Wisconsin’s final fall camp practice is set up to be a scrimmage, and that makes practice No. 15 the clearest look yet at all three phases before the team turns to Notre Dame prep. By now, a lot of the camp battles have already started to sort themselves out, but the last day still matters - especially with the way injuries have already shaped this month.
The biggest priority is simple: get out of camp clean.
Wisconsin has already dealt with enough health concerns, and there’s no reason to invite more trouble on the last day. Emerson Mandell still hasn’t been seen, Kevin Heywood has barely been available, and several other players have spent time in and out of team drills. One scrimmage isn’t going to change the bigger picture of camp, so staying healthy matters more than forcing anything.
That’s especially true for a program that has had too much uncertainty around injuries in recent seasons.
Beyond the health watch, the offense is the unit I’m most interested in seeing respond. It has flashed throughout camp, and the big-play potential is there. But it also has turned in stretches that looked flat and disjointed, including Tuesday’s practice in front of fans.
At this point in camp, the defense has seen plenty of what the offense wants to do, so it’s no surprise Mike Tressel’s group has had the upper hand. Still, the scrimmage should give Wisconsin a chance to show something more from the offense. Colton Joseph does not need to engineer a touchdown on every possession, but the unit has to avoid the dead-end drives and find some rhythm.
If Wisconsin can run the ball with Abu Sama, Darrion Dupree and Joseph, that should help Jeff Grimes create more manageable passing situations for Joseph. And if the ground game shows up, that opens the door to testing the defense vertically.
That kind of sustained work would be a welcome sign. The defense has already made a habit of forcing turnovers during camp, but the scrimmage should offer a better look at how Tressel’s group handles game-like situations.
It’s one thing to take the ball away in practice. It’s another to do it while understanding down-and-distance and when to be aggressive.
I’ll be watching closely to see whether the defense keeps that opportunistic edge while playing smarter situational football. The chains will actually matter in the scrimmage, and that changes the evaluation.
Special teams also deserve a closer look. Gavin Lahm has had his ups and downs, and other than him, Wisconsin hasn’t shown much in that phase. Sunday should bring more work for the specialists, with consistency from Lahm and no wasted points sitting near the top of the list.
I’m also hoping to see more from Sean West, especially working with the offense. If the offense can at least string together a first down or two on a drive, that would put West in position to flip the field. That’s the kind of complementary football Wisconsin can lean on.
This team is likely to depend more on its defense than its offense, so the best-case version of Sunday’s scrimmage would be one where West is pinning opponents deep and the defense is forced to defend a long field. If the special teams can help create that kind of setup, Wisconsin may walk away from camp in a good place.
In Other News...
Wisconsin May Have Found A New Strength Up Front
During fall camp, Luke Fickell has sounded increasingly comfortable with one of the most important areas on Wisconsins roster: the interior defensive line. What had looked like a question mark earlier in the offseason now appears to be a unit the Badgers can lean on, thanks to an experienced group built mostly around seniors and fifth-year players.
That kind of maturity matters in a Big Ten season, especially for a front expected to rotate heavily and keep fresh bodies on the field. Fickells confidence in the groups growth suggests Wisconsin believes it may have found a way to make life harder on opposing offenses right where games are often decided, even if the true payoff wont be clear until the season starts to unfold. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces A Few Crucial Week 1 Battles After Fall Camp
Fall camp has closed with Wisconsin still sorting through several key spots on its projected depth chart, and the timing matters with Notre Dame waiting in Week 1. The Badgers have a clearer picture than they did a few weeks ago, but the roster is still being shaped by player health, late camp evaluation and a handful of position battles that were never going to be fully settled before the opener.
Some of the uncertainty is understandable this time of year, especially with injuries affecting availability and giving the staff a little less certainty than it would prefer going into a game of this size. Even so, the final stretch of camp offered enough clues to suggest where Wisconsin feels comfortable and where the decisions are still tight, leaving the Badgers with a few crucial questions to answer before they line up against the Irish. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Deepest Unit Could Define The Badgers This Fall
Wisconsins front seven looks like the kind of group that can shape a season before the first month is even over. The Badgers were already stout against the run last fall, finishing 15th nationally by allowing 105.2 yards per game, and Luke Fickell has plenty of reason to believe that side of the ball can be even tougher this year. Returning pieces are part of the equation, but so are nine transfer additions who give the staff more options than it had a year ago.
What stands out most is the sheer number of bodies available at defensive line and outside linebacker, with roughly ten players in position to help. That kind of depth can make a difference late in games and late in the season, when rotation matters as much as talent. For Wisconsin, the bigger question is not whether the front can play, but how far a deeper, more flexible group can carry the Badgers if it lives up to the early optimism. [Read more 🡒]