THE BASICS

The teams: The Wisconsin Badgers (5-3, 3-1) at the Indiana Hoosiers (2-6, 0-5)

The time: 11 a.m. CDT, Saturday

The place: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.

The TV coverage: Big Ten Network with Corey Provus and Jake Butt on the call, and Brooke Fletcher on the sideline.

The last time: Indiana managed just 217 yards of offense, but forced a pair of turnovers on its way to a 14-6 win in Madison in 2020.

The series: Wisconsin leads 41-19-2

The line: Wisconsin -9.5

THE BREAKDOWN: 4 THINGS TO WATCH

1) Bouncing back

Wisconsin suffered an excruciating loss to Ohio State last week, staying with the then-No.3 team in the country deep into the fourth quarter in front a soldout stadium. Ultimately, the Badgers were unable to finish the job and the disappointment among the players following the game was easy to see. So how does the team respond to an 11 a.m. game in a sleepy stadium against a team that is winless in conference play?

2) Running back?

If Braelon Allen is cleared to play, this question will largely be irrelevant. But in the event the junior is not able to go due to a foot injury, can the Badgers get enough from his replacements, namely Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli? Acker showed promise against Rutgers, rushing for 65 yards, while also being a capable receiver. Yacamelli, who was a safety last year, earned his first career carry against Ohio State and it went for negative yards. Wisconsin isn’t a good enough passing team to ditch running the ball, so both young guys will have to deliver.

3) Don’t give up big plays

Indiana was able to stick with Penn State last week courtesy of several big plays in the passing game, including a 90-yard touchdown. It helped them score 24 points, its most in a non-overtime Big Ten game since Oct. 15, 2022. Explosive plays have been an issue for the Badgers defense. The unit gave up 10 plays of 15 or more yards to Ohio State and five to Illinois the week before. If Indiana is going to pull the upset, it will need some plays that put Wisconsin on its heels and the Badgers must avoid them.

4) Stop the run

Taking away sack yardage, four of Wisconsin’s five opponents in the Big Ten have run for at least 200 yards. It’s an astonishing number considering the way the Badgers had stopped the run in the last decade. Now comes Indiana, which ranks 13th in the conference in rushing at just 109.5 yards per game. While that should be good news for Wisconsin, the Hoosiers also boast a quarterback in Brendan Sorsby that has no problem using his legs to create problems for defenses. That’s a concern for a Badgers defense that allowed Illinois’ Luke Altmyer to run for more than 100 yards a couple weeks ago.

NUMBERS TO CONSIDER

— Despite losing two of three and sitting at 3-2 in the Big Ten, Wisconsin is still very much in the race for the West Division. The Badgers sit in a four-way tie with Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. One more loss would likely end their chances to claim a fifth division title in the final year of divisions in the conference.

– Wisconsin has not lost a true road game in the state of Indiana since 2002, winning 14 straight over Indiana (5) and Purdue (9).

— Wisconsin is averaging 24.8 points per game this season, its fewest since 2004.

— Cornerback Ricardo Hallman has five interceptions on the year. That’s already the most by a Wisconsin corner since 2000 when Jamar Fletcher had seven.

ZONE PREDICTIONS

Zach Heilprin (5-3, 2-6 ATS) ’s prediction: Wisconsin 24, Indiana 13
Ebo (6-2, 4-4 ATS) ’s prediction: Wisconsin 28, Indiana 21
Nelson Raisbeck (6-2, 3-5 ATS)’s prediction: Wisconsin 28, Indiana 17
RJ Brachman’s (6-2, 4-4 ATS) prediction: Wisconsin 27, Indiana 17