Wisconsin’s offense has moved in the right direction this fall, but the ground game is still waiting to catch up.
The Badgers have made real gains in several key areas. They’ve climbed from 12.8 points per game to 24.4, from 136.4 passing yards per game to 186.7, and from 253.1 total yards per game to 323.2. That’s not a finished product by any means - most of those numbers still sit in the bottom third nationally - but it’s a clear step forward after an ugly start to the season.
The run game, though, has barely budged. Wisconsin averaged 116.7 rushing yards per game last season and is up only to 136.6 this year. That’s a modest jump, especially for a team that brought in three transfer running backs, hired Eric Mateos as a new offensive line coach and, until recently, had a mobile quarterback in Colton Joseph who added another layer to the ground attack.
With three games left in 2026, a full-scale turnaround on the ground is probably too much to ask. But the schedule does offer a chance for Wisconsin to make some headway against Rutgers and Maryland, two defenses that should give the Badgers room to work.
Luke Fickell was asked Monday how that progress can happen, and his answer centered on one thing: consistency.
“There’s gotta be some more consistency. The backs have to have the ball in their hand a little more, we have to find ways.
Sometimes it's harder when you’re playing multiple guys back there, you don’t give a guy a chance to get a little bit hot. That’s always been an issue for me," he said.
"I think we’ve had some injuries back there that’s put us in a position where, ‘hey, Abu (Sama)’s not super healthy, so we can’t overuse him so let's roll the backs through there.’ And I think sometimes that puts us in a position where nobody has a chance to get hot.”
That’s been the story of Wisconsin’s backfield. Abu Sama, the most experienced and productive runner in the room and one of the program’s biggest transfer additions this winter, is averaging 9.4 carries per game.
But the weekly workload has bounced around. He had six carries at UCLA, then 17 the next week against USC, then dropped back to six the following game against Iowa.
The rotation has been just as uneven behind him. Sama has missed two games because of injuries, but Darrion Dupree has actually played the most snaps in the running back room with 106, compared with 89 for Sama.
Bryan Jackson, the power back and de-facto RB3, has 58 snaps. Against Rutgers last week, Sama had nine carries, Jackson five and Dupree four.
Fickell said he’s pushing for a tighter approach.
“I’ve kinda challenged them, I said look, I’m not saying you go to a one-back system, where only one guy is in there, I’m not even saying go to a two-back system. But I think it’s much more difficult to think you’re gonna go with more than two guys.
If you need a third guy, then he’s there,” Fickell continued. “I think we gotta hone in and give some of these guys a greater opportunity to get on a little bit of a roll.”
The committee approach has been hard to ignore, and Wisconsin still has issues beyond the backfield. The run blocking can be better, and without Joseph’s legs, the math changes on some option looks. Even so, the Badgers need to settle on a lead runner and let him carry the offense over the final three games.
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Luke Fickell Just Put Wisconsins Biggest Offensive Frustration On Blast
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That frustration has been hanging over the offense for a while, especially with the running game failing to live up to expectations. For Wisconsin, the issue is bigger than one game or one quarterback change, because the staff still has to figure out how to build a rushing attack that can actually carry the offense forward. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Defensive Rotation Took A Notable Turn Against Rutgers
Wisconsins defense looked more like the version the Badgers have been chasing all fall in the Week 10 win over Rutgers, and the snap counts tell part of the story. The unit was far more disruptive, finishing with eight tackles-for-loss and five sacks while holding Rutgers to 161 passing yards and just 2.6 yards per carry, a strong outing that came with some noticeable shuffling in how the front and linebacker groups were deployed.
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Wisconsin Just Got The Reset Fans Needed And Now One Debate Starts
A much-needed reset finally arrived for Wisconsin on Saturday, and it came with the kind of complete performance the Badgers had been searching for. The 31-10 win over Rutgers not only pushed Wisconsin to 6-2, it also secured bowl eligibility for the first time in three years, a milestone that had been hanging over the program as the season unfolded.
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 🡒]