There's been a lot of finger-pointing around the Wisconsin football locker room lately.

If you ask any player on the Badgers who is to take credit for the recent explosion of points, all you'll get is a bunch of fingers being pointed at someone else.

Usually coaches hate the blame game, but in this case even they have been taking part in giving the praise to everyone besides themselves.

There has to be someone to blame for the evolution from a team that managed only 14 points against San Diego State into a team that in the past three weeks has steamrolled any team in its path.

UW's last game against Minnesota marked something that has never been done before by a team at Wisconsin. The offensively fire-powered Badgers have produced 141 points in just three games — the largest number of points scored by Wisconsin in three straight games against Big Ten opponents.

This comes from a team for which the media had low preseason expectations and didn't improve its image with a stumbling start to the season. The Badgers have been proving the critics wrong over the past three weeks, exploding on the scene by producing close to 1,500 offensive yards.

Largely to thank for this explosion of points is second-year offensive coordinator Paul Chryst.

"The coaches have been putting a real good game plan in," said sophomore offensive lineman Kraig Urbik. "Coach Chryst has been doing really well managing the offense."

But if you ask Chryst if he's to blame for the Badgers' offensive success, he'll tell you otherwise and point the finger right back to his players.

"There's a lot of guys that we need to be successful, typically and justifiably so," Chryst said. "John [Stocco] is crucial. Andy Crooks is a big part of what we do. P.J. [Hill] and his production has been big, and you don't have that without the tremendous player in Joe Thomas. We got other linemen who are getting better each week. So there's not just one player who is the key.

When it comes to the guys on the other end of Stocco's passes, Chryst is encouraged by the fact that there isn't a true go-to guy from a receiving standpoint.

"Receivers at different moments have made plays," Chryst said. "I think that's what is the beauty of this group right now, that there is not just one guy who is solely responsible for [the success]."

A major key to the success of UW's offense has been the coming together of the passing game. Stocco's top three games in terms of completion percentage have all come in the last three weeks, with Stocco's lowest mark of the period sitting at .632 against Minnesota. The fifth-year quarterback had not exceeded .600 to that point.

"I feel like we've been gelling as a unit. Stocco's been feeling real comfortable with a couple receivers out there, he's going to keep going to them," wide receiver Paul Hubbard said. "Travis Beckum's been making big things happen all the time. He's a big target, and he's always there, and he gets the job done. I feel like the confidence level is up in Stocco and in our receivers, so the passing game has been coming along real well."

Although Hubbard believes the receiving core has converged, he'll tell you that it's not the receivers guilty of the recent triumphs, but rather his quarterback.

"I feel like Stocco has been the key," Hubbard said. "He's hitting his reads, he's hitting his guy even if there's two guys on him, he's been putting it where only the receiver can get it.

"Travis has been coming up with a lot of big plays, same with Luke Swan," Hubbard continued. "They've been making things happen. We need that, and they're going to keep coming with that."

Yet another key to Wisconsin's offensive arsenal in the past few weeks has been the offensive line. The brick wall known as the UW offensive line has allowed only three sacks in the last three games, and has also collaborated as a unit to produce 724 rushing yards in those three contests.

"I think throughout the past few weeks and throughout all of camp, we've been becoming more consistent, gelling more together, and we've also been becoming more of a complete offensive line," Urbik said.

However, when asking Urbik if the offensive line is at fault for the success of the team, he redirected the credit to his teammates.

"I'm real impressed [with the offense]," Urbik said. "P.J. [Hill] is a real hard runner. Beckum [as] a tight end, he can block pretty well, and still be a great receiver. Stocco's been really good; he's been patient with the offense. He's been showing great leadership with the offense."

So who's to blame? Stocco? Hill? Beckum? Thomas? Coach Chryst? None of them seems to know who is at fault. The only fair answer: whoever has the ball in his hands or who is making the right play at the right time.

"One thing feeds off the other," Chryst said. "If you're able to run the football, it opens up the passing game, and if you hit a couple of passes it keeps them off-balance. I think it's all intertwined."

No individual on the team would be willing to take credit for the evolution from a weak and shaky team to a team that continues to find the end zone on a regular basis, but rather claim it as a team effort.

Nevertheless, one thing every Badger player and coach will confess is that there is still work to be done.

"We've had a chance to make some plays, and we've done that. We still have a lot of improvement to make. But we're getting better," Chryst said. "It's one of those things where every guy and every position group can get better, and we're striving to play the perfect game and we haven't done that, so we'll keep working."

"There's a lot of things that we can be proud of that we've done the past few weeks, [but] just because we played well the last few weeks doesn't mean we're guaranteed to play well this week," Stocco added. "It's still about going out to practice and getting better and staying focused, and nobody's going to fall down, so we know we have to keep pushing for it.

"There's still a lot of things we can clean up, that's just our main focus."