BadgerBlitz.com's weekly feature, "The 3 Cs," returns for the 2023 season. The staff takes a look at one thing we're curious, confident and concerned about as Wisconsin prepares to face Illinois.

Staff writers Seamus Rohrer and Donnie Slusher each give their thoughts on the aforementioned topics for this week.

Rohrer: I'm curious to see how Wisconsin's pass-rush looks against an extremely porous Illinois offensive line.

The Illini are easy last in the Big Ten with a whopping 28 sacks given up through seven games — for those of you without a calculator, that's four sacks a game.

Wisconsin, though, has struggled to develop and maintain any kind of serious pass rush this season. They have 15 sacks on the season, which is right about the middle of the pack in the conference. James Thompson leads the defense with three.

Against Iowa, the Badgers managed two sacks, one coming off a cornerback blitz courtesy of Alexander Smith. That play was a sign that Mike Tressel recognized he's not getting the requisite pressure with his front seven. Against the Illini, who's offensive line has looked like a turnstyle at times, how will Wisconsin elect to dial up pressure and how successful will they be?

Slusher: I’m curious to see how Braelon Allen adjusts to becoming the nucleus of the offense once again.

I highly doubt that Phil Longo is ready to let Braedyn Locke take over right away.

Even if he looks ready, this offense turned out to be more run-centric than fans initially thought. Allen and Chez Mellusi led the offense during the first few weeks before Mellusi’s injury. Leaning on the run is customary for Longo, but not to this extent.

Illinois ultimately knows the offense is gonna run through Allen, and will defend accordingly.

The biggest matchup of the day is between Allen and defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton, whose 25 pressures are third most in the country for interior linemen, according to Pro Football Focus.

Despite Newton’s dominance, this defense isn’t very good. They’re giving up 398.4 total yards and 164.1 rushing yards per game, which is most and second most in the Big Ten, respectively. Allen should succeed regardless of the obvious defensive focus.

An added incentive is that he can get revenge on an Illinois defense that limited him to just two rushing yards on eight carries in last year’s matchup. It was the worst game of the third-year tailback’s career, and will just add more motivation.

Rohrer: I'm confident that Wisconsin will lean heavily on the run game come Saturday.

Besides the obvious reason of alleviating pressure from Braedyn Locke's shoulders, the Badgers shouldn't be intimidated by the Illini's run defense, even with the dynamic Jer'Zhan Newton in the middle of the defensive line.

Illinois' overall run defense is middling. They rank 99th in the country, allowing 164.1 yards-per-game. Purdue ran wild over them. Penn State ran wild over them. Kansas ran wild over them. Even Florida Atlantic had a respectable day on the ground in a close loss.

The Badgers should be gearing up to feed Braelon Allen at least 20 times and Jackson Acker at least 10 times. If they can run to set up the pass, they'll have a chance to make Locke look much, much better in his first career start.

Slusher: I’m confident that the Badgers will play their sharpest and most motivated football of the season.

Considering the stakes and expectations, last week’s game was one of the worst regular season losses in recent Wisconsin history. The Badgers didn’t just lose, they looked bad, specifically on offense. Longo’s offense put up six points and only reached the red zone twice all day, against a major division rival on national television.

By the time they established any semblance of rhythm, they were down multiple possessions with a backup quarterback.

This past week of practice was probably the toughest and most intense yet.

The Iowa loss should be enough motivation, but they’re also gearing up to face the team that’s effectively responsible for Paul Chryst’s firing.

Wisconsin’s loss to Illinois last year was an absolutely program-defining moment in Badger history.

All the buzz heading into the game surrounded the return of ex-Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, who doesn’t have the highest approval rating in Madison. The Illini walked into Camp Randall and whooped the Badgers, 34-10. It was the first Illinois win in Madison in 20 years. Chryst was fired the next day.

Tackle Jack Nelson described this Saturday as “absolutely, 100% personal.”

Rohrer: I'm concerned that the offensive line continues to play poorly.

We've already mentioned Illinois' wrecking ball in the middle, the defensive lineman Newton. He's a problem for any offensive line. But Wisconsin's offensive front has been struggling mightily, both in pass-protection and in run blocking. And with a redshirt freshman quarterback making his first career start in the game, that doesn't exactly bode well.

In the second half against Iowa, Locke got happy feet in the pocket in some instances. It's hard to blame him when his pass-protection isn't up to par, but that's simply not a recipe for success when you're trying to get a young, inexperienced quarterback in rhythm.

This week, Luke Fickell talked about putting more onus on the offensive line. We'll see if they can step on their play on the road in a hostile environment.

Slusher: I’m concerned that Locke’s inexperience will become obvious.

The redshirt freshman isn’t just dealing with the pressure of his first start, but is stepping into a less than-ideal situation.

None of the new weapons have stepped up as leaders, despite the influx of talent via the transfer portal.

Will Pauling is the closest thing to a No. 1 receiver. His 30 receptions lead the team, and 19 have come in the last three games, but his season-high for yards is just 78. If Locke ever needs a safety blanket, he’ll almost surely look to Pauling.

Up front, he’ll be protected by an offensive line that’s struggled with inconsistency and mistakes all year. After playing maybe their best game all year against Rutgers, they were penalized multiple times in key moments against Iowa and couldn’t handle the Hawkeye defensive front. Tanor Bortolini even struggles with high snaps, and now he’ll have to snap two inches lower than usual.

Expect a high-rushing day for the Badger offense, at least in terms of attempts.

The bright side for Locke is that he’ll go against a unit that’s facing their own struggles.

The Illini defense has yet to recover since the loss of defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, who took the head job at Purdue. They also lost their best player in cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who was picked fifth overall in the NFL Draft.

Locke will, however, have to watch out for outside linebacker Seth Coleman, the recent Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week who finished with three sacks in their win over Maryland.

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