Three burning questions: ReliaQuest bowl vs LSU

After finishing 7-5 in head coach Luke Fickell's debut season, Wisconsin has quite the opportunity: the Badgers can finish the season by knocking off No. 13 LSU on New Years Day. Bowl season doesn't mean what it once did with the prevalence of the transfer portal and the ever-increasing frequency of opt-outs — most notably, the Tigers' Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels won't take the field in Tampa. Still, the Reliaquest bowl presents an important opportunity for Wisconsin to evaluate its younger players and begin to build for Fickell's sophomore season.

With that, here are three burning questions for the Badgers as they aim to kick off 2024 with a victory.

Wisconsin's running back room in 2024 looks promising. There's a returning, experienced, starting-caliber back in Chez Mellusi. There's battle-tested incoming transfer with an intriguing skillset in Tawee Walker. There's three exciting freshman, two of whom were blue-chip prospects courted by some of the top schools in the country.

Wisconsin's running back room for the Reliaquest Bowl, however, will look extremely different. Mellusi is still recovering from a lower leg injury he sustained in September. Walker, of course, like the three freshman, isn't eligible to suit up for the Badgers until next season. That leaves Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli as the two backs poised to lead the Wisconsin on the ground.

That tandem got a chance to see the field this season in relief of the injured Mellusi, and the two had to lead Wisconsin's backfield in the Badgers' ugly loss to Indiana when Braelon Allen wasn't available either in that game. On the season, Acker compiled 236 yards and one touchdown on 4.1 yards-per-carry, while Yacamelli put up 124 yards on 4.3 yards-per-carry. Acker also caught 18 passes for 86 yards and a score.

Those two are listed as co-starters at tailback for Wisconsin. And while that will only be the case for one game, it'll be intriguing to see what the reserve backs can give the Badgers on the ground.

In the aforementioned Indiana game, Acker and Yacamelli each tallied 48 yards while essentially splitting touches. Both backs were solid, but neither displayed a particular ability to rip off a long run or provide game-breaking ability out of the backfield.

The Tigers have some impressive players in their front seven, especially in the pass-rush department. As a team, though, their run defense isn't especially stout — they gave up an average of 163.8 yards on the ground this season, 91st in the nation. Wisconsin will have a chance to establish the run.

Acker and Yacamelli are the face of Wisconsin's backfield, even if just for one game. With the influx of talent that will join the Badgers' running back room in 2024, their future roles are extremely uncertain. But on New Years Day, they'll have a chance to prove that they belong.

No one is arguing that Daniels, who led LSU in passing, rushing and accounted for 50 total touchdowns isn't the engine that makes the Tigers' offense go. As mentioned, he won't be playing as he prepares to be a top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Still, LSU's offense is extremely dangerous even without its dazzling gunslinger.

In contemporary college football, conventional wisdom would say that a talent like Tigers' wide out Malik Nabers, who reeled in 86 balls for 1,546 yards and 14 touchdowns, would opt out in favor of preparing to be a 1st-round draft selection. Nabers, however, will suit up in Tampa alongside fellow prolific pass-catcher Brian Thomas Jr. The two are a nightmare for opposing secondaries.

The man tasked with getting those two the ball will be sophomore quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. He has some experience, appearing in six games this season and throwing 33 passes. He may not possess the dynamic athleticism of Daniels, but when you have a receiving core as talented as LSU's is, you have the luxury of getting the ball to them however possible and letting them do the heavy lifting.

Wisconsin's secondary struggled at times this season, but ultimately finished the year as a top-25 unit in terms of yards-per-game allowed through the air. The Badgers need to get bigger and longer on the perimeter for the secondary to take the next step, but these corners can hold their own. Rico Hallman is coming off a career year in which he notched six interceptions, compensating his lack of size with excellent footwork, fundamentals and an ability to read the quarterback. Alexander Smith and Nyzier Fourqurean rotated at the other outside corner spot towards the end of the season, with the staff tending to ride the hot hand. Slot corner Jason Maitre has opted out, but promising safety Austin Brown has been seeing work as a nickel for Wisconsin's defense during bowl prep.

LSU has long been a factory for NFL wide receivers, and they once again boasted one of the nation's best rooms in 2023. The Badgers will have their hands full on defense, particularly in the passing game.

Again, this is not your father's bowl season. There seems to be a prevailing sentiment that if you're not playing for a national championship, you're not playing for much. Still, Wisconsin hasn't experienced an especially high number of opt-outs and has an excellent opportunity to knock off an extremely talented and storied program in LSU.

"I made a commitment to this university and to my teammates in specific that I will be here and I will give my everything to this team," safety Hunter Wohler said. "There's a lot of unfinished business."

Most of Wisconsin's key players, such as Wohler and quarterback Tanner Mordecai, are suiting up on New Years Day. That fact coupled with Wohler's comments, echoed by several of his teammates, seem to indicate that the Badgers aren't lacking in motivation.

The Tigers have seemingly taken a similar approach. As mentioned, the star wide outs Nabers and Thomas will play. As will star pass-rusher Harold Perkins Jr. While many bowls this season have been awash with opt-outs and teams that are shells of themselves, the Reliaquest bowl will feature the majority of the team's two headliners. On a national stage on New Years Day, how motivated will the Badgers be to upset the Tigers?

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