No more dress rehearsals. No more buy games. In earnest, the season starts this week for the Badgers.

As Wisconsin prepares to host the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide, what questions surround the team ahead of Week 3?

Alabama's offense may not have as many superstars as we came to expect in the closing chapters of the Nick Saban era, but this is still a team littered with offensive talent. The Crimson Tide is averaging nearly 500 yards of offense through two games, and they're led by the electrifying dual threat gunslinger Jalen Milroe. Milroe hasn't been asked to do too much in Alabama's consecutive blowouts to open the season, but he's still accounted for nine touchdowns in two games.

What's more, the Tide can pick up yardage in chunks. While the Badgers have struggled to create big plays through two games, Alabama's offense is practically a big play waiting to happen. It's already put an 84-yard pass (Milroe to true freshman Ryan Williams) and an 85-yard run (courtesy of Justice Haynes) on tape.

"We're definitely going to see it all. And I feel good. I mean, we did a lot of that in the spring. We did a lot of that in fall camp in particular, saying, ‘Okay, we want, offensively, to take shots," head coach Luke Fickell said. "So we'll find out. We feel really good. We've done a better job at being able to mix some things up [rather] than just always consistently putting our guys on islands when they know exactly what it is that they're getting. When they can take those shots, it does make it a little bit more difficult, but their challenges are going to be out there, and that is one of them that maybe we haven't had a ton of."

This should be the first week in which Wisconsin's secondary is truly tested. Through two games, the Badgers' pass defense has held the two quarterbacks it faced to 255 yards, no touchdowns and one interception on 58 percent completion. Now, they'll line up against one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

Wisconsin has struggled to contain opponents' outside zone running concepts early this fall, and Alabama will surely try to ride their talented tailback duo of Haynes and Jam Miller on the road. Still, the Badgers need to prevent the Tide's offense from landing crushing blows. The Badgers can stay in this game if they limit Alabama's splash plays, but this is the kind of matchup that can be changed by one effortless flick of Milroe's wrist.

It's been an interesting two weeks for the Badgers' offense, to say the least. It's been all over the place thus far, and ironically the one constant is a lack of consistency. On some drives, they've looked deadly. On others, they've look like UW-Whitewater could force them into three-and-outs. The biggest issue, though, remains a glaring lack of identity.

Through two games, Wisconsin has ran the ball 58 percent of the time. Against two heavy underdogs, that checks out. But in their first few drives against South Dakota, the Badgers made a concerted effort to air the football out. They're clearly not married to being a full-on ground-and-pound offense, but have yet to put enough downfield passing on tape to be respected as an "air raid" unit either. Wisconsin is a master of none on offense right now.

"In Week 1, it was incredibly efficient. I mean the number of drives and the points per drive and things like that. We said after week one it was [about] creating some bigger plays. We did that this past week. I think [in] the second half, we weren't quite as efficient. We didn't take advantage of some of the opportunities that we had. So I think there's a growth in that. I think that we all know that [the ability to take] some shots down the field, the ability to create some of those different plays is something we have to continue to grow with. I don't know how. Obviously, it's a part of the plan to do what you have to be able to do," Fickell said.

The way the first two games have unfolded, it's become clear that Wisconsin needs to be able to run to set up the pass. Tyler Van Dyke and the passing game have hit on some nice plays, but still don't have a reliable rhythm to where picking up a third-and-medium doesn't feel like a tall task.

Therefore, it'll be critical to establish the run and have success on early downs against Alabama. Western Kentucky couldn't do much against the Tide's run defense, but South Florida ran for 206 yards in Tuscaloosa on a healthy 4.5 yards-per-carry. That's a big reason why the Bulls were down just one point heading into the fourth quarter.

This offense still feels a little haphazardly assembled with playmakers at every spot but no unifying plan, no overarching philosophy. Play-caller Phil Longo's "take what the defense gives you" adage inherently strips the offense of its agency and identity. At some point, the Badgers will need to take what they want on offense.

The Badgers' first two games were shortened, ball control-oriented contests that focused on downhill, between-the-tackles running. That's music to the inside linebackers' ears, but it's practically been radio silence from the outside linebackers through two weeks.

Despite the aforementioned styles of game Wisconsin has gotten into, it's surprising that the Badgers' edge defenders have been so quiet given their dominant showings in spring and fall camp.

“I think, statistically, no. You haven't seen the production from that group. But that's where, sometimes, you can get a little bit frustrated. Guys can start to get into their own heads a little bit. I would say, as we went through spring football and through fall camp, that was a big area where I thought we were a lot different than we were last year. And you might not have noticed that on Saturdays, and a little bit of that is what we've seen in some situations," Fickell said.

Nonetheless, this isn't the time for Wisconsin's edge players to tune out. Against explosive offenses like Alabama that can hit a home run on every play, being fundamentally sound is absolutely critical. It's important that the Badgers' pass-rushers don't try to do too much to overcompensate for their lack of production, otherwise they could find themselves out of position and responsible for a massive play.

Wisconsin also needs its pass-rushers to be dialed in specifically due to do the matchup with Milroe. Setting the edge and keeping contain will be paramount against a quarterback with his mobility. And when the Tide do unleash their drop-back passing game, if Milroe isn't feeling heat off the edges you might as well call it a day.

"But now it's even more critical that they're really sound in what they're doing. Because this is a crew that, if you give them an inch, if you give the quarterback (Milroe) a sliver, you know, six, eight, 10 yards are not six, eight or 10 yards like they are normally. He can take it the distance," Fickell added.

Interestingly enough, offensive tackle may be the biggest question on Alabama's offense right now. Right tackle Wilkin Formby has struggled in pass protection and was especially porous against South Florida. The Tide have also been without starting left tackle Kaydn Proctor.

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