1. The Badgers became the 2nd B1G team to fire their HC this season. When Nebraska did it in September their next game was an old fashion beatdown from Oklahoma. Can Jim Leonhard guide the Badgers to a different fate (maybe even covering the spread) at Ryan Field? Worth noting is Wisconsin's struggles in Evanston over the last 15 years.

2. Bobby Engram, 1st year OC, is now calling the plays for Wisconsin. He comes from the Baltimore Ravens, what will he try to do? Fitzgerald & Co. will need to adjust on the fly in this one as I would expect something "different", tendency breaking calls.

3. How does Mertz respond after back-to-back flat out bad performances? His INTs all but secured Wisco's fate last week. After showing flashes of throws/reads he could build on in 1st 3 weeks, the last two have brought him down. Worth noting, OSU & Illinois feature a couple of the best Defenses in the country - something Northwestern does not. Dike & Bell need to be better but beware of the lurking, havoc causing NW DBs.

4. Despite having one of the best B1G RBs, a solid OL and an identity/culture of owning the OL, Wisconsin is grading out below average on 1st/2nd downs AND on rush plays in general. 5 games in, is this what we should expect rest of the way? This game is a great barometer for rest of season.

5. What can we take away from NWs performance, covering the 26.5 points, @ Penn State last week? The game was played in a monsoon, there were 5 TOs and goofy plays all over. NW was able to keep PSU RBs in check but the conditions went a long way in limiting PSU's passing playbook, allowing NW to commit more guys to the run.

6. After Week 0, it looked like NW may have an OL and RB room that they could lean on. Since then, their OL has been leaky way too much and RBs have struggled to consistently run the ball well. As a result, NW's best offense has been Hilinski is able to spread the ball around and beat zone coverage on quick reads. Wisconsin's D grades out the strongest on obvious Pass Downs, but well below average on 1st and 2nd down. Can NW take advantage?