Wisconsin’s 41-13 loss to No. 4 Notre Dame on Sunday night was rough on the scoreboard, but it also gave a clear look at how the Badgers are sorting out a new offense. With nine new starters on that side of the ball, the snap counts told a pretty clean story about who’s already carving out a role and where the uncertainty still lives.
At quarterback, there was no mystery. Colton Joseph took every one of Wisconsin’s 61 offensive snaps and finished with a PFF grade of 57.1. The Badgers stayed with him for the full game even as Notre Dame pulled away in the second half.
The backfield split was more even than the carry totals might suggest. Abu Sama III led the group with 31 snaps and a 66.2 grade, while Darrion Dupree was right behind him at 25 snaps and a 64.4 grade.
Sama handled the heavier rushing load with 15 carries to Dupree’s four, but Dupree was the one working more on passing downs. Wisconsin clearly trusts his pass protection, and his receiving ability gives the staff a way to keep Sama fresh.
Nate Palmer logged four snaps, and Tyler Jansey got one.
At receiver, Wisconsin’s top group was pretty easy to identify. Chris Brooks Jr. played 47 snaps, Tyrell Henry had 43, and Malachi Coleman followed with 40.
Eugene Hilton Jr., even though he was listed as a starter, was on the field for just 17 snaps, the same total as Shamar Rigby’s 15. That looks like the current top five.
Coleman was the standout, finishing with four catches for 76 yards. Hilton, Brooks, and Henry each added their own production, with Hilton and Brooks catching four and three passes, and Henry also hauling in three.
The target numbers were spread around too. Henry saw seven, Brooks got six, Coleman had five, and Hilton had four.
Grant Stec was the lead tight end and Wisconsin’s top receiving option at the position, playing 42 snaps and posting a 60.9 grade. He caught three passes for 20 yards on three targets.
Emmett Bork handled the bigger sets, and he and Stec took most of the run-blocking work. Bork played 18 snaps and graded at 60.3.
Jacob Harris was on the field for 17 snaps, running a route on more than two-thirds of them, while Ryan Schwendeman’s five snaps were strictly as a blocker.
Up front, the Badgers leaned heavily on three starters. Colin Cubberly, Austin Kawecki, and Kevin Heywood all played every snap.
Cubberly graded out at 66.0, Kawecki at 65.4, and Heywood at 45.1. PJ Wilkins took 53 snaps at right guard, Blake Cherry got 38, Stylz Blackmon had 23, and Lucas Simmons-Johansson chipped in for eight snaps at left tackle.
Right guard was the spot that looked shakier than the rest. Blackmon got the start there, but Cherry ended up handling most of the second-half work. Wilkins also had some rough moments, and the backup battle at that spot didn’t do much to settle things.
Still, the line as a whole held up better than the final score might make it seem. Outside of right guard and a handful of bad snaps, the group wasn’t a disaster.
One of the biggest examples came on Joseph’s interception, when Wilkins was beaten cleanly. According to PFF, Cherry and Heywood each allowed two pressures, while Blackmon, Wilkins, and Cubberly gave up one apiece.
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