Wisco Wednesday

A Tale of Two Halves. The good and the bad. 

The Bad

The Entire 1st Half

14 – 10 at the end of the first half is unacceptable. The team started slow with no energy. Wisconsin had a grand total of 17 rushing yards. Dilin Jones dropped a pass that led to an INT that led to 7 points for Middle Tennessee. Fickell gave up with 1 minute left and went into the locker room with all three 1st half timeouts. 

O-Line shuffle

The week 2 O-Line was shifted drastically compared to week 1. Week 1 starting Left Tackle Davis Heinzen was not good enough. Actually, he was terrible. He allowed 5 pressures and 2 sacks. 

Here’s how they fixed it:
RT Riley Mahlman to LT
RG Emerson Mandell to RT
Freshman Colin Cubberly to RG

This wasn’t that bad. Riley and Emerson were serviceable, and Colin wasn’t great, but he’s a freshman. Better to have a weak right guard than a weak left tackle. 

The real problem was at the center position. A game-time decision injury held out C Jake Renfro. He was replaced by Kerry Kodanko. Kodanko was garbage. He had 0 push in the …

There are some new names and faces in Wisconsin’s QB room. Hopefully this time around they can actually score some points. 

The New Quarterback(s)

The Braedyn Locke era in Madison has finally come to an end. Locke, and every other scholarship QB from last year, have left the program. Luke Fickell was disappointed that Phil Longo’s offense couldn’t function with “average quarterback play.” Well, now there is a new OC, and 4 new QBs in town. So, who did Wisconsin bring in to revamp the room?

Starter – Billy Edwards Jr. – Transfer from Maryland – 5th year Senior

2024 stats: 2,881 yards, 15 pass TDs, 9 INTs, 150 rush yards, 5 rush TDs, 4-6 record
His stats are only over 10 games. He injured his thumb very early in the week 11 matchup vs Iowa and didn’t play in week 12 vs Penn State. 

Essentially, he averaged 280 pass yards, 2 TDs (pass + rush), and 1 INT per game in 2024. He was brought in to be a “high floor” QB who can manage the offense. He is not expected to carry an offense, but is instead there to contribute to a balanced attack.

Backup – Danny

After back-to-back road wins, Bucky is coming home. Is this team ready to compete with the number 3 Nittany Lions? Or will it be another splattering like the Bama game?

Looking Back 

Northwestern – 3
Wisconsin – 23

Three in a row. Wisconsin has stacked 3 dominant wins in 3 consecutive weeks. Albeit the competition was rather poor. But blowing out bad teams is a hallmark of the Wisconsin we’re used to from the last 30 years. 

The offense wasn’t as good as the couple of weeks prior, but the defense was elite, and special teams made some massive plays. Tawee Walker’s dominance continues with 23 carries for 126 yards (5.5 ypc). Overall the run game has grown exponentially since week 1 due to the development of the offense line. 

It’s not a stretch to say all 5 starters on the OL will be playing on Sundays in a couple of years. 

Another week, another vintage Wisconsin defense. In the last 3 games, they’ve given up 1 touchdown. The run D could be better (the D-line is still the biggest weakness on the team), but the secondary is so good they more than make up for it. 

Wisconsin is becoming …

Wisconsin has outscored their opponents 94-13 in the last 2 weeks. Do I give Fickell credit, or are Rutgers and Purdue just that bad?

Looking Back: 

Rutgers – 7
Wisconsin – 42

The Purdue win could’ve been a fluke, but 2 blowout wins in a row is a pattern. 

The most convincing part of this win for me is how similar it was to the Purdue win. Wisconsin might actually have an identity on offense.

Step 1: Run Tawee Walker a lot.
Step 2: Take deep shots to Vinny Anthony II and Trech Kekahuna
Result: 40+ points per game

Wisconsin had 500+ yards of offense against both Purdue and Rutgers. The last time the Badgers did that in back to back weeks was 2010 – A Rose Bowl Season. 

The defense has finally made some of the player substitutions I’ve been begging for. They probably aren’t “elite,