When No. 3 Alabama opens up its season Saturday against No. 20 Wisconsin, the Badgers won’t have super running back Melvin Gordon who was a Heisman Trophy finalist a year and carried the Wisconsin offense.

But that doesn’t mean the Badgers are necessarily lacking talent in Paul Chryst’s first season back in Madison as head coach. It will be interesting to see which players are able to step up and try to keep Wisconsin among the top programs in the Big Ten.

Of course Wisconsin has provided a steady stream of players to the NFL in recent years and seems to always find new talent to take their place. So here’s a list of five Badgers you need to know as Wisconsin tries to knock off the Crimson Tide in Arlington, Texas.

1.RB Corey Clement: It might be unfair to even begin to compare another running back with Gordon after he rushed for 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns last year, but Clement is going to get his opportunity to shine now with Gordon gone. Even playing behind the superstar last season, Clement was able to gain 949 rushing yards with nine touchdowns and averaged a salty 6.5 yards per carry. Every other back on the roster is unproven, which means Clement is nearly certain to get a lot of carries and if he runs hard and takes care of the ball, perhaps the Badgers have a shot.

2. LT Tyler Marz: The running backs get the credit and the glory, particularly at Wisconsin, but this Badgers offense wouldn’t go without a tremendous line. This year Marz is the clear leader of the group. A huge presence up front at 6-foot-7, 325 pounds, Marz is a potential All-Big Ten player who has started 27 games. He faces a big challenge going against an Alabama defensive line full of NFL talent, and how he handles it could determine whether or not the Badgers can hang with the Tide.

3. S Michael Caputo: No matter who winds up getting the start at quarterback for Alabama, he’ll have to be aware of the senior Caputo roaming the secondary. The hard-hitting safety was a second-team All-American last year and is on the watch list for just about every award a defensive back could earn. He’s solid in coverage, but also able to disrupt an offense by blitzing or coming up to stop the run.

4. C Dan Voltz: A junior who might just be in the NFL this time next year, Voltz joins Marz as the two veterans on the offensive line. Just about everything written about Marz also goes for Volz, but the 6-foot-3, 301-pounder had to deal with some injuries during spring practice. Most indications are he’s totally healthy now, but it’s worth keeping an eye on how he’s moving early in the game as the the battle up front figures to be crucial in this one. Both teams’ offensive lines return talented players at left tackle and center, but are breaking in new starters elsewhere.

5. QB Joel Stave: Stave probably won’t make many lists of the five best Wisconsin players, but the senior quarterback is certainly one to watch. The Badgers don’t need Stave to be Russell Wilson, but they need him to be better than last year. After a sophomore season when he threw for 2,494 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, his production was cut roughly in half as a junior, throwing for 1,350 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. That’s one thing when you have an unstoppable Gordon in your backfield, but this year the Badgers need at least the threat of being able to move it through the air and would like to see more touchdowns than picks.

OTHERS TO WATCH: LB Joe Schobert, TE Troy Fumagalli, LB Vince Biegel, CB Darius Hillary.