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 Rutgers.

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

Rohrer: I'm curious as to how the Badgers fare defending Rutgers' rushing attack.

Wisconsin allowed Purdue to run all over them in the second half of the Badgers' last game before the bye week. There was a litany of issues, from blown gap assignments to missed tackles in the open field, and the Boilermakers were able to hang around late into the fourth quarter on the back of their rushing attack.

The Badgers will encounter a similar problem Saturday morning. Rutgers boasts a potent ground game led by Kyle Monangai, who has collected 471 yards and six scores through five games. He's emerged as one of the best players on the Scarlet Knights' offense, and one of the better tailbacks in the Big Ten.

What's more, Rutgers has a quarterback that can hurt the Badgers in a similar fashion that Purdue did. Boilermakers' signal-caller Hudson Card was able to piece together chunks of yards on the ground with his sneaky quickness and elite pocket presence. Rutgers' Gavin Wimsatt figures to pose a similar threat — the quarterback is the Scarlet Knights' second leading rusher and has four scores on the ground as well.

Shoring up the run defense was a point of emphasis for Wisconsin during its bye week. We'll see if their efforts come to fruition Saturday.

Slusher: I’m most curious to see the extent to which Wisconsin’s offensive identity changes.Figuring out how to replace Chez Mellusi is the most obvious issue, but their questions extend beyond the loss of one player.

Braelon Allen began to look like his old self against Purdue, rushing 16 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Yet this came after he ran just 19 times in the second and third weeks of the season. It’s expected that he will carry more of the rushing load given the loss of Mellusi, but this coaching staff has made it abundantly clear that they don’t want to over-work any player.

This is true for receivers, too. No single receiver has come close to truly standing out. Four different Badgers have at least 11 receptions. Three have at least 100 receiving yards, yet Chimere Dike leads the team with just 228.

A reliance on the passing game could force Tanner Mordecai to find some favorite targets. He’s finally found comfort within Phil Longo’s offense, but this hasn’t translated to the cleanest passing game. They’ve struggled at times when passing in the red zone, leading to Mordecai throwing just two touchdowns through four games. This would be more jarring if Wisconsin didn’t rank second in Big Ten rushing touchdowns with 14, but it’s still concerning for an offense that may have to now win through the air.

Rohrer: I'm confident that Wisconsin's rushing attack will continue to be a two-man operation.

More specifically, I expect those two men to be Braelon Allen and Jackson Acker.

It's going to take a lot to replace Chez Mellusi, both on the field and in the locker room. Both Acker and Cade Yacamelli were endorsed by Luke Fickell as the next men up, but I don't expect to see too much of the latter, especially when it comes to running the football.

Yacamelli has no career collegiate carries. He was a spring camp darling, but mostly flashed as a receiver out of the backfield who could turn the corner and put on the afterburners in open space. What's more, he had his issues with fumbles in the spring, so I highly doubt that the coaching staff plans to give him important carries in high leverage situations.

Acker, meanwhile, does have experience running the football in a limited sample size. He's bigger and stronger than Yacamelli, and while he doesn't offer the change-of-pace option that Yacamelli would, I expect his experience to guide him to the clear No. 2 role behind Allen.

Slusher: I’m confident that Wisconsin’s pass defense won’t get exposed again.

This is ultimately a weary confidence. The Badgers have looked quite abysmal at times when defending even weaker quarterbacks and passing games. Its worst showing came three weeks ago against Georgia Southern, when Davis Brin threw for 383 yards despite also turning the ball over six times.

Despite my general doubts, it’s easier to feel confidence after they looked better against Purdue. Card completed just 55% of his passes for 202 yards, also throwing two interceptions. Most importantly, they limited Boilermakers receiver Deion Burks, easily the most talented wide out they’ve played this season, to just 73 yards.

Wisconsin will have the opportunity to improve once again against one of the least impressive passing offenses in the Big Ten. Rutgers ranks in the bottom four of the conference in passing yards and completion percentage.

Wimsatt has yet to throw for 200 yards in a game this season and has only completed more than 60% of his passes once. Their leader in receiving yards, JaQuae Jackson, has caught just five balls in the last three games.

If Wisconsin struggles to limit this passing offense, it’ll be hard to feel confident in the secondary again this season.

Rohrer: I'm concerned that Rutgers' defense proves to be as legitimate as the statistics say it is.

The numbers tell an imposing story — the Scarlet Knights are 19th in scoring defense, 14th in passing defense, 24th in rushing defense and 20th in first down defense.

Besides letting Michigan hang 31 on them in the Big House, Rutgers has only allowed 33 points across its other four games.

Wisconsin catches Rutgers' upstart defense at an interesting time. They're grappling with how to deal with the loss of Mellusi, who, along with Allen, was the nucleus of the Badgers' offense. That's a significant change Phil Longo must contend with while also scheming to limit the impact of the Scarlet Knights' defense.

It may take some feeling out for Wisconsin to alter their offense without Mellusi, and they'll have to do it against a tough, tough defense.

Slusher: I’m concerned that Wisconsin will once again fail to play a complete game.

The biggest issue from Wisconsin’s non-conference schedule was their inability to start fast on offense. Through the first three games, they were outscored 41-30 in the first half, but outscored opponents 58-21 in the second.

That changed against Purdue. They scored touchdowns on their first three drives and were eventually up 24-3. The Badgers went on to win the game 38-17, but this was after a mostly rocky second half. They scored three straight field goals before Mordecai threw an interception, followed by the second and last punt of the game.

Wisconsin was blessed with a Purdue fumble as they were attempting to make it a one-score game, leading to the dagger touchdown from Allen.

It may be unrealistic to expect four straight quarters of excellence, but these stretches of stagnation are undeniably concerning. And now they’ll take these issues into a matchup against the best defense they’ve played thus far and a running back that can control the game if he pleases.

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