MADISON — With bowl eligibility clinched, the Badgers can now focus solely on the task at hand: going to Minneapolis and coming back with the Axe.

As Wisconsin looks to avoid the program's first three-game losing streak to the Gophers since the 1980s, what are the hottest questions surrounding the football program?

Two years in a row, Wisconsin has lost the Axe to Minnesota. Two years in a row, a big reason why was the lack of a serviceable running game. Last year, Braelon Allen was hurt and the Badgers' running game was significantly stymied, even with the efforts of Chez Mellusi and Isaac Guerendo.

In 2021, Allen played in the Axe game but was clearly hampered by injury. The true freshman at the time was worn down and could't get anything going on the ground, totaling 47 yards on a measly 2.8 yards-per-carry.

Last week, Wisconsin accumulated 156 yards on the ground but checked in at just under four yards-per-carry. Tanner Mordecai's mobility accounted for 51 of those yards, but it was Allen's two touchdowns on the ground that would prove vital for the Badgers in their come-from-behind win over Nebraska.

For the third year in a row, Allen won't be at full strength against the Gophers. He tallied 22 carries last week for just 62 yards and evidently wasn't at full capacity. It's hard to imagine he'll miss Saturday's game in Minneapolis after managing to play last week, but will he be able to give the Badgers enough on the ground?

Despite this offense's supposed moniker of "air raid," the Badgers haven't yet won a game in which they struggled to run the football. There's no reason why that should change against Minnesota. In order to reclaim the Axe, Wisconsin will need to have some semblance of a running game.

In last year's Axe game, Wisconsin fell at the hands of Gophers' quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. After not throwing multiple touchdowns or double-digit completions all year, the signal caller did exactly that against the Badgers. He finished with 319 yards, two touchdowns and a 65.5 completion percentage. He was efficient and precise, and he buried Wisconsin with a flurry of RPOs they simply couldn't defend all afternoon.

A year later, Kaliakmanis will trot out for the Gophers with another season of experience under his belt. Still, it's been a rather disappointing year for the quarterback, as he's thrown 13 touchdowns to eight interceptions while completing just 52.6 percent of his passes. His expected development, especially in regards to efficiency, just hasn't been there.

Regardless, the Badgers know all too well how Kaliakmanis can hurt them. He possesses sneaky athleticism and can make plays outside the pocket. He has the arm strength and accuracy to make most if not every throw on the field. He has a degree of confidence to him. But will that show up again as it did so glaringly against the Badgers a season ago?

Last year's Axe game was a career performance for Kaliakmanis. Since then, he hasn't topped the 300-yard mark in a game, nor has he hit over 65 percent of his passes in a conference contest. His performance last year was impressive but also head-scratching.

Wisconsin's defense continues to be an extremely hot-and-cold unit. There's no telling how they'll perform, but the Badgers have made some mediocre quarterbacks look impressive in Big Ten West play. In Wisconsin's last Big Ten West game ever, can it shut down a gunslinger who was excellent in this game a year ago?

The pride of St. Charles, Illinois, brothers Tyler and Jordan Nubin have both carved out significant roles on this Gopher team and figure to play a key role in the outcome of Saturday's game.

Tyler is a senior defensive back and part of a very talented Gophers' secondary. He's been an integral aspect of Minnesota's defense since 2020, when he first became a starter. He's a budding ballhawk, with 12 interceptions over the past four seasons, including four in 2022 and four this year. Quite simply, he's always around the ball. The Gophers like to get creative with him, sending him on blitzes and playing him both in the box and in the back end. The defensive back has stuffed the stat sheet this season, logging four pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a sack in addition to his four interceptions. He's also the Gophers' fourth-leading tackler with 50 total takedowns this season.

Jordan is a sophomore following in his brother's footsteps. But Instead of hitting people like his brother, he prefers to run them over. Nubin does his work on the other side of the football as a bruising tailback. At 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, Nubin is a physical runner with a low center of gravity. He rarely goes down on first contact, and appears to enjoy dishing out punishment. Nubin has had to step up in recent weeks as the Gophers' star freshman tailback Darius Taylor has missed the last four games. It's safe to say he's made an impression; Nubin has assumed the lead back role. Against Michigan State in late October, he ran wild for 204 yards and two scores on a whopping 40 carries.

If Wisconsin can limit the playmaking of both Nubin brothers, they'll have a significantly better shot at taking back the Axe.

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