MADISON — Following the most disappointing loss of the season for Wisconsin, the Badgers will host Northwestern as the road to the postseason suddenly gets narrow.

As Wisconsin looks to make it three straight wins over the Wildcats, what are the hottest questions surrounding the football program?

Wisconsin's offense was severely shorthanded in the loss to Indiana. The Badgers were down their starting quarterback, their most experienced wide receiver and their starting running back. Not to mention their second-string running back, who's out for the season. The injuries took a toll on that unit, and it showed in their performance.

Wisconsin now enters a critical stretch run in which any slim hopes of making the Big Ten title game are now overshadowed by the burgeoning concern that the Badgers will once again be scraping for bowl eligibility. Any and all reinforcements will be welcome, and that starts with getting some of the starting offensive pieces back on the field.

As for Tanner Mordecai, he dressed in Bloomington as an emergency option.

"He warmed up last Saturday, but it was, hey, he's a possibility, he's an emergency maybe," Luke Fickell told reporters this week. "When they can warm up, it's a start, but it doesn't really mean they can actually take you out there and put you in the best position to win a football game."

There are whispers that the gunslinger will return as the Badgers' starter against Northwestern. Still, it would be awfully impressive for a quarterback who just received surgery in his throwing hand to return about a month later.

Chimere Dike has supposedly been progressing.

"Chim ran around. He warmed up last Saturday as well. That doesn't always mean a lot. It means that their minds are in the right place, they're doing everything they want to be out there...I wish I knew more," Fickell said.

Braelon Allen's status is still largely unknown. Wisconsin desperately missed its star tailback against the Hoosiers, and he'll be sorely missed once again if he's forced to sit out against Northwestern. In Braedyn Locke's one win this season, Allen ran for 145 yards. Locke hasn't yet proved he can take a team to victory without relying on a workhorse back.

Jake Renfro made his first appearance on the two-deep this week, penciled in as the backup center. Fickell acknowledged that it's been difficult to get him involved in practice, but something has clearly changed this week in regards to his status.

If Wisconsin can get even one or two of these players back to action this week, it'll greatly improve their chances in a game that suddenly has a very heightened sense or urgency as the Badgers look to avoid a complete late-season collapse.

Disappointing would be an understatement when attempting to describe Wisconsin's passing attack this season. It certainly doesn't help that a new offensive system advertised as an "air raid" has been anything but that. But even with a backup quarterback and a litany of injuries on the offensive end, the Badgers are running out of excuses for this unit's putrid performance.

There's been both good and bad from Locke, but last week was mostly the latter. His accuracy, usually one of his stronger attributes, was all over the place against Indiana. He missed routine throws, including one on a pivotal fourth down that would ultimately doom Wisconsin. Whoever plays quarterback against Northwestern, first and foremost, needs to give his receivers a chance to make a play on the ball.

Again, Locke has shown both promise and glaring areas that need improvement. Since he was thrust into action against Iowa, he's completing 49.7 percent of his passes. That's the antithesis of what Phil Longo's offense is predicated on: as many easy completions as possible and taking what the defense gives you.

Mordecai, meanwhile, was completing 63.7 percent of his passes before his injury. Wisconsin's offense wasn't perfect with Mordecai on the field, but they were at least remotely able to move the ball on any kind of consistent basis. Locke's low completion percentage has stalled far too many drives.

It doesn't necessarily get easier against Northwestern. The Wildcats have some talented defensive backs in Devin Turner and Coco Azema, and as a whole they're allowing just 173.6 passing yards per game, which is 11th best in the country. It remains unclear who will take snaps for the Badgers on Saturday, but whoever it is desperately must inject some rhythm into this passing game.

That's not bottom five in the Big Ten, by the way. That's bottom five in the entire country in terms of total offense. Northwestern sits at 126th nationally in yards-per-game at 292.1

Still, Indiana only averages 310.2 yards-per-game (116th nationally) and the Hoosiers had enough firepower to hang 20 on the Badgers. That's not an overwhelming offensive output, but it was enough to top what was an abysmal Wisconsin offense.

Indiana came out on its first drive and smacked the Badgers in the mouth, marching 66 yards on nine plays and capping it off with a touchdown. Another touchdown drive and two field goals later, and the Hoosiers mustered enough firepower to best Wisconsin.

Once again, it's extremely likely that the Badgers' defense will need to be lights out to give themselves a chance. If the offense remains handicapped by injuries and poor play, the defense will need to pitch a phenomenal game.

Northwestern doesn't have anyone particularly terrifying on offense, but neither did Indiana. Unless Wisconsin's offense shows exponential growth this week, the defense must play like they're lining up against a bottom-five offense.

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