After a shellacking at the hands of the Crimson Tide, Wisconsin has a bye week to recuperate before it heads out to Los Angeles to open its Big Ten slate.

As Wisconsin digests the tape from Alabama, what questions surround the Badgers as they embark on a bye week?

For the second season in a row, Braedyn Locke has been thrust into action due to an injury to Wisconsin's starter. Last year, Tanner Mordecai broke his hand and returned a month later. This time around, Tyler Van Dyke's complete ACL tear in his right knee will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season, leaving Locke the keys to the offense for the foreseeable future.

Against Alabama, Locke looked like...he was thrown into a game against Alabama. He completed half of his passes for 125 yards and a touchdown, but the eye test tells the true story. He looked jittery in the pocket, and missed some early throws on quick-hitters and RPOs that tend to be his bread and butter. He also missed the few longer passes he attempted, just missing Will Pauling in the end zone and overthrowing a wide open Trech Kekahuna on a slot wheel route.

Still, this coaching staff thinks highly of the former Mississippi State Bulldog. Locke went toe-to-toe with Van Dyke for much of spring and fall camp, looking improved from his redshirt freshman season. He has experience in Longo's offense and existing chemistry with Pauling. Locke's skillset varies pretty dramatically from Van Dyke's, however, meaning this offense won't be the same with him calling the shots.

"We'll be a little different with Braedyn at quarterback. There's some situations, some things he does better. We'll have to lean on those guys up front maybe a little bit more," head coach Luke Fickell said after the game.

That comment about the offensive line suggests Wisconsin will lean on the ground game even more. However, that figures to exclude the quarterback running game, an element of the offense play-caller Phil Longo asked Van Dyke to execute rather frequently. Locke, with his diminutive stature and lesser overall athleticism, doesn't pose the same threat as a runner.

"I think we can play at a faster tempo if we want to. He knows the offense like the back of his hand, he can make some adjustments and checks out there even before we make the signal. He's a student of the game; just think there are some other things that are different," Fickell continued.

It would behoove Wisconsin significantly to play with more tempo. Longo wants to go extremely fast, and when the Badgers have played with tempo in his system, they've had success. After the Alabama game, Locke advocated for playing faster.

"When we stay in a rhythm, we maintain a tempo and the guys are playing fast, I think we present a lot of problems for people," he said.

As Fickell wrapped up his post-game assessment of Locke, he threw in a telling line:

"We're gonna have to figure out if he's the guy moving forward."

That punctuates what those following the program have likely already surmised — this is Locke's last shot with the Badgers. He played valiantly as a freshman last season, but he'll need to show distinct development and prove to be a difference-maker through the rest of the season. If Locke truly takes the next step, showing growth as a quarterback and winning a few impressive games, he could cement himself as the front-runner for the starting job in 2025. If not, his days in Madison may be numbered.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the 2024 campaign has been the lack of a pass rush. Especially with how rejuvenated Wisconsin's outside linebackers appeared to be, the fact that edge pressure has been almost non-existent is extremely disheartening.

Wisconsin has six sacks through three games. That in and of itself isn't abysmal, but it's important to note that the sacks credited to Darryl Peterson and Leon Lowery could've easily been scored as tackles-for-loss. The sack total isn't reflective of the utter lack of edge pressure the Badgers have mustered.

The two transfer edge rushers, Lowery and John Pius, have played 31 and 32 pass-rushing snaps respectively, according to Pro Football Focus. They have two pressures each. Applying heat to the opposing passer roughly six percent of the time isn't going to cut it.

Speedy inside linebacker Christian Alliegro is tied for the team lead in sacks with two. He's adept at blitzing up the A and B gaps, and that's how he's recorded both of his sacks this season. Wisconsin would love to get pressure with four, but that simply hasn't been the case. If the edge rushers remain ice-cold, expect Alliegro's workload to increase, especially on third down.

Inside linebacker Jaheim Thomas is Wisconsin's second-leading tackler with 16, but he hasn't made a huge impact in terms of splash plays and tackles-for-loss. With a staple of talented inside linebackers eagerly waiting their turn, such as Tackett Curtis, it may be wise to utilize Thomas on the edge more and see if he can wreak havoc there. He has experience as a pass-rusher, and he's logged 24 snaps on the edge this season. That number could increase if the Badgers' true edge defenders remain tepid.

Wisconsin's secondary is talented, but it can't always blanket receivers downfield for five, six, seven seconds. It needs a pass-rush to compliment its coverage, and the Badgers' failure to make Jalen Milroe uncomfortable was a significant factor in his dissection of their defense.

It's no secret that Fickell's first few laps around the track at Wisconsin have been rocky. Not only have the Badgers been handed plenty of crushing losses, they've been dealt multiple career-altering, season-ending injuries (Van Dyke, Chez Mellusi last season). Throw in what seems like continual quarterback controversy due to injures and otherwise, and a lot has been put on this team's plate.

This isn't an excuse for the poor play; it's simply an acknowledgement of the unfortunate circumstances that have plagued the early Fickell era. The head coach acknowledged that adversity in his post-Alabama presser, his voice raising as the emotions of another gut-wrenching loss compounded by injury weighed on him:

"The number one thing in that locker room I told those guys is, we went through this. The leadership group talked about these things. What are you gonna do when you're 2-0? What are you gonna do if you're 4-0? What are you gonna do when you're 2-1? How are you gonna handle these things? How are you gonna handle what everybody wants to say about you?"

Essentially, do the Badgers let this loss sink their morale? Or do they digest the tape, take full advantage of the bye week and give USC hell for four quarters in the Coliseum next week?

Wisconsin can't let this performance bleed into the rest of the season. After the Alabama game, a level-headed Hunter Wohler expressed confidence that it wouldn't.

“I don’t fear where we are as a program, as a team. Still have full belief in Coach Fick and the staff and the locker room. We just gotta keep pushing," he said. “I think we just clean some things up and we’ll be just fine. I’m not worried.”

In college football, one loss can feel like a death sentence. But with how stacked the Big Ten schedule is, as well as the advent of the 12-team playoff, that's no longer necessarily the case. In reality, everything the Badgers want to play for is still in front of them. Whether or not they can raise they level of play to meet those hopes is another story.

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