Wisconsin's Rose Bowl performance

Wisconsin held UCLA to 17 points and its lowest rushing output all season while winning the turnover battle 2-0.

Badgers' pass defense weakness

Wisconsin allowed UCLA to get into third-and-manageable with an average distance of 6.1 yards on third down.

Ty Dieffenbach's impact

UCLA's backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach threw for 264 yards on 67% completion with 8-of-13 passing for 150 yards on third down.

Wisconsin's secondary strength

Wisconsin's secondary was statistically one of the best in the country, ranking No. 20 in passing yards per game allowed.

Coach Fickell's concerns

Head coach Luke Fickell said Wisconsin needs more variety in defense and awareness of what opponents are attacking.

“We’ve gotta be able to have a little more variety. Give them a lot of credit, they made some plays and made some scheme things that were pretty good on man coverage stuff. We’ve gotta get better at it, we’ve gotta be aware of the things that people are attacking us with”

USC's passing threat

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava has thrown for 2,045 yards, 18 touchdowns and three interceptions on 68% completion.

USC's offensive strength

USC breaks off big chunks of yards through the air with a yards-per-completion of 13.2 ranking No. 16 nationally.

Wisconsin's game strategy

Wisconsin needs to rattle USC's offense and keep the game low-scoring and defensive oriented.

Wisconsin's urgent need

Wisconsin must clean up its pass defense quickly before USC week to avoid questions about its secondary.