Wisconsin’s strong defensive streak during its three-game winning streak looks like a total mirage after the loss to Iowa.

Growing pains on offense are somewhat expected, especially on the road against a top defense. But the Badgers have regressed on the defensive side of the football. That’s a problem under an established defensive head coach and coordinator in Mike Tressel.

There’s no bigger storyline over the last three weeks than what’s being done to fix the defense and whether the results are improving.

This bye week and the final stretch of the season should be a sort of pitch for Phil Longo’s offense. The question of whether this is a long-term fit continues to linger after the group’s recent struggles.

Background: The Badgers currently rank 82nd in the nation in total offense (378.3 yards per game) and 91st in offense (25.1 points per game). Those totals are still lower than the program’s production in 2021 — the final full year of the Paul Chryst era.

Longo’s offense needs to lead Wisconsin to wins in its last three games, including against Nebraska and Minnesota. The next step could decide his future with the program.

Luke Fickell isn’t going anywhere regardless of the final three games of the season. The loss to Iowa and the trajectory to a 6-6 finish raises program-wide questions. Fickell will need to re-evaluate in the offseason and possibly make some drastic changes.

Coaches with 4 to 5 years of runway to set up their programs no longer exist in the era of transfer portals. Fickell was brought in to take the Badgers to the championship level. An overall record of 12-10 without a single victory signed is far from this standard.

Curt Cignetti’s instant success at Indiana will add to this pressure (3-9 in 2023 for a 9-0 start in 2024). Fickell will need to make changes this offseason – the questions are which ones.

Wisconsin finishes with a home game against No. 1 Oregon, at Nebraska and at home against Minnesota. If the Oregon game is a loss, which is reasonable to expect, the team needs to win the final two games.

These two games will be the difference between finishing 5-7 and missing a bowl game – which would be disastrous – and finishing 7-5 with some momentum heading into the playoffs. The Badgers should have no trouble defeating a Nebraska team that has lost three games in a row. The home game against a surging Minnesota team will tell us a lot about where the Wisconsin program currently stands.

College football often depends on how a program responds. That could be due to in-game adversity, hard-fought losses or what Wisconsin suffered Saturday — one of the program’s worst losses in the last decade.

A central part of the Badgers’ outlook for the rest of the season is how the team responds after the loss at Iowa. Is there a tangible turnaround and improvement in play against the arch-rivals, or has the Iowa loss triggered a larger regression?

From our big takeaways from loss to Iowa:

Braedyn Locke completed 15 of 29 passes for 137 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against Iowa. The two interceptions were Locke’s seventh and eighth, respectively, since becoming a starter. He now has nine turnovers in total over this period (six starts).

These turnover problems have cost the team dearly in recent weeks. While there were once questions about whether Locke could play well enough to keep his starting job through 2025, it now seems certain that the Badgers will have a new starter at center.

Wisconsin will almost certainly have a new starting quarterback in 2025, and it’s unlikely it will be true freshman Mabrey Mettauer. Another dip into the transfer portal or a potential return of Tyler Van Dyke seem like the most likely outcomes.

Braedyn Locke leading Wisconsin to three straight Finals victories with high-end play could change that narrative.

Bowl eligibility is important. The extension of the program’s current 22-year streak by the 2024 Badgers is essential.

Here’s how I would sum it up: Reaching the playoffs wouldn’t necessarily mean a turnaround for the program, but a potential turnaround isn’t possible without maintaining bowl eligibility.

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