BadgerBlitz.com brings you our weekly "3-2-1" feature of the 2024 season, where we take a look at three things we learned from Week 2, two remaining questions and one bold prediction for when the Crimson Tide comes to town.

When co-starting tailback Tawee Walker was announced as questionable two hours prior to kickoff against South Dakota, it was somewhat surprising but didn't cause too much alarm. After all, in theory, the Badgers have a revolving door of talented running backs that range from grizzled veterans to baby-faced freshman. In practice, that proved to be absolutely correct.

One of the biggest stories of Saturday's win was the performance of backup running back Cade Yacamelli. With Walker sidelined for the duration of the contest, Wisconsin delved deeper into its running back room to replace his carries. Yacamelli, who ran for a career high 73 yards on eight carries, easily shined the brightest of any Badger ball-carrier.

"Cade might be one of the most unselfish kids we have in this program. From about the middle of spring ball on, Cade has done nothing but impress every single coach and every single player in that locker room," head coach Luke Fickell said. "He just continues to battle and fight and work. Takes every role that you give him and just (excels) at it. He's a hell of a running back...He's an integral part of what we do, but he's an even better leader and example of the selfless nature of what we need to continue to put forward with this team."

Yacamelli's development from last season to now has been special. His athleticism has improved exponentially; he's a much more dynamic runner who appears both faster and stronger. On Saturday, he hit holes with a purpose and accounted for Wisconsin's longest rushing play of the season thus far, a 29-yard scamper.

The Badgers also finally deployed two of their true freshman backs, Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones. Dupree accumulated 24 yards on six carries, including several runs that moved the chains on third down. Jones, meanwhile, ran four times for 14 yards. Neither tailback dazzled in their collegiate debut, but both proved to be capable runners in an admittedly small sample size.

Wisconsin's rushing attack was somehow better without Walker available. That speaks to the depth of this room and the number of capable contributors running backs coach Devon Spalding has at his disposal. The Badgers should continue to distribute carries widely amongst their talented staple of tailbacks.

Yacamelli's sparkling performance and the emergence of the two true freshman were the silver lining on a dark cloud of offensive ineptitude Saturday. The Badgers looked significantly more dangerous and explosive against South Dakota...for about three drives. After gaining yards in chunks with ease in the first quarter, Wisconsin's offense mostly sputtered the rest of the game on the way to another uninspiring performance.

"Definitely got off to a hot start," quarterback Tyler Van Dyke said after the game. "I wish we could carry that on throughout the game."

After not even attempting to throw the football down the field in the opener, Wisconsin opened up its passing game every so slightly and actually let its receivers run downfield. That resulted in several early splash plays to Bryson Green and Vinny Anthony, as well as a 50-yard touchdown to CJ Williams. Still, this passing game doesn't quite feel like its found its rhythm.

"I feel like I missed a deep shot to CJ earlier in the game," Van Dyke added. "I felt like there were a couple third downs I feel like I could've thrown a better throw or made a better read, but it's football, it happens. You learn from your mistakes and keep getting better daily."

The Badgers' defense has mostly picked up the slack for the offense against two lesser opponents, but they can't expect that to be the case moving forward with Alabama and USC as the next two foes on the horizon. Wisconsin needs to find its identity and rhythm on this side of the ball, and quickly.

The loss of James Thompson Jr. was considered by some to be a death sentence for an already suspect defensive line. Through two weeks, those fears have been largely justified. However, a clear top player has emerged on this unit: Albany transfer Elijah Hills.

Hills flashed here and there in spring and fall camps, but didn't appear ready to hold down a starting role quite yet. Early in Week 3, it now seems irresponsible to not trot Hills out with the starters and maximize his reps.

On the Badgers' Week 3 depth chart, Hills is still listed as a backup. He was just barely out-paced in terms of snaps by Curt Neal and Ben Barten against South Dakota, but it would be ludicrous to keep Hills in his rotational role moving forward.

Quite simply, Hills has looked like the only difference-maker on Wisconsin's defensive line. He has two sacks and three tackles-for-loss through two games, and was the only trench defender who managed to consistently shed blocks and penetrate into the backfield last week. The competition level spikes dramatically with Alabama coming to town, but regardless, Hills has proven that he's currently the best player in E.J. Whitlow's room and should see starter-level snaps moving forward.

As a whole, the numbers aren't all that damning: South Dakota ran for 123 yards on 4.4 yards-per-carry against Wisconsin. That's surely more than the Badgers would like to surrender against an FCS team, but it's not exactly an embarrassing performance. What was embarrassing, however, is the way the Coyotes managed to run the ball down Wisconsin's throat in the third quarter with the Badgers offering almost no resistance. South Dakota toughed out positive run after positive run, and Wisconsin couldn't get stops on early downs to put the offense behind the sticks.

"The run game has been something. Into the boundary, and really it's been the stretch play both weeks. It's been the same play that's caused us issues. And this week was a little different; there's some two-back stuff that everybody around here has been used to seeing for a long time that you just don't see as much in college football," Fickell said. "But we've gotta do a better job of not putting ourselves in those situations where its four, five, six yards on first down. We were better in the other situations, but the first down ones is probably where we had the most issues."

If you thought the Coyotes could run the football, just wait until the Crimson Tide comes to town. Their one-two punch of Jam Miller and Justice Haynes accounted for 186 yards and two scores against South Florida last week. Not to mention Alabama has perhaps the best dual-threat quarterback in the sport in Jalen Milroe.

Life comes at you fast, and that'll hold especially true for Wisconsin's run defense Saturday. The Badgers' secondary has been excellent, but all aspects of this defense will be pushed to its limits against one of the most loaded rosters in the sport.

Wisconsin will be without its captain and green dot player on defense in the first half in linebacker Jake Chaney after the senior was ejected for targeting against South Dakota. Fortunately for the Badgers, the loss comes at one of its most stacked positions. The question now becomes how Wisconsin will replace Chaney for two quarters against an electric Crimson Tide offense.

USC transfer Tackett Curtis was inserted into the game as Chaney's replacement, and he played extremely well in his stead. He finished the game with five tackles, and displayed the pursuit speed and physicality that he was known for as a Trojan.

"Curtis had to go in there in a really really tough situation, and I think we saw what Tackett Curtis is made of tonight," Fickell said after the game.

Curtis will likely get the starting nod, but Fickell indicated to reporters that redshirt freshman Tyler Jansey will also factor into the rotation with Chaney sidelined. Sophomore Christian Alliegro also continues to impress in his limited snaps, and he might be the fastest linebacker Wisconsin has, which will be a critical attribute against Alabama's offensive skill.

The Badgers' defense has just one forced turnover through two games, an interception by freshman cornerback Xavier Lucas. Fickell is no stranger to the fact that Wisconsin needs to be able to create more sudden changes on defense.

"Creating turnovers defensively is just one of those things that, man, they haven't come. It's our job to make them," he said.

I predict Wisconsin 's defense breaks through and creates multiple turnovers against the Crimson Tide. Their star quarterback Milroe has been clean through the air, having not thrown an interception against Western Kentucky or South Florida. He hasn't faced a secondary like Wisconsin, however, populated by All-Americans and All-American candidates such as Ricardo Hallman and Hunter Wohler. I've got Milroe throwing at least one interception in Madison.

What's more, Milroe has fumbled in both of Alabama's first two games. The Tide managed to recover his fumble against the Western Kentucky, but South Florida pounced on the ball when he coughed it up in Week 2. Milroe has an innate ability to do things on a football field few human beings can, but that playmaking style also leaves him more vulnerable to costly turnovers. I think the Badgers make him pay multiple times come Saturday.

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