Wisconsin’s trip to Pasadena after the bye week turned into a rough reset. The Badgers did manage to slow UCLA’s much-hyped run game, but that was about the only area where they held up. Penalties piled up, the secondary got exposed and the offense spent most of the night sputtering.
Now Wisconsin has to turn right around and prepare for a ranked, loaded USC team in Madison as the season’s defining stretch keeps rolling. The numbers from the Rose Bowl paint a clear picture of how lopsided things got.
Offensively, there just wasn’t much to like. Only one player, Heywood, landed an offensive grade of 70 or better.
Pass protection was especially shaky, with center Stylz Blackmon posting a 29.8 and guard PJ Wilkins checking in at 25.1. Tight end Jacob Harris did post the best individual grade on that side of the ball, earning a 74.7 for run-blocking.
Quarterback Colton Joseph had a night to forget as well. He finished with zero “big time throws” and one turnover-worthy play.
UCLA got after him all game, pressuring him on 11 of his 21 drop-backs and blitzing him on 16 of 21. Wisconsin’s blocking issues showed up in the pressure count, too, as the Badgers were credited with allowing 10 pressures.
Wilkins gave up three, Blackmon allowed two, and several others gave up one apiece.
There were also some ugly individual pass-protection numbers in the backfield. Running back Abu Sama logged a pass-blocking grade of 6.8, which stands out even more considering he was only asked to protect on four snaps.
On defense, Wisconsin had a few bright spots even in defeat. Posa turned in an elite 90.7 run-defense grade, and safety Marvin Burks was one of the biggest playmakers of the night with two interceptions and an 82.6 coverage grade. Five Badgers posted tackling grades of 80 or higher: Posa, linebacker Sebastian Cheeks, nickel Bryce West, safety Cairo Skanes and safety Matt Jung.
Junior Poyser also flashed as a disruptor, generating an 85.0 pass-rush grade thanks to repeated penetration into the backfield. His tackling grade, though, was just 16.2, a stark contrast to the pressure he created.
Wisconsin as a unit recorded 21 pressures on UCLA’s 38 drop-backs. Posa and outside linebacker Nick Clayton led the way with five apiece, Cheeks added three, and inside backer Cooper Catalano along with outside backers Tyreese Fearbry and Justus Boone each had two.
The missed tackles were another problem. Wisconsin was charged with five, and cornerback Jai’mier Scott had two of them. Posa also kept padding his “stop” total, adding six more, while Cheeks had four and Catalano and Jung each had three.
There were a couple more notable coverage lines, too. Cornerback Javan Robinson wasn’t targeted at all, while Scott saw the most action with six targets and gave up just two catches.
In Other News...
Wisconsin O-Line Frustration Just Turned Into A Bigger Badgers Problem
Wisconsins offensive line left the loss to UCLA with more than just the usual postgame disappointment. The frustration was visible, and Kevin Heywood did not hide it afterward, publicly taking aim at a teammates performance while making it clear that most of the unit had done its part. For a group that has long been expected to set the tone for the offense, the disappointment was as much about execution as it was about the way the room looked coming out of the defeat.
The attention now shifts to PJ Wilkins, whose place in the lineup has already been a moving target. He had been benched before returning to the starting five because of injury, and the bigger question for Wisconsin is how coaches handle the mix of accountability and motivation from here. When an offensive line starts airing its frustrations in public, it usually means the concern goes beyond one game, and the Badgers will need to find a way to keep the group aligned before the problem gets any larger. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Just Sent A Message With The Standard Sheffield Wants
Winning on the road against Iowa gave Wisconsin more than another Big Ten result, it offered a glimpse of the identity Kelly Sheffield keeps pushing. The Badgers leaned on their defense to come away with the victory, and the effort from Jaela Auguste, Charlie Fuerbringer and Audrey Flanagan helped set the tone when the match started getting tight. For a team trying to stay sharp deep into conference play, that kind of production matters just as much as the final score.
Sheffield made it clear afterward that the defensive standard was the part worth building on, even as he pointed to areas the Badgers still need to clean up. That balance has become a familiar theme for Wisconsin, which can take confidence from winning in a tough environment while still knowing there is more to sharpen. The performance against Iowa looked like the sort of night the Badgers want to keep stacking, especially if the defense continues to travel with them. [Read more 🡒]
USC Faces Another Road Test As One Key Question Follows This Defense
USC heads into Camp Randall with a little more momentum than it had a few weeks ago, and the defense deserves much of the credit. The No. 16 Trojans just knocked off Penn State 31-23, extending a two-game winning streak and giving Gary Pattersons unit another reason to believe it can travel, at least for one more Saturday night. Now the challenge shifts to a Wisconsin team that is 4-2 and coming off a loss to UCLA, with the Badgers hoping to make life difficult in front of their home crowd.
Oddsmakers have made USC a slight favorite, which says plenty about how tightly this matchup is being viewed despite the Trojans recent surge. The bigger question is whether the improved defense can hold up in a true road test, because Wisconsin has a way of turning games into a grind and forcing opponents to stay sharp snap after snap. For USC, this is the sort of measuring-stick spot that can reveal whether the recent progress is real or just a short-term spike. [Read more 🡒]