Coming off a humiliating 30-0 loss at Iowa, their third such result against the Hawkeyes in three years and their fourth straight loss to Iowa under head coach Luke Fickell, the Badgers have some soul searching to do in November.

Sure, Wisconsin still has a great chance to double its win total from last year in the regular season if it goes 3-1 down the stretch; and with games against lowly Rutgers, Maryland and Purdue before the battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe against Minnesota, the Badgers should be favorites in at least three of those four contests.

But while the record certainly matters as an evaluation of how Fickell's fourth lap around the track went, so does the eye test. And the eye test just failed miserably in Iowa City. An 8-4 final record, which still seems quite attainable, won't mean nearly as much if it also includes a loss to Minnesota.

Here's what I think Wisconsin needs to demonstrate in November to convince us that Fickell still has this program steered in the right direction:

The defense must bounce back from Iowa

After the win over USC in which Mike Tressel and company held Lincoln Riley's offense to the fewest points it's ever scored in his career as a head coach, I was ready to consider the Badgers' defense one of the best in the country.

After the loss to Iowa, in which it allowed embattled quarterback Hank Brown to go 20-for-24 passing with 222 yards and two scores, while letting the Hawkeyes run for 140 yards after holding USC to -17 yards on the ground the week prior, I have no idea what to think.

Wisconsin was physically beaten to a pulp on both sides of the ball in Iowa City, but the defensive collapse was by far more surprising. The Badgers need to get back to playing elite defense, especially against teams at the bottom of the table in the Big Ten. Not that this would make the shockingly lackadaisical defensive performance against Iowa any better, but Wisconsin must prove that was a one-off, simply another chapter in Fickell's mind-boggling incompetence against the Hawkeyes.

Right now, defense is just about the only thing the Badgers can hang their hat on, and that unit is reeling after last week. Wisconsin must re-establish its defensive dominance over the course of the November.

The offense must somehow inspire hope

The Badgers' offense has an identity; the problem is that identity is a horrendous passing game and a rushing offense that leaves a lot to be desired more often than not.

There needs to be some hope for the future, some hope that coordinator Jeff Grimes' scheme can take the next step in Madison.

Starting quarterback Colton Joseph has declined spectacularly. After averaging 278 total yards through the first five games of the season, he's averaging 88 total yards across the last three. He's only turned the ball over once in that span, but he's gone from dynamic with his legs and at least moderately productive with a potential catastrophic play mixed in occasionally to almost silent. He's cut out the catastrophic plays...and seemingly everything else that made him dangerous.

There's several ways this offense could inject hope into the fanbase. The offensive line could finally start to put it together over the last month of the season and find a combination that works. The running game, in turn, could be unlocked, and after being criminally underused through the first eight games, tailback Abu Sama could have a November to remember.

Wisconsin could even effectively put the Colton Joseph era to bed if he continues to struggle to produce and insert true freshman Ryan Hopkins. A promising November from him would have Badgers fans dreaming big all offseason.

Ultimately, Grimes and company must find some way not only to move the ball consistently, but to inspire hope that this is going to work out in the years to come.