Madison — Wisconsin will try to right the ship when it travels to Champaign to take on the Fighting Illini on Saturday.

As the Badgers look to get back on track while avenging last season's embarrassing loss, what are the hottest questions surrounding the football program?

This is an obvious one. After stepping in for the injured Tanner Mordecai for the entire second half against Iowa, Braedyn Locke will assume the Badgers' starting role at signal caller. His final stats weren't anything to write home about — 15-for-30 passing with 122 yards and an interception. He performed valiantly, though, for a redshirt freshman in his first taste of big time college football. He didn't look lost, he orchestrated a few scoring drives and quite frankly, the offense didn't look much worse with Locke in than it did with Mordecai.

Reporters got an extended look at Locke throughout both spring ball and fall camp, as he was consistently the second-string quarterback. Where he excelled? Accuracy on intermediate routes, including a knack for layering the ball between defenders in zone coverage. He also generally made smart decisions and reads, not forcing too many errant passes. Where he struggled? A distinct lack of mobility when compared to Mordecai and his ability to extend plays. What's more, his deep ball, while often accurate, didn't exactly strike fear into defenders' hearts. He doesn't have the strongest arm. Moving forward, defenses will likely make Locke prove that he can beat them over the top.

It'll be interesting to see how Phil Longo tries to get Locke in rhythm early. Aside from the Purdue game, Wisconsin's offense has been out-of-sync in the early goings of games all season long. Can Locke provide some sort of spark in that department?

The Badgers' defense is a unit that caught a lot of heat for its performance early in the season, and rightfully so. Now, however, the scrutiny has shifted towards the offensive side of the ball. Of course, that has a lot to do with the loss of Mordecai and the offense's poor production, but the defense has also stepped up its play in recent weeks.

After letting Purdue gain nearly 400 yards of total offense in the first Big Ten game of the season, Wisconsin's defense has stepped up in recent weeks. Against Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights only accumulated 275 yards. The Hawkeyes managed 237, but over a third of that production came on the one 82-yard touchdown run. Now, the Badgers' defense wasn't enough to make up for an abysmal offensive performance a week ago, but they've showed signs of improvement slowly but surely.

Illinois' offense presents an interesting challenge for the Badgers. Statistically, they're hardly impressive on that side of the ball. They're averaging 20.3 points-per-game — in the Big Ten, only Nebraska and Indiana average lower figures. Wisconsin, by comparison, is putting up 27.2 points on average, and the Badgers' floundering offense is well-documented.

Still, the Illini have some dangerous weapons that pose a serious threat. Namely, their receiver tandem of Isaiah Williams and Pat Bryant. Williams is a dynamic receiver out of the slot, and Bryant is a big, jump-ball pass-catcher who can stretch the field. They also have a potent rushing tandem in Reggie Love and Kaden Feagin. Their quarterback, Luke Altmyer, isn't awfully impressive but he led the Illini to an upset last week over a very good Maryland team.

This is a week in which the defense will likely be relied on heavily to control the game as Locke gets acclimated. Time will tell if they can continue to play well.

The circumstances don't stack up well for the Badgers on Saturday. First and foremost, they're trotting out a new starting quarterback. Illinois is hosting its homecoming, and the Illini are coming off a rejuvenating upset win on the road. Every non-tangible advantage seems to favor Illinois here.

Thus, I'll be looking for the coaching staff to break out some new wrinkles in any and all phases of the game. If the offense continues to be stagnant, you get the sense Wisconsin will need to steal a possession or two to have a chance. Furthermore, you often have to create your own energy when playing on the road. Will we see some trickery on special teams? A fake punt of field goal perhaps?

How about offensive wrinkles? In the Badgers' first road Big Ten game, we saw them break out a Philly Special on offense not once, but twice. What else does Longo have up his sleeve for an offense that looks dead in the water? The coordinator has to try something to get a spark from his unit — some trickery might be in order.

Throughout the week, Luke Fickell and his players maintained that the offensive scheme won't change too much with Locke in the game. Still, I believe Wisconsin will need to try something to catch Illinois off-guard. There's a myriad of ways to do that, but I'm penciling in my prediction here and now for at least one trick play in any phase of the game come Saturday.

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