Luke Fickell came out of Wisconsin’s win over Rutgers feeling much better about the offense with Ryan Hopkins at quarterback. He stopped short of saying Hopkins is locked in for good, but the direction sure sounds headed that way. What Fickell made plain, though, is that the Badgers’ rushing attack still isn’t where it needs to be.
“We’ve got to find a way to create some more space,” Fickell said after the Rutgers win. “I don’t know that we did a great job of that because we didn’t run the ball with the tailbacks as good as I would have liked to.”
That frustration makes sense when you look at the numbers. Wisconsin once again had a game where its leading rusher wasn’t a running back. Eugene Hilton Jr. led the way with three carries for 39 yards, while Abu Sama III ran nine times for 35 yards.
Fickell has noticed the same thing fans have been seeing all season: the ground game needs more pop, and the backs need more chances. He said, “I think we still have to make sure we can find a way to get our backs more involved. I mean, we’ve all seen the history of this place, and you can be really successful when your backs are on the ball.”
Against Rutgers, Wisconsin used three running backs. Sama handled nine carries, Bryan Jackson II got five, and Darrion Dupree had four. Together, they produced 79 yards on 18 attempts.
That’s part of the issue right there. It’s not just about blocking or creating lanes - though those matter, too.
The backs simply aren’t getting enough work, and 18 carries for the group isn’t a number that screams commitment to the run. Some of that can be explained by Hopkins playing well and by Rutgers’ pass defense being shaky, but it’s also been a recurring theme this season.
Jeff Grimes’ offense hasn’t consistently gotten the backs rolling, and Jackson was again one of the brighter spots. His five carries went for 32 yards, a 6.4-yard average, with one 13-yard burst in the mix. Most of his gains came in steady chunks rather than one explosive play.
Wisconsin could also use a real running game to complement Hopkins. It would ease some of the burden on the young quarterback and help create more room for the deep ball. Hopkins has shown he can throw it with a kind of zip Wisconsin hasn’t seen since Russell Wilson.
So even in a win, Fickell’s message was clear: the offense can still be better, and the next step is getting the running backs more involved over the final three games of the season.
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Ryan Hopkins first career start gave the day an added layer of intrigue, and the true freshman showed enough promise to make his development a real talking point going forward. The defense did its part too, piling up five sacks and making life miserable for Rutgers on third downs, which leaves Wisconsin with a familiar next question: how much can this win say about the teams ceiling if Hopkins keeps growing and the pass rush stays this disruptive? [Read more 🡒]
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The biggest concern so far has been the half-court execution, where isolation possessions and spot-up looks have not produced consistent scoring. Some players are still settling into the system, and with a tougher stretch of the schedule coming next, Wisconsin will need the offense to catch up quickly if this start is going to mean more than just two early wins. [Read more 🡒]