BadgerBlitz.com's weekly feature, "The 3Cs," returns for the 2019 season. The staff takes a look at one thing we're curious, confident and concerned about heading into Wisconsin's Big Ten West showdown against Illinois.

Editor and recruiting analyst Jon McNamara, senior writer Jake Kocorowski and staff writer Asher Low each give their thoughts on the aforementioned topics for this week's contest.

McNamara: I'm curious if we see any new true freshman play against Illinois. This group has been very limited so far in terms of participation, but this could be a nice opportunity to give a few members from the 2019 class a taste of Big Ten football on the road.

Kocorowski: I wonder how Wisconsin will take care of business in Champaign this weekend, overall. Coming off another big cross-divisional win over Michigan State, the program looks to stay perfect before heading to Columbus next week.

This team will not take Illinois lightly. That is not coach speak, and players’ demeanors this week showed a focus on the task at hand. However, I don’t think the 2017 team let its guard down two years ago but finished out a somewhat ugly 24-10 win against Lovie Smith’s squad.

The Illini showed some fight down 28-0 last week against Michigan and posted 25 unanswered points before ultimately losing, 42-25. I strongly feel the Badgers will continue its dominant play, and I believe the program, as a whole, is different from 2017's group. It should be interesting how the game plays out this weekend after being at home for the past six weeks (five games, one bye).

Low: I am curious to see how the deep ball looks in the first half from Jack Coan to Quintez Cephus. The connection has had its ups and downs so far this year, but I expect head coach Paul Chryst and this offense to air it out early in hopes of rekindling the magic they had against Michigan.

McNamara: I have to go with quarterback Jack Coan here. I think there will always be a portion of Wisconsin fans who never fully buy into Coan. But the junior has been excellent this fall and I don't see that changing Saturday on the road against Illinois.

Kocorowski: Is it time to believe in Coan now? Yes, Ohio State is coming up with a vaunted defense in two weeks. But against a stout defense in Michigan State last week, he missed just three of his 21 throws while airing it out for 180 yards to eight different receivers. Again, tough tests come up there after with the Buckeyes and Iowa Hawkeyes, but Coan leads the Big Ten in completion percentage (76.3, second in the FBS) and has steered the offense to success.

Low: Jonathan Taylor will return to dominance against the Fighting Illini. The Heisman Trophy hopeful will rebound from his first sub-100 yard performance of the year against Michigan State in a big way. This is an Illinois defense that has allowed 40 or more points over their last three contests and recently gave up 211 yards on the ground to Minnesota running back Rodney Smith. Taylor will continue to eat on Saturday.

McNamara: This is pretty much the definition of a (potential) trap game. Wisconsin is rolling through its schedule and has what could be a season-defining showdown in two weeks against undefeated Ohio State. But as stated above, this is a veteran-led team that understands the task at hand. I don't foresee a misstep against Illinois.

Kocorowski: I think we have to talk about the punt return coverage team allowing another sudden change situation on Saturday. Though up 17-0 in the third quarter, the Badgers gave up another first down with that unit on a 20-yard run by Tyriq Thompson. Luckily, Wisconsin’s defense is like the 2017 version where it’s showing it can ground any momentum after big plays.

With that unit on the field against Northwestern, there was a Jack Dunn fumble and a personal foul penalty that gave the ball back a couple of weeks ago as well that subsequently led to nine points for the Wildcats. They could get away with that against Illinois, but not against Ohio State.

Low: This is a Wisconsin team that Chryst and his staff have kept grounded. The dominant success has been there with a defense allowing as many touchdowns (four) as they have given up on the year. However, a game against a 2-4 Illinois program before facing a Top 5 Ohio State squad could lend a potential reason for a sluggish performance.