Wisconsin’s start against Eastern Michigan looked shaky enough to raise some familiar alarms, but the Badgers blew the game open in a hurry. A 28-point second quarter flipped everything, and by halftime Luke Fickell was calling it “complimentary football, finally.”
That kind of turnaround makes for an easy winners-and-losers exercise, and there was no shortage of candidates after Wisconsin’s 54-10 win. With the Badgers now 2-1 and heading into Big Ten play with a trip to Happy Valley to face Penn State next week, a few players clearly made the most of the afternoon.
No one on offense was more productive than Henry, who went from an early mistake to a record-setting day. He opened with a 23-yard catch on Wisconsin’s first drive, then dropped an easy fourth-down completion on the Badgers’ first offensive series, part of the team’s sluggish opening.
After that, he took over. Henry had nine catches for 118 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone, including a sharp toe-drag score in the end zone.
He finished with a program record 14 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown, giving Wisconsin exactly the kind of playmaking it has been searching for at receiver, especially with Malachi Coleman out against Eastern Michigan and his status still uncertain moving forward.
Harris also gave the Badgers a huge lift and made one of the best catches you’ll ever see from a tight end. In the rain, without receiver gloves, he hauled in a one-handed 32-yard grab on a deep out-breaking route.
The very next play ended in a touchdown run. That was the flashiest moment, but it wasn’t his only one.
Harris also had catch-and-runs of 27 and 30 yards in the first half, and Wisconsin has every reason to keep feeding him. He looks like a player who can stress defenses every time the ball finds him.
Brooks didn’t pile up a ton of volume, but his impact came at the perfect time. His 75-yard touchdown catch on the first play of Wisconsin’s fifth drive helped create separation and jump-started the Badgers’ momentum.
The throw was a bit underthrown, but Brooks adjusted, slipped away from a would-be tackler, and walked into the end zone. For a fifth-year receiver who has stayed with the program through everything, it was a satisfying moment.
On defense, Posa finally got Wisconsin on the board in the turnover column. He dropped into coverage after lining up in the A-gap, read Noah Kim’s eyes, and jumped the throw for an interception.
That play mattered not just because it gave the offense the ball back, but because it ended Wisconsin’s wait for its first turnover of the season. The takeaway seemed to spark more.
Matt Jung picked off a pass on the next drive, and Sebastian Cheeks and Cooper Catalano teamed up for a scoop-and-score on Eastern Michigan’s first series of the third quarter.
Jung’s interception stood out for another reason, too. Some Wisconsin fans had been waiting for a bigger splash from the safety, and the Neenah native delivered one when he high-pointed a pass intended for Joshua Long and came away with the ball right in front of Fickell and the Badgers’ sideline.
Cheeks kept building on his reputation as a disruptive force. Wisconsin wanted more pressure against an Eastern Michigan offensive line that had already shown vulnerability, and while Kim wasn’t constantly under siege, Cheeks delivered another strip-sack, matching what he did against Notre Dame. He also helped speed up several plays with strong jumps off the edge.
Not everyone came out of the day clean. Burks had a quiet game overall, but he showed up on the wrong side of a few plays.
Wisconsin had some avoidable penalties, and Burks was flagged for a face-mask after missing a tackle several plays earlier on what would have been a third-down stop. He isn’t a liability in the secondary, but Saturday included a couple of forgettable moments.
Robinson also landed on the losers side after one rough rep. In a game Wisconsin controlled, a single busted coverage still stood out, and Robinson was beaten by Nick Devereaux on an 18-yard fade to the end zone. The corner lost a step on Eastern Michigan’s play-action and got beat at the catch point, allowing the Eagles to score first.
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 🡒]