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 Ohio State.

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

Rohrer: I'm curious to see who plays on defense for the Badgers.

Coordinator Mike Tressel has developed an early reputation for making intriguing personnel decisions, from barely playing linebacker Maema Njongmeta at times to heavily featuring safety Preston Zachman.

Against Ohio State, he has his hands full with an offense that deploys game-breaking players all over the field. Who he decides to play will be fascinating.

The two decisions I'll be keeping the closest eye on are linebacker Jordan Turner and cornerback Alexander Smith. Turner didn't play last week against Illinois, and it remains unclear if he'll be available Saturday night.

As for Smith, he struggled mightily against the Fighting Illini, allowing a 27-yard catch on a touchdown drive as well as giving up a touchdown down near the goal line. Like the rest of Wisconsin's cornerbacks, Smith played poorly in last year's clash with Ohio State. Meanwhile, Nyzier Fourqurean replaced him in the second half against Illinois and held his own in coverage. With Fourqurean's length and press-technique ability, it may be tempting to deploy him on the outside in place of Smith to try and jam Ohio State's electric wide receivers up at the line of scrimmage.

Slusher: I’m most curious to see how Ohio State runs the score up on Wisconsin.

Like most people, I’m not expecting a barn-burner on Saturday. But Ohio State is talented enough to kill the Badgers in a variety of ways.

The obvious threat is Marvin Harrison Jr., who’s undeniably the best receiver in the country. He’s logged over 100 receiving yards in all-but two games this season, and can very easily have another dominant performance against an inconsistent pass defense.

Alongside Harrison, they’re also expected to get Emeka Egbuka back, who’s missed the past two games with a leg injury. He torched the Badgers in last year’s matchup, finishing with 116 yards and two touchdowns

TreVeyon Henderson will also return to the lineup after missing three games with an undisclosed injury, meaning Ohio State will be able to lean on an efficient run game once again.

The attention will be on Harrison, which should allow Kyle McCord to find the rest of his weapons.

Rohrer: I'm confident that this game will not be particularly close.

It may be a cop-out, but it's true. Ohio State is simply a football machine. The Buckeyes are perennial national title contenders, but with early wins over two top 10 teams — No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 7 Penn State — they've proved that the hype is real.

I'm struggling to see a world in which Wisconsin is within striking distance in the second half. It would seemingly take a comedy of errors from Ohio State for the Badgers to have a shot.

Camp Randall at nighttime is an X-factor. And these two teams have played some classic games in the past, with less-talented Badgers' squads emerging victorious several times. But those less-talented Badgers' teams were still very, very good. The last time Wisconsin toppled the Buckeyes, the legendary 2010 game in which David Gilreath housed the opening kickoff en route to a 31-18 victory, the Badgers were still ranked No. 18 in the nation. This year's squad is not top-25 material.

Slusher: I’m confident that Braedyn Locke will be in hell all game long.

He’s obviously coming off of a breakout game, which was more of a breakout quarter.

A few of the plays he made to bring the Badgers back against Illinois were undeniably incredible, specifically the deep balls to Will Pauling and Skyler Bell.

However, the comeback didn’t happen until Illini defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton was ejected for targeting near the start of the fourth quarter. Ohio State has multiple players who can wreck a game like Newton.

Ultimately, the real pressure is on the offensive line, who’ve had their fair share of struggles.

They’ll have to defend the tough Buckeye front, including JT Tuimoloau, Michael Hall and Jack Sawyer, who just neutralized Penn State's Drew Allar.

Locke may ultimately play well, but it will be despite all of the pressure.

Rohrer: I'm concerned that the Badgers won't be able to get pressure on Buckeyes' quarterback Kyle McCord.

McCord may be entering just his eighth career start, but if he's given time to throw, he'll look like a veteran. It helps when you have two day one NFL Draft-caliber receivers in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.

That's exactly why Wisconsin needs to crank up the heat. If McCord is given all night to sit back and dissect the Badgers' secondary, the game will be awfully reminiscent of last season's primetime embarrassment. Wisconsin simply doesn't have the lockdown corners to run with the Buckeyes' explosive receivers. The Badgers will need some form of pass rush to slow down this Ohio State passing attack.

Wisconsin has 18 sacks on the season, good for 6th in the Big Ten. That's not terrible by any stretch, but it's also not going to cut it against this Buckeyes' team. Barring career nights from CJ Goetz and Darryl Peterson, I'm highly concerned Wisconsin's pass rush won't have enough juice.

Slusher: I’m concerned that Ohio State’s defensive front will shut down Braelon Allen and kill any hope for Wisconsin’s offense

Despite Locke’s break-out game, the offense still runs through Allen. And that was especially true last Saturday, despite the comeback somewhat overshadowing his performance. The junior rushed 29 times for 145 yards and a touchdown. It was his consistency that kept the offense afloat prior to the fourth quarter.

He also fared well in last year’s game against the Buckeyes despite the blowout, but most of his offense came after Ohio State had already run up the score and were no longer really defending the run.

This Buckeye defense is also far better than last year’s. They’re giving up an average of 100.6 rushing yards per game, fourth-lowest in the Big Ten and 18th in the FBS.

They also just limited Penn State to just 49 rushing yards on 26 carries.

The Buckeyes, like every team, know that Allen is the center of the offense. If they limit him, it’ll be up to a redshirt freshman to beat one of the best defenses in the country.

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