Jacob Harris didn’t arrive at Wisconsin with much buzz, but he’s making sure nobody forgets his name now.
The Bowling Green State transfer tight end followed up his game-winner against Penn State with another eye-opening performance in Week 5, giving the Badgers an early spark against Michigan State with a touchdown grab from Colton Joseph. It was the kind of catch that makes people stop and rewind.
Harris went up for a pass that looked for a split second like it might be picked off by a Michigan State defensive back. Instead, he kept his focus, tracked the ball through the traffic and came down with it as he was falling to the turf. That score opened the game for Wisconsin and added another highlight to what has quickly become a breakout stretch.
At 6-6 and 265 pounds, Harris has become a dependable target for Joseph and offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes. Wisconsin’s return to old-school smash-mouth football, with the run game setting the tone, has also helped create more room in the passing attack, and Joseph has been quick to take advantage.
Harris wasn’t done there. On Wisconsin’s second scoring drive against the Spartans, after running back Darrion Dupree had helped move the offense, Joseph kept the ball, looked downfield and found Harris again. This time, Harris managed to get a foot in for his second touchdown of the day.
The Spartans never had much of a shot on that one, thanks to a sharp call from Grimes and another timely finish from Harris. For Wisconsin fans, it was more proof that the tight end is no fluke.
After first announcing himself in dramatic fashion against Penn State, Harris has now followed it up with another big-time showing at Camp Randall. And with each play, he’s giving Luke Fickell and the Badgers more reason to believe.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Just Won Again And The Poll Still Sent A Message
Wisconsin kept rolling with a 31-3 win over Michigan State, making it four straight for a team that has started to look more settled on both sides of the ball. Even so, the AP poll did not reward the Badgers with a spot in the Top 25, as they slid from the highest-ranked team in the receiving-votes group to No. 3 there instead.
The message from the voters was plain enough: the leap back into the rankings is still waiting, even after a lopsided conference win. Wisconsin gets a Week 6 bye to sort things out, then returns to face a ranked UCLA team in what should be a useful measuring-stick game for where the Badgers really stand. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins PFF Grades Show One Big Reason To Feel Better
After taking care of Penn State on the road, Wisconsin backed it up at home against Michigan State and pushed its record to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play. The latest Pro Football Focus grades offered another layer to the encouraging start, with several Badgers standing out in the kind of areas that tend to travel well in conference play, especially along the line on both sides of the ball.
The numbers pointed to real progress in pass blocking, run defense and pass rushing, the sort of across-the-board work that can make a team harder to play against as the schedule stiffens. Wisconsin still has plenty to prove, but the early return from those grades is hard to miss: this is a group getting better in the trenches, and that usually tells you something about how sustainable a start really is. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Big Ten Rise Suddenly Feels Real Under Luke Fickell
The Big Ten picture has started to look a lot different lately, and Wisconsin is a big reason why. In a league where the weekly rankings are being driven by recent results instead of preseason reputation, the Badgers have been part of the conversation as the race tightens around them. With Indiana at No. 1 and Ohio State still right there, the standings are being shaped by momentum as much as pedigree, which makes every recent win and loss feel bigger than usual.
For Luke Fickell, that shift matters because it gives Wisconsin a clearer sense of where it stands in a conference that has been anything but static. The Badgers are no longer just trying to keep pace with expectations from the outside. They are trying to turn this stretch into something more lasting, even as the leagues next round of games threatens to reshuffle the order again. [Read more 🡒]