2. With eight starters lost on defense, is there enough returning depth and talent to match last year's unit that allowed only 13.9 points per game (first in the Big Ten, third nationally)?
That's a great question -- and one I think the Badgers would have felt a little bit more confident about at the end of April instead of in the run-up to the season. There is definitely a depth concern on the defensive line right now, in part because two projected starters at defensive end appear to have suffered been injured over the summer -- with one (junior Garrett Rand) expected to miss the whole season and the other (sophomore Isaiahh Loudermilk) expected to be back after nonconference play. Rand and Loudermilk were the only defensive ends left on the roster who had serious in-game experience for UW, so now the coaching staff will have to go back to the drawing board. They have a few younger options who are definitely talented, but the pressure will be on them in the fall to get ready to hold their own in the trenches. The other big question mark is at cornerback, where the Badgers need to find two new starters (and a reserve option or two) from a group of talented underclassmen. With the exception of sophomore Dontye Carriere-Williams, Wisconsin's cornerbacks have yet to see much game action for UW -- but it's a confident and athletically talented group. They seemed confident that they will be able to surprise people this fall -- but opposing offenses are still going to try and pick on Wisconsin's cornerbacks until they prove themselves. It all adds up to a group that I think can be a good defense again, but I doubt that they will match the statistical success of last season's group. I have thought that about previous UW defenses and been proven wrong in the past, but this is a new level of personnel turnover for the Badgers to sort out.
3. The nonconference schedule of Western Kentucky, New Mexico and BYU isn't daunting. Could that haunt the Badgers when it comes time for the College Football Playoff selection committee to pick its four teams?
I would say there's a good chance that Wisconsin's nonconference schedule could come back to bite them, but part of that depends on how (or if) BYU bounces back from last year's step backward. Losing the Cougars as a top-tier nonconference game is a bit of a bad break for UW -- they scheduled that series back when BYU was chugging along at around nine or 10 wins a season, but the Cougars looked toothless in 2017 when the Badgers played them in Provo. The one upside for Wisconsin this year compared with last year is that their Big Ten schedule has a little more to point to. They draw both Michigan and Penn State from the Big Ten East (with both games on the road) and their other three road games (Iowa, Northwestern and Purdue) look to me like the teams they will need to beat to secure another Big Ten West title in 2018. I'm sure the Badgers would prefer to have some of those games at home this year, but if they can take care of business they could make the case that their path was a little bit more difficult.
4. Wisconsin will beat the Gophers and keep Paul Bunyan's Axe for a 15th straight year if …
… I think if Wisconsin's offense stays healthy and gets into a groove, they should be able to take care of business again against Minnesota. If Wisconsin's offense achieves the balance program watchers expect (a healthy dose of running back Jonathan Taylor and efficient passing from Alex Horinbrook to a deeper group of receivers) it should make up for the defense taking a bit of a step back -- and by the time week 12 rolls around Wisconsin's new starters will be a little more battle-tested. And unless Minnesota's offense (specifically the passing game) takes a big step forward in 2018, it seems like it would be hard for them to move the ball -- even against a Wisconsin defense that might be "good" if not "great."
