Wisconsin finally got a cleaner look at its offensive line on Saturday, and the timing could hardly be better.
The Badgers moved to 6-3 with a 31-10 win over Rutgers, a result that made them bowl eligible after missing out on the postseason the past two years. Freshman quarterback Ryan Hopkins got his first career start and handled it well, completing 18 of 24 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. For one afternoon, the offense looked more settled.
That doesn’t mean the line issue is solved.
With Maryland, Purdue and Minnesota still on the schedule, Wisconsin is still trying to figure out whether it has found a five-man combination that can hold up for the stretch run. Injuries and uneven play have kept head coach Luke Fickell and his staff in constant shuffle mode all season, and the Rutgers game was just the latest version of the group.
The Badgers opened the year with PJ Wilkins at left tackle. Kevin Heywood began at right tackle, shifted to left tackle, and is now done for the season after another knee surgery. Emerson Mandell then stepped in at right tackle.
Austin Kawecki’s hand injury added another wrinkle. Stylz Blackmon moved to center, and Wisconsin kept searching for the right fit at right guard.
Against Rutgers, the starting five was Wilkins at left tackle, Colin Cubberly at left guard, Blackmon at center, Kawecki at right guard and Mandell at right tackle. After Heywood’s season-ending injury against Iowa, Wilkins was back in the lineup at left tackle.
Mandell was the lone Wisconsin lineman to play all 58 snaps against the Scarlet Knights. Wilkins logged 40 snaps, while Lucas Simmons-Johansson handled the other 18 at left tackle. Blackmon, Cubberly and Kawecki each played 54 snaps.
There were encouraging signs. Wisconsin allowed just four pressures and kept Hopkins clean on more than 82% of his drop-backs. For a freshman making his first start, that kind of protection mattered.
The passing game benefited from it. Hopkins looked comfortable, and the Badgers were able to move the ball through the air for much of the day.
The run game, though, still has work to do. Wisconsin finished with 122 rushing yards on 29 carries, a 4.2-yard average that falls well short of the standard the program usually expects up front. Eugene Hilton Jr. led the team in rushing with 39 yards on three carries, followed by Abu Sama III with 35, Bryan Jackson II with 32 and Darrion Dupree with 12.
That’s the next piece Wisconsin needs to clean up if it wants to keep supporting Hopkins the right way.
One solid outing is a start, not a conclusion. The Badgers have three more regular-season games to show whether this version of the offensive line can stick: a trip to Maryland this Saturday for a noon Eastern kickoff, then games at Purdue and home against Minnesota.
If the line keeps changing and the ground game never gets going, Fickell will have some hard choices waiting once November ends.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Just Sent Another Big Message On In-State Recruiting
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Greg Gard has made no secret of how much he values Browns fit in the program, pointing to his scoring ability and work ethic as key reasons Wisconsin pursued him so aggressively. For a staff that wants to keep top Wisconsin prospects close to home, landing a consensus four-star guard from Milwaukee is the kind of move that resonates well beyond one recruiting cycle. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces A Road Test That Could Define Luke Fickells Best Start
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Maryland adds a wrinkle with quarterback Malik Washington, whose presence gives the Terrapins a different kind of stress test for Wisconsins defense. For the Badgers, this is the sort of November game that can sharpen the picture of where the program stands under Fickell, and whether a solid start can turn into something more meaningful down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin May Have A First Round Pass Rusher Emerging
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Not everyone is ready to put him in that tier yet, which is part of what makes the buzz around Cheeks interesting. Some evaluators, including Mel Kiper, still have not slotted him onto their big boards, even as CBS Sports Mike Renner has gone so far as to project him as a potential first-rounder for the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 26 overall. For Wisconsin, the bigger question now is whether this is the start of a short-lived surge or the beginning of a much bigger rise. [Read more 🡒]