MADISON — After a hard-fought game against Ohio State, the Badgers will look to bounce back with a win against Indiana.

As Wisconsin aims to tame a team that played feisty against Penn State last week, what are the hottest questions surrounding the football program?

The Badgers' ground game is a massive question mark going into Saturday. First and foremost, the status of halfback Braelon Allen remains unclear. Here's what Luke Fickell had to say on Monday when asked about his availability:

"Don't know a whole lot. He was out of practice on Sunday, didn't do a whole lot. You know, it's only Monday. We'll have to find out some things as we move forward in the week."

The fact that Allen hasn't already been ruled out, as Tanner Mordecai was when he broke his throwing hand, is a good sign for his overall availability down the stretch. Still, it seems like a coin flip that the tailback will be suited up Saturday in Bloomington.

That leaves Wisconsin with a strikingly bare cupboard in the backfield with Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli as the only two running backs with any sort of experience, the later of which had his first career carry last week. Oh, did we mention that both players are converted from other positions?

Past Acker and Yacamelli, the remaining options are very thin. Zach Glouderman and Grover Bortolotti have each been with the program for multiple seasons, but neither has contributed on offense. Then there's true freshman Nate White, who has some promising athletic ability but doesn't appear physically ready to contribute on any sort of consistent basis.

Per Fickell's comments on Monday, it sounds as if Wisconsin will look to ride Acker and Yacamelli if Allen isn't available.

"You're gonna have to rely on Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli. You're gonna have to trust that these guys are here for a reason," he said. "The things that they did in spring football, the things that they did in fall ball. They just haven't had as many opportunities."

The only game this season in which Acker logged more than 10 carries, his 13 against Rutgers immediately following Chez Mellusi's season-ending injury, the tailback showed some promise. He collected 65 yards and dished out some punishment to hapless defenders. At his best, he's shown that he can be a good if not great option on the ground.

Yacamelli has only received one carry this season, and it went for -4 yards last week. He's not a between-the-tackles runner — if and when the Badgers use him, it should be on swing routes and passes out into the flat to get him into open space, where he's at his best.

Fickell also made a comment about how with four games left, Wisconsin has a chance to play some of its younger players while preserving their redshirt. It'd be surprising to see White out there given his need for physical development, but desperate times may call for desperate measures.

The hoosiers came mightily close to a shocking upset last week by finding big plays for enormous chunks of yardage against the Nittany Lions. One was a 69-yard touchdown by wide receiver Donaven McCulley that looked like a coverage bust. The other was a 90-yard score on a one-play drive via wide out DeQuece Carter.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin's defense has come a long way since the start of the season. However, it's still susceptible to surrendering big plays, which has been its downfall.

"When we've had some issues, just like on Saturday night, the bigger plays have been a little bit of an achilles heel for us defensively," Fickell said. "Going on the road, you're gonna have to do a great job."

Against Ohio State, the defense was very impressive considering the caliber of offense it was up against. And yet, a 33-yard touchdown run by TreVeyon Henderson was the nail in the coffin. Think back to Iowa, when the defense was swarming all game except for the 82-yard touchdown scamper courtesy of Leshon Williams that proved to be the difference in the game.

It's not like Indiana has been an explosive offense all season. In fact, those two plays were the longest of the season for the Hoosiers, and they don't have a run that's topped 25 yards. Regardless, in what should be a low-scoring affair, chunk plays will be massive momentum swings that could tip the outcome in favor of the team that produces them.

As the calendar turns to November, let's take a step back and examine the bigger picture. As it currently stands, the Big Ten west is a mess atop the standings, which is fitting for the division's final season of existence.

The east, as it has for the past handful of seasons, looks like it'll come down to the winner of The Game between Michigan and Ohio State once again. The west, however, is extremely murky. Four teams have a 3-2 record in conference play: Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska.

Now, the Badgers will get a crack at both Nebraska and Minnesota down the line, so there's some upcoming head-to-head matchups that will naturally even out the title race. Still, nothing tells you the division is convoluted like the legitimate possibility of every team finishing with a loosing conference record and Nebraska somehow making it to the title game.

The Badgers in particular need Iowa to lose another conference game. As the Hawkeyes beat Wisconsin in the head-to-head matchup, they have the tiebreaker. Iowa is coming off a bye week and will travel to Evanston to face a surprisingly capable Northwestern team on Saturday. Meanwhile, Nebraska and Minnesota are both favorites against middling Michigan State and Illinois, respectively.

Of course, none of this matters if the Badgers can't handle their own business in Bloomington and down the stretch in November. But as always, the Big Ten West race is getting intriguing at this time of year.

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