Wisconsin’s 24-7 win over USC produced a defense-heavy Hot 11, and the biggest headline belonged to Sebastian Cheeks. The fifth-year senior came away with a career-best 2.5 sacks, finishing with five total stops and a team-high six QB pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. His 80.5 PFF grade ranked second on the team, and he did it across 62 snaps.
The top overall grade on either side of the ball went to Matthew Jung, who turned in one of his cleanest games as a Badger. The fifth-year safety posted six tackles and three pass breakups, both notable marks for him at Wisconsin, while also earning the top eye-ball grade in the game.
Cairo Skanes was right behind that duo. The safety logged 65 snaps and earned a 74.9 PFF grade, good for fourth on the team, while also adding four tackles. Junior Poyser also made his presence felt on the interior, grading out at 74.0 in 27 snaps.
There was more production from the second level, too. Mason Posa put together another strong outing with five tackles and 1.5 sacks across 76 snaps. The sophomore inside linebacker has now recorded a sack in four of the last five games.
Cooper Catalano quietly stuffed the stat sheet as well. The sophomore inside linebacker posted a game-high 10 tackles and continues to pace Wisconsin with 60 tackles through seven contests. He logged 76 snaps in the victory.
Wisconsin also got meaningful work from Barrett Nelson on the right side, where the guard earned a 72.1 PFF grade over 53 snaps. Bryan Jackson and Chris Brooks Jr. chipped in on offense, with Brooks Jr. hauling in a 16-yard touchdown catch in the second half. That score was his third of the season, tying him with Jacob Harris for the team lead.
Javan Robinson, Lance Mason and the rest of the list rounded out a performance defined by Wisconsin’s defense keeping USC under wraps while a few key offensive snaps provided just enough support.
In Other News...
Mike Tressel Picked The Perfect Weekend To Make Wisconsin Fans Notice
Mike Tressel got a bit of national recognition this week after CBS Sports named him defensive coordinator of the week for the way Wisconsin handled USC. It was the kind of performance that tends to get noticed around Madison, especially when the Badgers are trying to show their defense can still set the tone in a game against a marquee opponent.
Around the same time, two former Wisconsin defensive coordinators, Dave Doeren at NC State and Dave Aranda at Baylor, were fired from their head coaching jobs. Both have had mixed results in recent years and remain under contract with their schools, which only adds another layer to a complicated coaching tree that Wisconsin fans know well. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Got Hit With An AP Poll Slide Fans Will Hate
The latest AP Poll shakeup had plenty of fans grumbling, and Wisconsin was part of the conversation as voters sorted through a messy weekend of close losses and narrow escapes across college football. The Badgers were mentioned alongside teams like Washington State, Texas Tech and Tennessee as examples of how inconsistent the rankings can feel when a teams performance on the field does not always match the size of the drop it takes in the poll.
For Wisconsin, the frustration is less about one specific slide and more about the broader message the rankings sent. Competitive losses and quality wins can look very different to voters depending on the week, and the Badgers found themselves in the same debate over fairness, perception and how much stock the AP is really putting into what teams actually do on Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Just Made A Statement USC Fans Wont Forget
Camp Randall had the kind of night Wisconsin has been chasing for years, with the Badgers flattening No. 15 USC 24-7 behind a defense that controlled the game from start to finish. The win pushed Wisconsin to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play, and it also sent the Badgers back into the AP Top 25 for the first time in more than three years, a reminder that this team is starting to look like a factor again.
The numbers tell the story even before the final score does. USC managed just seven points, the fewest ever by a Lincoln Riley-coached team, and the Trojans finished with minus-17 rushing yards in one of those old-school Big Ten outings Wisconsin seems to specialize in when it gets rolling. For a program trying to reestablish itself on the national stage, this was the kind of statement win that resonates well beyond one Saturday night. [Read more 🡒]