2020 took a lot of things away from all of us. But it also gave the Wildcats this moment.

Saturday's Big Ten West showdown against Wisconsin is the biggest regular-season game for Northwestern since the 2013 matchup with Ohio State, according to WildcatReport members. It's certainly the most hyped. Games just don’t get much bigger than this at Ryan Field.

We're halfway through this strange, abbreviated season. The Wildcats are 4-0 and ranked 19th, while Wisconsin is 2-0 and ranked 10th. If the Cats win, they will have the inside track in the race for the Big Ten West and -- as crazy as it sounds -- could push their way into the Top 10 in next week's College Playoff Rankings. Think about that, for a team just four games removed from the end of a 3-9 season.

Wisconsin may have all of those Big Ten title rings, but this has been a remarkably even series over the last 20 years. Since 2000, each team has won seven games. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald is 4-6 against the Badgers, but he's 3-1 against them in Evanston.

This week, we've written about five storylines leading up to the game, had our Q&A with BadgerBlitz and, of course, ran Chappy's game preview. Now it's time for our writers to give their final take on what's going to happen between the white lines at Ryan Field, and which team should start preparing for a trip to Indy for the Big Ten championship game.

Here are our final words.

The take: Northwestern wins if they can reach 21 points, or rush for 100 yards. Since 2014, NU is 3-0 against the Badgers when they top the century-mark on the ground; 0-3 when they don't. Since 2015, they're 37-6 when scoring at least 21 points. Northwestern will be in trouble if they allow Wisconsin to continue to hold the rock for 41 minutes per game. This team seems about as focused as any Wildcat team we've seen in a while, and that includes three 10-win teams this decade. The Cats outlast the Badgers.

The pick: Northwestern 24 Wisconsin 21

The take: Northwestern cannot keep making the mistakes they have been the last three games. If they continue to turn it over, jump offsides and miss tackles, they will get blown out. They have to find a way to run the ball and that seems like it entirely depends on whether Isaiah Bowser is healthy or not. On defense, they have to stop the run and try and make Wisconsin’s young QB beat them. Obviously, Graham Mertz is super-talented, but better to make a freshman throw it all over the field than let the Badgers run it all day. Wisconsin just has to do what they do best, run the ball and hit play-action passes down the field. They also have a dominating defense that always makes plays that they can rely on.

The pick: Wisconsin 24 Northwestern 13

The take: I've been waffling on this one since the Purdue game ended last Saturday. My concern is Northwestern's running game -- or lack thereof. I think the Wildcat defense will contain the Wisconsin ground attack and put the game squarely on the shoulders of the talented but young quarterback Graham Mertz, who may make a couple mistakes under pressure. I think the special teams will do their job and give the Wildcats decent field position in a game in which shorter fields could make the difference. I think Peyton Ramsey will make plays when the Cats need him to. But Northwestern's running game has been anemic these last few weeks. Can they really win a game like this without a steady, downhill running game to move the chains, control the clock and keep that explosive Badger offense off the field? That's the question. But on the flip side, this is going to be a tight game, and if these Cats have been proven anything it’s that they know how to win tight games. Northwestern is battle-tested. Wisconsin isn’t. I’m going with that.

The pick: Northwestern 24 Wisconsin 23