Colton Joseph and Billy Edwards Jr. went in opposite directions this week, and the gap was impossible to miss.
Joseph put together the kind of performance that turns heads: 23 of 33 passing for three touchdowns and one interception, plus 46 rushing yards. After a shaky start that included an early misfire on an underthrown ball, he settled in and took over. Once he shook off the opening mistake, he kept the offense moving and never really let Clemson regain control.
Edwards, meanwhile, had a rough night for North Carolina in a 28-20 loss to Clemson. He finished 13 for 30 with one touchdown and one interception, and that final interception with 40 seconds left all but closed the door on the Tar Heels’ chance to rally. UNC had opportunities to win that game, but Edwards could not deliver when it mattered most.
The problems went well beyond the last throw. Edwards struggled to hit open receivers, sailing passes and missing targets throughout the game. That 13-for-30 line wasn’t a fluke of one bad sequence; it reflected a quarterback who just could not get comfortable.
Joseph’s night looked like the opposite. After Clemson grabbed a 7-0 lead, he responded immediately and then kept stacking successful drives.
The next seven drives ended in touchdowns for Wisconsin. That stretch included the long 75-yard strike to Chris Brooks Jr., but it also featured methodical work, including two touchdown drives that lasted 12 plays apiece.
For Wisconsin, it was the kind of week that made the contrast sting even more. The Badgers got what looks like the right quarterback for their offense in 2026, while Edwards struggled badly in his new spot. And for plenty of Wisconsin fans, that made the whole thing feel like a pretty satisfying turn.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Fans Have A New Abu Sama Question After Week 3
Wisconsins backfield took on a different look in Week 3 against Eastern Michigan, and not in a way the Badgers probably wanted. Abu Sama was cleared to play, but the coaching staff held him out in a game-time decision, leaving the team to piece together its ground game without the star tailback. The result was a rushing effort that never really got untracked, with quarterback Colton Joseph leading the way on the ground and the tailbacks combining for only modest production.
Luke Fickell said the call came down to Samas readiness and the conditions surrounding the game, which only adds to the intrigue around what comes next. For a Wisconsin offense that leans on the run, the question now is less about why Sama sat out on this particular afternoon and more about how the staff plans to handle him moving forward if the Badgers want a more reliable answer in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Finally Got The Response It Needed From Colton Joseph
After a sluggish opening, Wisconsin found its footing in a hurry Saturday and turned a one-sided afternoon into a 54-10 win over Eastern Michigan. The Badgers shook off the slow start by taking control in the second quarter, and the defense helped set the tone with turnovers that swung the game firmly in their favor, including interceptions by Mason Posa and Matt Jung along with a fumble recovery by Cooper Catalano.
For Colton Joseph, it was the kind of response Wisconsin had been waiting to see. After an uneven beginning, the quarterback settled in and finished with 363 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception, giving the offense the spark it needed as the Badgers pulled away. It was not a perfect performance, but it was a steadier one, and for a team looking to build confidence, that mattered just as much as the final score. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Gets One More Chance To Fix What Showed Up Last Week
After last weeks showing, Wisconsin gets a much softer landing spot as it turns to Eastern Michigan, and the Journal Sentinels John Steppe and Mark Stewart are both expecting the Badgers to handle business with room to spare. It is the kind of game that can either steady a team or simply confirm the problems everyone already saw, which is why the gap in talent and the betting market both make this one feel more like a checkpoint than a true test.
The bigger question for Wisconsin is not whether it can win, but what the Badgers look like while doing it. A lopsided result would be the cleanest way to move past the frustration from a week ago and get some traction before the schedule tightens, with Wisconsins 2026 slate already part of the broader picture around the program. For now, though, this matchup offers one more chance to show that last week was an outlier and not a warning sign. [Read more 🡒]