Luke Fickell has already shown he’s willing to make a change at quarterback. Now Wisconsin’s run game is forcing a different kind of conversation: should the Badgers rethink their RB1, too?
The bigger issue, though, may not be the backfield pecking order at all. Wisconsin’s rushing attack simply hasn’t been featured enough to know whether Abu Sama III should be replaced. Fickell has made it clear this week that he wants the ground game to get going and that it needs to be a major part of the plan, but that hasn’t translated into enough carries.
Wisconsin has run the ball 172 times with its running backs, which works out to about 19 attempts per game. Sama has 66 carries, Darrion Dupree has 58, Bryan Jackson has 39, and Nate Palmer has nine.
That number stands out because it’s nowhere near what the top Big Ten rushing teams are doing. UCLA has 279 running back carries, Iowa has 247, USC has 255, and Penn State has 244.
Wisconsin isn’t close to any of them. It’s actually much closer to Washington at 148 attempts, and Washington’s rushing attack is described as putrid.
So yes, there’s clearly a problem with the game plan. Wisconsin is not showing a strong enough commitment to the run. But there’s also a familiar football trap here: is the staff leaning away from the run because it doesn’t trust the results, or are the results suffering because the run game hasn’t been given enough chances?
The raw numbers for the backs themselves are not ugly. Sama has 353 yards on 66 carries, good for 5.3 yards per attempt.
Dupree is at 4.3 per carry, and Jackson is at 4.0. On paper, those are solid returns, and Sama’s average would keep an offense moving if it showed up every snap.
But the numbers don’t tell the full story. Sama has also ripped off some explosive plays, including a 72-yard touchdown run.
That means the real question isn’t just how many yards he’s getting overall. It’s whether offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is going away from the run too fast, or whether the calls are coming in on downs that are too predictable.
The advanced numbers paint a less flattering picture. Wisconsin’s rush rate is 53.5%, but its success rate is just 36.9%. In other words, the Badgers are running more than they’re throwing, but they’re not staying on schedule nearly often enough when they do hand it off.
Digging deeper, Sama is averaging only 2.9 yards per carry in LINE yardage, which measures production around the scrimmage line. Even more troubling, his second-level yards sit at just 0.8 per carry, which tracks how much he’s gaining after getting past the defensive line and into the linebackers.
Dupree’s numbers are only a little better, at 3.1 in LINE yardage and 0.9 in second-level yards. Jackson doesn’t have enough carries to qualify for the advanced metrics, but the broader takeaway points more toward the offensive line than any one runner.
So the answer isn’t as simple as swapping out the bellcow. Wisconsin needs to commit to the run more, but there’s also a reason Grimes has backed off: the line isn’t creating enough push, and the backs aren’t consistently reaching the second level.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Recruiting Loss Just Got More Painful For Badgers Fans
Wisconsins 2027 basketball class took a hit when Jack Thelen, the 7-foot-1 center who had previously pledged to the Badgers, backed off that commitment and landed at UConn instead. Thelen, ranked No. 88 nationally in the class by Rivals, had given Wisconsin a promising frontcourt piece for the future, and his departure changes the look of an early group that had already started to take shape.
The Badgers still have two four-star guards committed in the class, so the foundation is not gone, but losing a big man of Thelens size and profile stings. It also adds another layer to the challenge of holding off blueblood-level competition, with UConn continuing to build one of the nations strongest classes and sitting No. 2 nationally on 247Sports. [Read more 🡒]
Racine Case Just Ended A Drought Wisconsin Fans Will Appreciate
Racine Case gave Wisconsin high school football fans a familiar kind of thrill with a finish that came down to the final kick. Senior kicker Colin Gardner drilled a 28-yard field goal as time expired to lift Case past Muskego 6-3 in the WIAA Division 1 state quarterfinals, sending the team on to the state semifinals against West De Pere.
For a program with a long history but a long wait, the moment carried extra weight. Racine Case is headed to the state semifinals for the first time since 1980, ending a 46-year drought and giving its supporters a milestone they had waited generations to see. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Has A Nolan Winter Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Nolan Winters start to the 2026-27 season has been quieter than Wisconsin fans are used to seeing from the senior big man. His numbers are down across the board, and his shooting has not matched the efficiency he typically brings, even though he is still helping the Badgers with rebounding, passing and rim protection.
The bigger question for Wisconsin is what comes next, because Winters value has not disappeared, it has just been uneven so far. If the Badgers can get him more involved offensively and he continues to move past whatever has slowed him early, there is still a path for him to look more like the player Wisconsin needs in the frontcourt. [Read more 🡒]