Q: Wisconsin has been rolling over teams these past several games, going 5-0. Knowing MSU puts up a tough physical fight and has a nationally ranked defensive unit, how will the Badgers adjust their game (if at all) for the fired up Spartans coming off a hard loss to OSU?

A: The wonderful thing about Wisconsin Head Coach Paul Chryst’s team and week-to-week game plan is that it seemingly never changes. The Badgers are at heart very similar to Mark Dantonio’s Spartans in that they play an old school, defensive football game which values ball control above almost everything else. The key to Wisconsin’s success revolves around offensive execution, winning the turnover battle, dominating the line of scrimmage and the defense getting off the field on third down, all of which they have done flawlessly up to this point in the season. I don’t see Chryst changing anything going into this weekend, even with Michigan State boasting one of the best defenses in the nation. The one time the Badgers were slightly challenged this season was against Northwestern’s physical defensive front, though the team still ran away with the game after halftime. Michigan State no doubt has a superior and more physical defensive front to that of Northwestern, so it will be interesting to see how the game plays out, and if the plan will change if Chryst can’t find early success in the running game.

Q: Who has been a surprise player this season on the Wisconsin roster? Who should Spartan fans look out for?

A: Everyone in Madison knew going into the year that Jonathan Taylor was the best running back in the country and stopping him was going to be a tough test for opposing defenses. But, who has impressed thus far is junior quarterback Jack Coan. Coan came into the season under the radar with the nation’s No. 3 ranked pro-style quarterback Graham Mertz coming to Madison during the summer. It was obvious in spring ball that Coan would win the job from the true freshman but, since taking the field, he has exceeded expectations in every facet of the game. Through five games he is completing 74.6% of his passes with a clip of 8.2 yards-per-attempt, something Badger fans never expected to see after the Alex Hornibrook era, and has seven touchdowns to only one interception. In addition, he has shown an ability to get yards on the ground and extend plays with his legs, rushing for two touchdowns thus far including one from 25 yards out against Michigan. Is he anywhere close to Justin Fields, the quarterback the Spartans saw last week? No. But he is as good of a game manager Badger fans can ask for to compliment Taylor in the backfield.

One other name to look out for is senior outside linebacker Zack Baun. Baun is pacing the Badgers pass rush with six sacks, 15 tackles and two forced fumbles thus far this season.

Q: The spotlight will definitely be on Badger running back Jonathan Taylor, but also on MSU’s true freshman Elijah Collins. How would you compare these two running backs and their potential to do some offensive damage this Saturday?

A: While this may sound biased coming from a Wisconsin writer, Elijah Collins is no match for Jonathan Taylor. Collins has been pretty good so far this season, rushing for 476 yards, 5.3 yards-per-carry and three touchdowns, but he has been bottled up a couple times, including a 2.1 yards-per-carry performance Week One against Tulsa and a 3.3 yards-per-carry performance recently against Indiana. He is going up against the nation’s No. 1 rush defense on Saturday per ESPN’s efficiency rating and should find trouble finding open space all day. On the other hand, what Taylor is doing this season is nothing short of historic. Taylor comes into Saturday’s bout with 745 rushing yards, a yards-per-carry clip of 7.2, 12 rushing touchdowns and 12 receptions for 114 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Collins is a nice player and will have a good career with the Spartans but, at this point in the season and in their careers, one is headed to New York City for the Heisman presentation and the other is still looking to put together consistent performances each Saturday.

Q: What is your score prediction? (and why)?

A: While I am extremely high on the Badgers this season and believe their defense is the best in the country, and maybe the best Wisconsin has ever seen, I think Saturday’s game will be closer than people think. As I said earlier, Wisconsin had trouble with Northwestern’s tough defensive front and will have more trouble with Michigan State’s on Saturday. It’s also hard to crown a 5-0 team when four of their games have come against blatantly poor teams and are now looking at their schedule and seeing Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa coming up in the next couple weeks. That being said, the Badgers are giving up an average of 5.8 points per game, 0.6 in the first half, and rarely lose in the friendly confines of Camp Randall Stadium.

Final score prediction: Wisconsin 21 - Michigan State 13