Wisconsin’s running back room is starting to take shape, and through two weeks the pecking order is pretty clear.
The Badgers have leaned into what they do best: the run game. With three backs showing they can help right away, Luke Fickell has options that this offense has been missing. If the offensive line does its part and Wisconsin can stay in position to keep handing it off, Abu Sama III, Darrion Dupree and Bryan Jackson II have already shown enough to matter.
Nate Palmer sits fourth for now, even if he’s technically part of the top four. The TCU transfer brought over 41 carries for 164 yards across two seasons, and he has one carry for two yards in 2026. That makes him the name to watch if Wisconsin decides to expand the rotation.
Jackson has made the biggest early push among the others. He didn’t get a carry in Week 1, but he was much more involved against Western Illinois, finishing with 40 yards on 10 carries. There’s obvious upside there if Fickell and company keep feeding him.
Dupree gets the edge at No. 2, and the reason is simple: he scored against the Leathernecks. The junior is the only returnee in the room, which gives him a built-in advantage, but Sama still looks like the back driving the whole operation.
And Sama has earned that spot in a hurry. Wisconsin has only 300 rushing yards as a team, and 156 of them belong to him.
That number looks even more impressive until you dig into the split: his first three carries against Western Illinois pushed him past 100 yards, which means he has 56 yards on his other 20 attempts, a 2.8-yard average. Even so, he’s clearly the top option right now, and his 72-yard touchdown on the first play of the game in Week 2 showed exactly why.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Fans Have A New Abu Sama Question After Week 3
Wisconsin got through its game against Eastern Michigan without Abu Sama, and that alone was enough to raise a fresh question for Badgers fans who were already watching the backfield closely. Sama had been cleared to play, but the coaching staff ultimately made a game-time call to keep him out, leaving Wisconsin to piece together its ground attack without the tailback it had been counting on.
The result only sharpened the curiosity. Quarterback Colton Joseph ended up leading the team in rushing yards, while the tailbacks combined for modest production, the kind of output that makes any absence look bigger in hindsight. Luke Fickell said the decision came down to Samas readiness and the conditions on game day, but with the running game still searching for traction, the bigger issue now is when Wisconsin will decide the back is ready for real. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Fans May View Penn State Very Differently After This Line
Wisconsin heads into Beaver Stadium this week as a three-field-goal underdog, a number that may surprise anyone who has been following Penn States recent run. The No. 14 Nittany Lions have been rolling past lesser opponents, but the line suggests oddsmakers see a game that is closer than the reputation would indicate, especially with a new coach in Matt Campbell changing the feel around the program.
Penn State still has plenty of talent, but it no longer carries quite the same overpowering aura it has had in past seasons, and that opens the door for Wisconsin to view this trip as more than just another tough road test. For Badgers fans, the takeaway is simple enough: the matchup looks more competitive than expected, even if the challenge of winning in State College remains very real. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Finally Showed The Edge Badger Fans Have Been Demanding
Trailing 7-0 early against Eastern Michigan, Wisconsin needed more than a routine bounce-back, and for a while it looked like the kind of game Badger fans had been waiting to see. The offense answered by scoring on its next seven drives, and the tone around the program shifted quickly as the team played with the more aggressive mentality offensive line coach Eric Mateos had been pushing.
The finish only added to the sense that this was a different Wisconsin performance, with the Badgers eventually pulling away in a 54-10 win and closing it out with a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. After a rough showing the week before, Luke Fickells team gave its fan base something cleaner and more convincing to hold onto, even if the bigger test of whether this edge lasts is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]