Wisconsin enters its Week 3 matchup with Eastern Michigan in a familiar spot: not dazzling anyone, not alarming anyone, just sitting at 1-1 after two games that more or less tracked with expectations.
The Badgers opened with a lopsided loss to Notre Dame, then handled Western Illinois without much drama. Now they get another chance to clean things up, with Wisconsin listed as a 24.5-point favorite on DraftKings.
On paper, it looks like the kind of game that can drift by without changing the bigger conversation around the team. In practice, it could still tell us plenty.
One of the main pressure points remains the offense, and specifically the passing game. Wisconsin fans had plenty to say after the Western Illinois game, where the Badgers didn’t exactly steamroll the Leathernecks from start to finish.
That frustration is understandable to a point, but this is not a Wisconsin team that entered the season carrying AP Top 25 expectations or serious conference title buzz. Beating an FCS opponent isn’t the same as delivering a statement performance, and the Badgers didn’t need to look perfect to justify the result.
That said, Eastern Michigan presents another chance for Wisconsin to look cleaner. The Eagles just fell 35-7 to Michigan State in Week 2, and given that the Spartans are supposed to be one of the worst teams in the Big Ten this season, anything less than a 35-7 win is going to set off Badgers fans.
All eyes are also on Wisconsin’s starting quarterback, whose accuracy against Western Illinois left plenty to be desired. Joseph was high, low, and wide far too often, even though he did connect on a few sharp throws.
In the end, he completed 55% of his passes and finished with fewer than 200 yards. Against another smaller opponent, that performance will be under the microscope again.
The standard here isn’t just piling up huge numbers. What Wisconsin needs is cleaner, more timely passing - throws that arrive where they’re supposed to, when they’re supposed to.
Joseph has generally been fine on the mental side of things. He’s been making the right reads and avoiding bad decisions.
The problem is that too many passes have simply sailed on him.
There’s also the matter of the pass rush. Wisconsin didn’t record a sack against Western Illinois, but that wasn’t entirely for lack of effort. Leathernecks quarterback Kennedy McGill did a good job of escaping at the first sign of pressure, and Wisconsin still got into the backfield enough to pressure him on 17 of 28 drop-backs, a rate of 61%.
Even so, the Badgers need more than that. They opened the season with a splash, strip-sacking Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr on the Fighting Irish’s first drive.
Since then, the sacks have dried up. Eastern Michigan has allowed six sacks in three games, and Wisconsin will want Noah Kim on the ground multiple times if it wants to leave Saturday feeling good about where that pass rush stands.
In Other News...
Luke Fickell Just Gave Badgers Fans A Telling Personnel Read
Luke Fickells latest press conference offered a pretty clear snapshot of where Wisconsins roster stands as the Badgers head into the weekend. He touched on several moving parts, from the continued influence of Bradie Ewing around the program to the way a defensive player is growing into his role, while also checking in on the offensive line and the health of Colton Joseph.
For a Wisconsin team trying to keep building momentum, those kinds of updates matter because they hint at where the coaching staff feels strongest and where it is still waiting for answers. Fickells comments suggested progress on multiple fronts, but the real interest now is whether Joseph is ready to be part of the mix and how the other personnel pieces continue to settle in once the Badgers get back on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin's Quarterback Situation Suddenly Feels More Unsettled Than Expected
After two games, the bigger picture around Wisconsin is still blurry, but the quarterback situation has become a little more unsettled than the staff likely expected this early. Colton Joseph has not matched the preseason hope around his spot, completing less than 60 percent of his passes for 390 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception, and Luke Fickell said injury has played a part in holding him back.
The encouraging part for Wisconsin is that other phases have given the team something to lean on. Special teams has stood out with strong punting and field goal work, plus consecutive blocked punts, which has helped steady a group still trying to sort out its offensive identity. Even so, the questions around Josephs health and effectiveness leave the Badgers with a storyline that feels far from settled. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Still Has One Tough Recruiting Battle That Could Define Fickell
Luke Fickell and Wisconsin have made Desert Edge High School a meaningful part of their recruiting footprint, and the results there have already started to show. The Badgers have landed two three-star prospects from the Arizona program for the 2027 class, a sign that the staff has established a real line of communication far from Madison and turned a distant pipeline into something more tangible.
The bigger test is still ahead with five-star edge rusher Jalanie George in the 2028 class, a recruit whose interest gives Wisconsin a chance to keep building inroads in Arizona. The Badgers have some things working in their favor, including his teammates already being committed and improvements around the programs facilities, but the usual hurdles remain, from on-field performance to NIL competition. For Fickell, winning that kind of battle would say as much about the trajectory of the program as any single commitment. [Read more 🡒]