The BadgerBlitz.com staff - Jon McNamara, John Veldhuis and Jonathan Mills - will break down Wisconsin's 2017 schedule into four quarters and make predictions for each game. Quarter 2 features Northwestern, Nebraska and Purdue:

QUARTER 1 |

Veldhuis: Wisconsin 28, Northwestern 14

The Wildcats kept things close through halftime, but in the end Wisconsin's defense was able to pitch a shutout in the second half as the UW ground game wore down Northwestern's defense to seal up a crucial Big Ten win at the start of conference play. Chris James made the biggest impact for UW with a receiving touchdown and another score on the ground to give the Badgers some breathing room after Jump Around.

Mills: Wisconsin 30, Northwestern 20

No longer boasting Corey Clement - who rushed for 106 yards with a touchdown against the Wildcats in 2016 - the Badgers find another source of offense to silence Northwestern. Senior tight end Troy Fumagalli explodes this game and snags two touchdowns from quarterback Alex Hornibrook. The game is close until the third quarter, then the Badger defense locks Northwestern’s running game down.

McNamara: Wisconsin 28, Northwestern 24

Northwestern always seems to be a thorn in Wisconsin's side - and this contest in no different. The Badgers need a late two-minute scoring drive to remain undefeated on the season. And in a bit of revenge, senior wide receiver Jazz Peavy runs in the final score for the Badgers on a jet sweep to secure the victory.

Veldhuis: Wisconsin 31, Nebraska 28

A trip to Lincoln was always going to be tricky, but the Badgers pulled off their second impressive road win of the year by engineering a fourth-quarter comeback, as Alex Hornibrook connected with A.J. Taylor for a deep touchdown pass to tie the game. Rafael Gaglianone hits the game-winning field goal once again in Memorial Stadium to keep the Badgers unbeaten through two weeks of conference play.

Mills: Nebraska 24, Wisconsin 21

Unlike last year’s overtime excitement, the Badgers lose a physical game away from Camp Randall. Wide receiver JD Spielman finds his comfort among the corn and his 100-plus yard game is too much for a Badgers secondary to handle. Wisconsin comes close, but a missed field goal by Rafael Gaglianone as time expires makes for a long ride back to Madison.

McNamara: Wisconsin 31, Nebraska 17

In a bit of a surprise, Wisconsin goes into Nebraska and handles the Cornhuskers from start to finish. The Badgers set the tone early by going the length of the field on their first possession and never looked back. Jazz Peavy led all receivers with 125 yards and one score, while freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor found the end zone in the fourth quarter to put a stamp on the win.

Veldhuis: Wisconsin 35, Purdue 7

The Boilermakers have a new coaching staff in town, but it was the same old story when Purdue came in to Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin's running game was too strong for the Boilermakers to handle, and Purdue avoided being shut out with a late touchdown against the UW second team defense. Nick Nelson got things off with a bang by returning Purdue's first punt of the game for a touchdown, and picked off another two passes as the Boilermakers tried to push the ball down the field late in the game.

Mills: Wisconsin 28, Purdue 12

The third consecutive Big Ten matchup for the Badgers is an impressive showcase of Alex Hornibrook’s potential. He completed 60 percent of his passes with no interceptions and 20 yards rushing. Running back Bradrick Shaw gave the Purdue defensive line trouble as he averaged 5.8 yards per carry. Despite injuries, the Badgers defense shuts down Purdue in front of the Camp Randall faithful.

McNamara: Wisconsin 48, Purdue 10

We're still a year or two away from seeing what new head coach Jeff Brohm can do at Purdue with his own players. That was evident after another throttling at the hands of Wisconsin, which racked up over 500 yards of total offense against the Boilermakers in this contest.