The competition is only going to get tougher for Northwestern this week as it travels to Wisconsin to face one of the hottest teams in the country.

Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald and his staff have their work cut out for them as they try to rebound from a home loss to Michigan State that dropped the team to 1-2. The ‘Cats are prepping this week to contain Badgers star tailback Jonathan Taylor, whom Fitzgerald said on Monday would get his Heisman Trophy vote right now if he had one.

The junior is averaging 7.6 yards per carry and has 10 total touchdowns (7 rushing and 3 receiving) for a Badgers offense that has been very difficult to contain. In a thrashing of Michigan last Saturday, Taylor accumulated over 200 yards and 2 scores on the ground, and it’s just becoming the norm to expect him to put up big numbers running behind a strong offensive line.

Northwestern undoubtedly will have a major test on its hands as it tries to stop some serious bleeding before the leaves even turn.

Can the Wildcats take solace in the fact that they stymied Taylor a bit in a home victory last season? Perhaps. Taylor had just 46 yards on 11 carries and two fumbles after eclipsing the century mark in eight straight games heading into that contest. But the entire Badgers offense struggled that day in Evanston, and the ‘Cats don’t look the same against the run defensively this fall. Odds are that Taylor’s performance will much more resemble the one he had against the ‘Cats in 2017 when he ran for two touchdowns in a 33-24 win in Madison.

“Wisconsin does a really good job of formation variations and scheme variation to attack your front seven so they can make sure they outnumber you at the point of attack,” Fitzgerald told the media on Monday.

“[Paul Chryst] is a phenomenal football coach,” he said. “Their staff does a great job of putting pressure on you formationally. And then when you load the box, they’ve got the talent on the outside to take the shots deep.”

Northwestern’s season is on the brink of slipping away as its tough stretch continues this week. With a season-opening loss at Stanford and a setback at home against Sparty, the Wildcats sit at 1-2 with their lone win against UNLV. After the tough matchup at Wisconsin, Fitz and Co. will travel to Lincoln to face a Nebraska team that has its own showdown this week at home against Ohio State. No matter what happens against the Buckeyes, Scott Frost’s team will pose a very difficult test for the ‘Cats. That’s life in the Big Ten, especially with an improved West division making the slate difficult week in and week out.

Following its second off week of the season, Northwestern will face Ohio State and Iowa back to back in Evanston to conclude a brutal stretch. The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes could arguably be considered the odds-on favorites to meet in Indianapolis for the Big Ten title. A brutal stretch indeed for Northwestern.

Can the wounded ‘Cats compete with a Badgers team that now resembles a College Football Playoff dark horse?

While much better play needs to occur in all phases, it starts with quarterback Hunter Johnson, who completed 15 of 26 passes for just 88 yards with an interception before being pulled in the fourth quarter against Michigan State. Throughout the season, the Clemson transfer has struggled with consistency, though the offense has been fairly bland and conservative. But his accuracy and ball protection have been issues, and he has not looked anything like the player ESPN ranked as the No. 1 pocket passer and No. 21 overall player in the 2017 recruiting class.

“Hunter knows he’s got to be better,” Fitzgerald said on Monday. “He’s the first guy to admit it…I have firm belief that he’s just going to keep getting better.”

Johnson and the entire unit need to turn things around fast, or the program that had its eight-game Big Ten regular-season winning streak snapped last week is going to continue to pile up losses. Remember that heading into the matchup with Sparty, Fitz and Co. had won 15 of 16 regular-season conference games. Can this team recapture that winning pedigree?

“It’s my fault,” Fitzgerald said following the loss to the Spartans. “We’ve got to get it fixed and we’re going to keep working at it.”

Fitzgerald mentioned on Monday that the Wildcats need an attitude adjustment and to learn how to better respond to adversity. He cited some body language that he did not like during the Michigan State loss. As often is the case in major college football, there is not much time to adjust in-season. However, we have seen Fitzgerald-coached teams respond well to early season challenges in the past. Can this group figure things out in time for this weekend’s clash against the Badgers?

This is a critical time for Northwestern as it seeks back-to-back Big Ten West crowns. If it can’t come together as a group, its late October home showdown with Ohio State — looked upon in the offseason as one of the conference’s games of the year — could become an afterthought.