Wisconsin’s 31-3 rout of Michigan State gave the Badgers exactly what they needed before a week off: another clean step forward after the dramatic road win at then-No. 13 Penn State. Now sitting at 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play, Wisconsin heads into its lone bye with a trip to UCLA looming on the other side.
The box score told one story, but the Pro Football Focus grades added some texture to how the blowout unfolded. Wisconsin got solid work in the trenches, some real disruption on defense, and enough efficient play from Colton Joseph to keep the Spartans from ever getting comfortable.
At center, backup Ryan Cory filled in for starter Austin Kawecki and held up admirably overall, though the pass protection numbers showed the bumps. His 18.2 pass-blocking grade matched what the eye test suggested, with a few rough reps in protection.
Up front, Wisconsin allowed five pressures in all, with each starting offensive lineman - Heywood, Cubberly, Blackmon and Mandell - giving up one apiece. Cory was also tagged for one.
Joseph’s day was cleaner than it had been at times earlier in the season. He finished a game without a single “turnover-worthy play” and also logged two “big-time throws.”
He went 5-of-7 on medium and deep throws, and Wisconsin’s offense kept chipping away even when the Spartans tried to tighten things up. On the ground, the Badgers piled up 228 rushing yards, with 71 coming after contact.
The skill players around Joseph also showed up in the grades. Tight end Jacob Harris posted one of the strongest marks on the team with an 87.7 pass-play grade.
Ryan Schwendeman, who took the most snaps in Nate Letton’s room Saturday afternoon, earned an 84.9 run-blocking grade. Running back Darrion Dupree added an 88.0 pass-blocking grade, a strong number for a back who helped steady the offense in protection.
Wisconsin also made Michigan State work for every yard after the catch. The Badgers forced eight missed tackles overall, with Joseph and Dupree each responsible for three. Eugene Hilton Jr. and Tyrell Henry added one apiece.
Defensively, the Badgers’ front and edge players were all over the Spartans. Sebastian Cheeks put together a monster day with nine pressures, giving him 27 for the season and the NCAA lead. Tyreese Fearbry added four pressures of his own, and Wisconsin finished with 24 pressures on 38 Michigan State drop-backs, a 63 percent pressure rate.
Posa was especially strong against the run, earning a 90 run-defense grade and an 86.7 tackling grade. Cooper Catalano matched that kind of impact, posting an 86.7 run-defense grade and an 85.1 tackling grade. Posa also piled up 10 “stops,” the kind of plays that count as a failure for the offense.
There were a few blemishes. Justus Boone had the lowest defensive grade on the team, with a 26.9 tackling score.
Wisconsin missed seven tackles overall, and Boone was charged with two of them. In the secondary, Javan Robinson continued to hold his own, allowing four catches on seven targets.
Even with those minor issues, the grades painted a clear picture of a team that handled business. Seventeen Wisconsin defenders finished with an overall grade of 65 or better, a strong showing in a game the Badgers controlled from start to finish.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Just Won Again And The Poll Still Sent A Message
Wisconsin kept rolling with a 31-3 win over Michigan State, making it four straight for a team that has started to look more settled on both sides of the ball. Even so, the AP poll did not reward the Badgers with a spot in the Top 25, as they slid from the highest-ranked team in the receiving-votes group to No. 3 there instead.
The message from the voters was plain enough: the leap back into the rankings is still waiting, even after a lopsided conference win. Wisconsin gets a Week 6 bye to sort things out, then returns to face a ranked UCLA team in what should be a useful measuring-stick game for where the Badgers really stand. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Big Ten Rise Suddenly Feels Real Under Luke Fickell
The Big Ten picture has started to look a lot different lately, and Wisconsin is a big reason why. In a league where the weekly rankings are being driven by recent results instead of preseason reputation, the Badgers have been part of the conversation as the race tightens around them. With Indiana at No. 1 and Ohio State still right there, the standings are being shaped by momentum as much as pedigree, which makes every recent win and loss feel bigger than usual.
For Luke Fickell, that shift matters because it gives Wisconsin a clearer sense of where it stands in a conference that has been anything but static. The Badgers are no longer just trying to keep pace with expectations from the outside. They are trying to turn this stretch into something more lasting, even as the leagues next round of games threatens to reshuffle the order again. [Read more 🡒]
Colton Joseph Just Changed The Feel Of Wisconsins Offense
Colton Josephs breakout against Michigan State gave Wisconsin a much-needed jolt and, maybe more importantly, a different look on offense. The Badgers got production through the air and on the ground from their quarterback, and Josephs 145 passing yards paired with 141 rushing yards made the attack feel more balanced and far less predictable than it had earlier in the season. His day also brought hardware, as he was named co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, the first Wisconsin player to claim that honor since 2021.
For Wisconsin, the bigger significance may be what Josephs performance suggests about where this offense can go next. His rushing total and touchdown run set notable program marks for a Badgers quarterback, giving the coaching staff a reminder that the position can be a real rushing threat, not just a pocket-based operation. After a showing like that, the question around the program shifts from whether the offense can change its feel to how much of that new identity can stick. [Read more 🡒]