Wisconsin Football: 3 keys to victory vs. Northwestern in Week 5

Wisconsin football is coming off of a big win over Michigan, that catapulted them into the top 10. How do the Badgers keep rolling against Northwestern?

The Wisconsin Badgers are coming off one of their biggest wins of the last five years. One of the glaring weaknesses of Badger years past was their inability to beat the teams that were at the top of the conference. They lost to Penn State and Ohio State in conference championships, and came up just short to Michigan in previous seasons.

But this team is a different kind of Wisconsin. They blew the Wolverines right out of Madison, winning 35-14 in a game that looked like it would be 50-0 at one point. This Badger team is for real, and now the clear front-runner to finish in first place of the Big Ten West, and possibly even the entire conference.

Like most Wisconsin, they are big, but also have a tremendous amount of speed on their defense. The linebackers really can cover ground and they are one of the best defenses in the country. That pairs with the best running back in college football, Jonathan Taylor and Jack Coan, who has proven he can make any throw on the field.

They’ll look to continue this stretch against a Northwestern team who’s really struggled to start the season. They’ve opened the season 1-2, with giving up 31 points to a Michigan State team that looked like it could never score, and losing to Stanford, one of the worst teams in the Pac-12.

The Badgers should handle this team with ease, but the Wildcats always play them tough. Here are the three keys to another Wisconsin victory.