Wisconsin needs to win one of its final two games to keep its bowl eligibility streak alive. Both are trophy games, with a trip to Lincoln on tap first.

As the Badgers look to snap a three-game losing streak, what questions surround this matchup?

The biggest storyline surrounding Wisconsin football this week is undoubtably its firing of the once highly-touted Phil Longo, who's mystical Air Raid scheme never got off the ground in Madison. Head coach Luke Fickell's testy response when asked about it had the opposite effect of what he likely desired — it just made Longo's firing and the Badgers' offensive play-caller an even bigger talking point this week.

“Why does it matter?” Fickell said. “I don't think it really is important as to who's calling. I guess it gives you the ability to point a finger at somebody...I think it's overrated in some ways. But it'll be a collaborative group, and those guys will have to work a lot together.”

Sources told BadgerBlitz.com that tight ends coach Nate Letton will call the plays with wide receiver's coach Kenny Guiton signaling them in. That's all fine and dandy, but how will that change the offense, if at all?

It's impossible to implement a new scheme mid-season. The formations and play-calls, the designs and nomenclature, that will all stay the same. There may be some added wrinkles here and there depending on how much creative control Letton is given. Still, the offense figures to resemble Longo's scheme for the most part.

Will Wisconsin make an effort to get under-utilized play-makers involved? Trech Kekahuna and Jackson McGohan come to mind. Will the Badgers become less predicable? Towards the end of his tenure, it became painfully obvious when Longo wanted to run the ball — usually on the first play of each drive and on most first downs. Will other aspects of the offensive philosophy change? The formations on 4th-and-short come to mind.

Ultimately, this will be a fascinating week for the Badgers' offense, especially considering it's playing another stout defense — Nebraska is ranked 28th in yards-per-game allowed, and ranked 20th in run defense.

In an interesting turn of events, Nebraska is also going through an identity crisis on offense. Marcus Satterfield has been demoted, and Dana Holgorsen, who was hired as an "offensive consultant," has taken over. That move indicated change was coming, and Huskers' head coach Matt Rhule seems to believe, like Fickell, that it's better to rip the band-aid off mid-season.

"I'm still learning the offense, I'm still learning different nuances. I'm still learning the players. I don't know all the players yet, and so I'm still trying to get to know those guys," Holgorsen said, courtesy of our pals at Inside Nebraska. "At the end of the day, it's about putting your head down and just trying to prepare."

"A couple of the offensive coaches started coming in and they didn't know what was going on, and we didn't know either. We're just like, we just need to try to figure this out," Holgorsen continued. "And I just think everybody was professional about it. I think we got really good coaches here. All the offensive coaches are coaching hard. Been very impressed with how they're coaching each one of their positions, including coach (Marcus) Satterfield coaching the tight ends and giving me information on what this term means, what that term means."

That sounds like a coach very much trying to learn on the fly. Still, circumstances are slightly different for Wisconsin and Nebraska, as Holgorsen made his Huskers' play-calling debut on Saturday against USC. Nebraska totaled 20 points on 310 yards in that game, turning the ball over twice and going 5-for-13 on third down.

The biggest task for Holgorsen is getting the most out of the former top-ranked recruit in the 2024 cycle, quarterback Dylan Raiola. He's shown flashes during his true freshman year, but has also thrown 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions and hasn't been the most efficient or explosive of a passer. Still, Holgorsen had high praise for Raiola: "How is this kid a freshman?" he remarked.

If the Badgers can replicate the kind of defensive performance they had against Oregon, it won't need all that much from its offense-in-transition. Wisconsin's defense played the most inspired football we've seen perhaps in the entire Fickell era. It was undaunted by a terrifying Ducks offense with future NFL players everywhere. It set the tone for the game, and nearly did enough to secure the upset.

Oregon only gained 354 yards; they waltzed into Camp Randall averaging 457. They were just 5-for-15 on third down and 1-for-2 on fourth down. They averaged 3.4 yards-per-carry, despite boasting a star tailback that averaged 5.6 yards-per-carry heading into the contest. They completed just one true big-time pass, a 32-yard go ball to Evan Stewart. And on the next play, the corner who was beat, Nyzier Fouruqurean, came right back to pick off quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

Oregon hadn't scored under 30 points since its opener. And it barely squeezed 16 points out of the Badgers. That was one of the best Wisconsin defensive performances in several years, and it came against one of the premier offenses in the country.

Nebraska's offense is far less intimidating. Of course, any unit that just fired its coordinator shouldn't strike fear into you. The Huskers' ground game has been limited to just 3.7 yards-per-carry, and again, while Raiola has flashed, he's been turnover prone, throwing at least one interception in all but two games this season. Overall, Nebraska ranks 99th in total offense (the Badgers check in at 91, for reference).

This game figures to be an absolute slugfest between two elite defenses and two putrid offenses. If Mike Tressel's unit can play like it did last Saturday, the offense may only need to muster 14-17 points.

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