The Alabama Crimson Tide certainly didn’t go with a cupcake when scheduling its 2015 season opener, instead facing No. 20 Wisconsin on a neutral field when the season begins Saturday for both teams.

While a lot of the focus on Alabama seems to be related to the offense and just who will start at quarterback, the Tide faces a challenge on defense facing a Badgers offense that scored 34.6 points per game last season.

There’s a bit of uncertainty surrounding Wisconsin with Paul Chryst becoming the Badgers third head coach since 2012 and just four starters returning on offense. But one of them is senior quarterback Joel Stave and Wisconsin always seems to find running backs and big offensive lineman capable of getting the job done.

Here are three ways the Badgers offense might hurt the Crimson Tide:

1. Pounding with the running game

This seems obvious. Wisconsin rushed for 320 yards per game last year, third-best in the nation. A punishing ground attack has been a huge part of the program’s identity for decades. Wisconsin won’t have Melvin Gordon, who rushed for 2,587 yards last season, but Corey Clement seems more than capable of picking up the slack.

Clement carried 147 times for 949 yards last year, but he’s by far the most experienced back returning. Left tackle Tyler Marz and center Dan Voltz are the only returning starters on the offensive line, which will be inexperienced going against a Crimson Tide defense with Jarran Reed, A’Shawn Robinson and Jonathan Allen all returning up front.

But the Badgers might make up for their lack of experience with great size. Wisconsin could average more than 315 pounds across the offensive line with plenty of power to create holes for Clement.

Wisconsin’s running game against Alabama’s defensive line is one of the most intriguing opening-weekend position matchups in college football.

2. Steady quarterback play

These aren’t the days with Russell Wilson leading the way for the Badgers, but Stave returns a seasoned veteran who has found a way to win more often than not. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, Stave is a big, steady presence in the pocket after earning significant playing time since he was a freshman.

He didn’t have his best season last year as a junior, completing just 53.4 percent of his passes for 1,350 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. But if he can get back to his 2013 production, the Badgers could be in business. He threw for 2,494 yards while completing nearly 62 percent of his passes as a sophomore and had 22 touchdowns to just 13 interceptions that season.

In the last two seasons, when Stave has played well the Badgers have almost always won, but he’s been terrible in almost every Badgers loss. Wisconsin won’t ask the senior to throw for 300 yards and carry the Badgers to victory, but if he can complete about 60 percent of his passes and limit turnovers Wisconsin’s odds of pulling off an upset increase dramatically.

3. Chryst is back in charge

Chryst was brought back to Madison for a reason. Few people understand what Badgers football is all about as well as the Wisconsin native who was the offensive coordinator there from 2005 to 2011 before becoming the head coach at Pitt.

The Badgers became one of the Big Ten’s best offensive programs under Chryst’s direction as a coordinator. Wisconsin set a school record in 2005, averaging 34.3 points per game, and scored more than 40 points five times. By the time he left for Pitt, the Badgers running game was a well-oiled machine and Wisconsin was coming off back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances.

There won’t be an adjustment period for this new coach, Chryst and his team should be on the same page the moment the game kicks off. He knows how to play Wisconsin football and after a relatively tumultuous period for what has been a remarkably consistent program, the Badgers players should respond to a coach who understands them and wants to be there.