Saturday was the last chance for the Wisconsin football team to showcase what it’s accomplished in spring practice with the annual spring game.

After a convincing 35-7 win for Team Gasser over Team Dukan, the Badgers will hit the weight room for one more week before an extended break until fall camp begins in August.

There were plenty of storylines to watch throughout spring practice, and now that the spring game has come and gone, we learned a few things about this Wisconsin team under new head coach Paul Chryst.

A favorite for the backup quarterback is emerging

Joel Stave is the starting quarterback for Wisconsin, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. But behind Stave, there’s no clear-cut favorite for the backup spot. However, after Saturday’s spring game, redshirt junior Bart Houston seems to be the favorite heading into fall camp.

Houston looked confident Saturday, taking over the first-team offense after Stave played one series. Houston went 9-for-16 with 103 yards and a touchdown Saturday and looked to separate himself from his competition. His touchdown came from 20 yards out as he hit Robert Wheelwright in the corner of the end zone. The redshirt junior seems to be rejuvenated with the head coaching change, and he proved that Saturday.

Redshirt freshman D.J. Gillins, who commanded the second-team offense against the first-team defense, played well, but appeared to pull the ball down and run too quickly at times. He did have some nice runs, including a 35-yard scamper, but his passing numbers – 5-for-10, 50 yards – weren’t quite as impressive as Houston.

Gillins showed vast improvement in his second year of spring practices, but for now, it appears as if Houston has a leg up on Gillins for a spot behind Stave.

Wisconsin could have three capable backs

Junior running back Corey Clement has perhaps the most difficult task in all of college football as he takes over for Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon.

And much like quarterback, the backup spot behind Clement is up in the air.

Dare Ogunbowale came into spring practices as the presumed backup, but redshirt freshman Taiwan Deal has made strides and after Saturday’s game, the running backs at Wisconsin appear to be just as deep as ever.

While the second-string back is still undecided, the Badgers seem to have two viable options in Ogunbowale – who rushed 11 times for 89 yards with two touchdowns including a 55-yard run – and Deal, who ran for 76 yards on 15 carries. Deal showed great patience on a few runs, getting the bulk of the carries with the first-team offense, while Ogunbowale stepped his play up, making guys miss before cutting across the field on his 55-yard touchdown run with the first-team offense.

Both should be at about the same level on the depth chart once fall practices begin. Should things continue the way they did Saturday, Wisconsin will have more than enough fire power behind Clement this season. Maybe even without a clear-cut backup.

The offensive line needs to get healthy

Having to replace three starters from last season, the Wisconsin offensive line had some bad luck toward the end of spring practices with injuries. Starting center Dan Voltz and starting right guard Ray Ball both missed Saturday’s game with injuries, forcing some reshuffling along both the first and second-string offensive lines.

Needless to say, the lack of continuity and experience showed, as the Wisconsin defense consistently broke into the backfield, either stopping runners in their tracks, or dropping the quarterback.

The defense recorded 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss in the spring game and forced three fumbles.

Chryst mentioned after the game that the offensive line depth needs to improve, and it will certainly be at the top of the list of things to improve upon in fall practice.

There’s hope at wide receiver

Try not to read too much into Saturday’s spring game. It was, for all intents and purposes, a glorified practice.

But, with that being said, Wisconsin has been looking all spring for a reliable number two wide receiver behind top wideout Alex Erickson. The Badgers made positive strides toward finding him with the emergence of junior Rob Wheelwright.

Wheelwright, who dealt with injuries last season and earlier in spring practice this season, had by far the best day among the wide receivers, hauling in seven passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns. The first touchdown came on a nice back-shoulder throw from Stave from 17 yards out, before Houston hooked up with him for his second score from 20 yards away.

It’s only the spring game, but it’s better that somebody stood out other than the receivers simply falling by the wayside. Wheelwright certainly stood out.

Whether he can continue to and even add on to this performance in fall practice remains to be seen, but it was undoubtedly a step in the right direction.

Sophomore George Rushing also added four catches for 57 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown pass from Austin Kafentzis toward the end of the scrimmage.

It may have been only one game, but there is certainly hope at wide receiver, which has to be encouraging for Stave and the rest of the Badgers’ offense.

The defense will carry the Badgers this season

The Wisconsin defense was all over the place Saturday, especially the first-team defense against the second-team offense. Ten sacks and 15 tackles for loss speak for themselves, showing just how efficient the top defense was in getting into the backfield and causing disruption.

The linebackers (see above) looked great, while the revamped, athletic defensive line caused havoc in the trenches. Defensive lineman Chikwe Obasih tied for the team-high with 2.5 tackles for loss and had a team-high 2.5 sacks. Alec James also added half a sack and half a tackle for loss opposite Obasih on the defensive line.

In the secondary – Wisconsin’s most experienced group – Sojourn Shelton, Darius Hilary, Michael Caputo and newly-converted safety Tanner McEvoy held their own, showing no real signs of weakness Saturday.

With questions at wide receiver on offense, and the offensive line struggling, the Wisconsin defense will likely have to carry the Badgers throughout the season, especially if the offense were to fall flat. The defense last season was one of the best in the Big Ten, and it appears to be trending that way once again for this upcoming season.

Inside linebackers are ready to roll

Wisconsin has to replace two of its top tacklers and defensive players overall from last season in Marcus Trotter and Derek Landisch.

T.J. Edwards and junior Leon Jacobs will be Trotter’s and Landisch’s replacements, and those two, like the rest of the defense, dominated on Saturday.

Edwards and Jacobs combined for 17 total tackles including 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Jacobs also had one of the defense’s nine pass break-ups and his 2.5 tackles for loss were tied for the most on the team.

Along with Vince Biegel and Joe Schobert on the outside, the Wisconsin linebacker unit should be just fine come the start of the season.