to stay home rather than swarm to where they anticipate the play is going. Just as a passing quarterback reads the defense to find open receivers, an effective triple option quarterback reads the defense to find open running lanes and then distributes the ball to the running back with the best chance of getting yardage.

Defenses have to stop the fullback dive, or they’ll see it all day, but if they commit too many defenders to stopping the dive, the quarterback can attack the perimeter or find a hole somewhere in between. The other key to success is the blocking, especially by the slotbacks.

It’s more about team defense than individual stars. Only one of the Army starting defenders, sophomore Spencer Jones, came in as a Rivals.com three-star recruit. Two of our three starting defensive linemen, Nolan Cockrill and Kwabena Bonsu, arrived at West Point with no rating from Rivals.

Nate Woody is a defensive guru and he spreads the load across many players, with each defender capable of filling multiple roles. Middle linebacker Arik Smith leads the team with 25 tackles, but the second, third, and fourth ranked tacklers have 23 each, and the fifth leading tackler has 21. Andre Carter leads the NCAA in sacks, but he drops into coverage about half the time. We try to pick a defensive MVP for each game, but more often than not it’s a toss-up among several candidates.

There are a lot of concerns about how well the defense will perform against Wisconsin. One of the reasons for the good defensive stats is that Army dominates time of possession in most games, keeping opponent offenses off the field, but that is not as likely to happen this Saturday with Wisconsin’s solid ground game and tough defense. The defense is likely to be on the field longer than they’re used to.

Army’s edge is usually the lack of familiarity in defending the triple option. It’s the reason all three service academies play that offense. It’s very difficult to simulate the triple option in practice if you don’t play it yourself. Wisconsin obviously has a great rushing defense, so it will be interesting to see if the triple option advantage will be there like it was against Oklahoma in 2018 and Michigan in 2019.

Wisconsin’s biggest advantage will be their athleticism. Like most Power Five teams, Wisconsin recruits better athletes than nearly every team in the Group of Five. We bring in 65-75 recruits each year, but we’re lucky if three of them are rated 3 stars or better. Just about everyone on Wisconsin's recruit list is rated three stars or better.

Personally, I never make predictions, but among our subscribers the predictions are about evenly split between a close win and a close loss. Nobody is expecting a high scoring game. Most of our fans believe that we’ll need to be able to pass the ball effectively to keep Wisconsin defense honest. Army with Anderson at quarterback was leading the country in passing efficiency before he was injured, but the two quarterbacks who played in the Ball State were ineffective; so a lot of the predictions here are contingent upon who starts at quarterback. Jabari Laws had an 80% completion average in 2019; so if either he or Anderson plays, Wisconsin will have to respect the pass.