In a game that started messily and then turned one-sided in a hurry, Wisconsin powered past Eastern Michigan 54-10 in the rain in Madison, with Colton Joseph and Tyrell Henry both putting their names in the record book.
Joseph broke the school single-half passing yards mark with 302 and finished with 362, while Henry set the single-game reception record with 14 catches. Once Wisconsin settled in, the offense didn’t just recover - it detonated.
The early going, though, looked anything but comfortable. Wisconsin opened with a promising drive, as Joseph connected with Henry for 23 yards to quickly move the ball into Eastern Michigan territory. But the possession fizzled when Henry dropped a pass on fourth down that would have kept the drive alive and then some.
Eastern Michigan made the Badgers pay. Noah Kim led the Eagles down the field, and Nick Devereaux hauled in an 18-yard touchdown over Javan Robinson to put the visitors ahead 7-0.
Wisconsin’s next possession went the wrong way too. Joseph tried to escape the pocket and hit Eugene Hilton down the sideline, but he underthrew the sophomore and Rayquan Adkins came away with the interception.
Then the whole tone of the afternoon changed. Wisconsin answered with a field goal to trim the deficit to 7-3, and after that the scoring came fast.
Joseph capped the next drive himself, breaking loose for a four-yard touchdown run after throwing for 50 yards on the possession. One snap later, he hit Chris Brooks deep for a 75-yard touchdown.
The defense started getting in on the act after that. Mason Posa delivered Wisconsin’s first takeaway of the season, dropping into coverage and picking off Kim near the sideline to give the offense the ball at the Eastern Michigan 42.
Wisconsin wasted no time. Joseph found Harris for a 32-yard gain on a one-handed grab, and Darrion Dupree finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run.
Up 24-7, the Badgers forced another turnover when Matt Jung made a contested interception while locked up with an Eastern Michigan receiver. That set up another short field, and after an Eagles penalty, Joseph found Henry for a toe-drag touchdown from 13 yards out to make it 31-7 before halftime.
The second half brought more of the same. On the opening possession, Sebastian Cheeks sacked Kim and forced a fumble, and Cooper Catalano recovered it and scored to push the lead to 38-7.
With the weather briefly easing, Wisconsin added one more touchdown drive, finished by Emmett Bork on a 7-yard pass from Joseph. That was Joseph’s third touchdown through the air.
The day ended with one final punch. With two seconds left, Eastern Michigan lined up for a field goal attempt, but Eric Fletcher blocked the kick and Donovan Dunmore scooped it up and took it in at the buzzer.
Wisconsin got the kind of performance it needed against an overmatched opponent, and now the schedule gets serious. The Badgers head to Happy Valley to face Penn State next Saturday.
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 Fans Just Got Another Reason To Debate The Quarterback Choice
Billy Edwards Jr. and Colton Joseph gave Wisconsin fans plenty to chew on after a recent game, with the two quarterbacks producing very different nights. Edwards finished 13 of 30 for one touchdown and one interception, and his late pick helped seal North Carolina's loss to Clemson, while Joseph was much sharper in Wisconsin's own attack, going 23 of 33 with three touchdown passes and 46 rushing yards.
For a fan base already willing to debate the position, the contrast was hard to miss. Joseph kept the Badgers moving with multiple touchdown drives, while Edwards' uneven showing added more fuel to the conversation about consistency and decision-making under pressure, the kind of comparison that tends to linger long after the final whistle. [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 🡒]