State Journal beat reporter Colten Bartholomew breaks down the No. 14 University of Wisconsin football team's matchup with Purdue.

Prepare for kick off of the University of Wisconsin's football season on Friday night against the South Florida Bulls with the Wisconsin State Journal's annual Badgers season preview. 

The Badgers’ stretch run got a shot of energy when Iowa knocked off Minnesota last week, giving them a path to the Big Ten West Division title once again. That, coupled with the final game at Camp Randall of the season, should give UW a wave of energy to use.

The Boilermakers were able to retain coach Jeff Brohm (above) this year after Louisville pushed hard to hire him in the offseason, and he’s delivered a good coaching performance despite the injuries his team has suffered.

UW had one of its better days of the season on special teams against Nebraska. Sophomore Aron Cruickshank (above) boosted his kick-return average to a Big Ten-best 28.4 yards after taking a kick 89 yards to the end zone, sophomore Collin Larsh went 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, and senior punter Anthony Lotti pinned the Cornhuskers at the 4 with one of his two punts.

The Badgers enter this game with their run game rolling.

Led by their third-string quarterback, the Boilermakers — who come to Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday — are 2-0 in November.

At this point, the University of Wisconsin football team’s struggles against spread offenses are pretty clear.

UW is one of six ranked Big Ten teams. 

The Badgers beat the Cornhuskers with a dominant offense and some help from special teams. We also talk about how the fullback is a dying breed ... everywhere else, but not at Wisconsin.

Junior wide receiver Danny Davis came through with big plays in UW's wins over Iowa and Nebraska.

The battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe will be televised by ABC. 

UW hosts Purdue at 3 p.m. Saturday — a game televised by Fox — and a win would set up a winner-take-all matchup at Minnesota in the final week of the regular season for the Big Ten West title.

UW's win combined with Minnesota's loss narrowed the gap between the two teams to one game.

UW is one of six ranked Big Ten teams. 

Get ready for the University of Wisconsin football season with Jim Polzin's team-by-team breakdown of the Badgers' 2019 schedule.

Review the University of Wisconsin 2019 football season, with players to watch and Big 10 stats comparison. Test your Badgers knowledge with the jersey number quiz!

UW hemorrhaged chunk plays against Nebraska's well-designed spread offense but made just enough get-off-the-field plays to keep the score down and the game under control Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

Jonathan Taylor put together another eye-popping performance against the Cornhuskers, finishing with 204 yards and two touchdowns as the Badgers held on for a 37-21 win Saturday at Memorial Stadium. 

Wisconsin's junior tailback ascended further into the pantheon of elite college running backs during the Badgers’ 37-21 win over Nebraska at Memorial Stadium.

The sophomore said he told his teammates on the kick-return unit to “be ready to run” Saturday in Nebraska, and he was glad he could back up his words with a return for a touchdown in the first quarter of Badgers' 37-21 win over the Cornhuskers. 

State Journal columnist Tom Oates grades the 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers' performance in their 37-21 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

A quick look at the 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers' 37-21 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a Big Ten West battle Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

The 15th-ranked University of Wisconsin football team held on to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers 37-21 in a Big Ten West showdown Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska. 

Get the latest analysis, injury reports and highlights as the 15th-ranked UW football team squares off against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a battle for the Freedom Trophy on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

State Journal beat reporter Colten Bartholomew breaks down UW's matchup against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. 

A week's worth of stories on the University of Wisconsin football team leading up to Saturday's game against the Cornhuskers. 

A look back at some of Phil Hands' 2019 Badgers game day cartoons. 

UW has won seven of the eight games since Nebraska made its Big Ten Conference debut at Camp Randall Stadium in 2011, including the past six.

Stokke, a redshirt junior from Menomonie, is coming off one of the best games of his UW career.

On Nov. 15, 2014, University of Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon III put on a performance that will live forever in the memories of Badgers football fans. Relive that moment with the State Journal's coverage of the game.

Colten Bartholomew and Jim Polzin discuss UW football's road test at Nebraska and the Badgers men's basketball team's recruiting haul.

Illinois and Ohio State gashed the unit in losses.

University of Wisconsin football coach Paul Chryst talks to the media Thursday about the play of Badgers quarterback Jack Coan and the week of preparation before Saturday's road game at Nebraska.

The sometimes-explosive sophomore has struggled with consistency.

Right now, UW’s program is far and away in better shape than Nebraska’s. The Badgers got back to their identity last week, and will stick to that down the stretch as they chase a Big Ten Conference West Division championship. UW’s won eight of past nine meetings, including six straight, and they make it 9 of 10 and seven straight Saturday to retain the Freedom Trophy (above).

Scott Frost’s homecoming to Nebraska isn’t going as well as Paul Chryst’s is at Wisconsin. Frost (above) is under fire to make changes to his staff as another season slips away, while Chryst and his staff were able to use a bye week to regroup and seemingly right the ship against a tough Iowa team.

The Badgers still have a chance to reach the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis — they need to win out and have Minnesota lose at Iowa on Saturday or next week against Northwestern to do it, but there’s still a chance.

Jack Dunn misplayed a couple of Iowa punts that left the Badgers pinned deep in their own territory in the second half, while Anthony Lotti had issues punting. He averaged 34.3 yards on three punts, more than 6 yards less than his season average. If cold weather was a factor, Lotti’s in luck — forecasts call for mid-50s temperatures in Lincoln on Saturday.

Nebraska uses dual-threat quarterback Adrian Martinez (above) as the conductor of its spread offense. Despite missing two games due to a knee injury, Martinez is the team’s leading passer and rusher. The sophomore from Fresno, Calif., averages 270 total scrimmage yards per game.

The Badgers ought to be licking their chops as they prepare for the Cornhuskers’ defense. Nebraska has struggled to slow opponents’ rushing attacks, ranking 11th in the Big Ten and 83rd nationally with 173.7 yards per game allowed on the ground. In Nebraska’s past three games, all losses, Minnesota (322), Indiana (104) and Purdue (145) combined for 571 yards and nine rushing touchdowns. UW seemed to find some of its mojo on the offensive line last week against Iowa, rushing for 300 yards, 250 of which came from junior Jonathan Taylor (above), and Taylor has dominated Nebraska the past two years.

UW falls despite beating CFP No. 20 Iowa at home last week.