After completing a 3-0 nonconference slate, Illinois resumes Big Ten play on Saturday in Madison, taking on Wisconsin in its first 11 a.m. CT game of the season. The Fighting Illini sit at 3-1, and the Badgers enter with a 2-2 record, though both teams are looking to pick up their first Big Ten win of the year this weekend.

Illinois heads to Madison coming off consecutive home wins, beating Virginia and Chattanooga at Memorial Stadium without allowing a touchdown and giving up a combined three points across the two games.

Wisconsin opened its conference schedule last week in Columbus, falling to Ohio State, 52-21, last Saturday.

Let's take a look at some storylines with both teams ready to take on their first Big Ten West opposition of the year.

Offense: A balanced attack

For the first time in program history, Illinois had two receivers and one rusher tally 100 yards in a single game, a feat the Illini achieved against Chattanooga. Three different receivers – Isaiah Williams, Pat Bryant, and Brian Hightower – have recorded double-digit receptions and at least 100 receiving yards, and six different receivers – Williams, Bryant, Hightower, Michael Marchese, Tip Reiman, and Chase Brown – have at least one touchdown reception.

In the ground game, both Brown and Reggie Love III have rushed for over 100 yards and have at least one rushing touchdown, while the former leads the FBS in rushing yards (604) through four games this season.

With Tommy DeVito averaging nearly 240 yards through the air, Brown averaging over 150 yards on the ground, and all three starting wide receivers making multiple catches per game, the Illini offense is kicking into gear, and maintaining this balanced attack could be the biggest difference-maker against a strong Badger defense on Saturday.

Defense: Third-down conversions

In the Illini's three wins this season, the defense has held opposing teams to a combined 6-for-42 on third-down conversions. In the lone loss? 10-for-19. 

Illinois ranks in the top 10 nationally in defensive third-down conversion percentage, while Wisconsin converts about 46.5% of its third-down attempts.

With a dominant and disciplined defensive line, lurking linebackers, and a strong secondary, the Illinois defense will need to continue to lock in on third down, especially after Wisconsin converted over 50% of their third-down attempts last season in Champaign.

"It starts by what they're taught and what they're coached," said head coach Bret Bielema. "You just have a lot of guys that play good football."

Wisconsin: The run game

While Brown is the leading rusher in the country, the Badgers have their own running back phenom in Braelon Allen, who ranks fifth nationally and third in the Big Ten in rushing yards with 497 through four games.

Allen averages the fifth-most yards per carry in the Big Ten (6.8), and he is a big reason why the Badgers are averaging 211.8 rushing yards per game, good for fourth-best in the conference.

In last season's contest, the Illini had trouble containing the duo of Allen and Chez Mellusi, both of whom are back for the Badgers this season. With the Illinois defense allowing an average of just 87.3 yards on the ground per game, the two units will be battling all afternoon, especially with Wisconsin averaging nearly 40 rushing attempts per game.

"I think that they've prided themselves on their ability to run the football," Bielema said. "We've got a tremendous task out in front of us. It'll be by far our biggest test defensively to play against them. I like the idea of this game. If you're truly a Big Ten fan, you're going to love watching this game. I think we've made strides from where we were a year ago, but that's only going to be determined by what you see on the field."