The Wisconsin Badgers got their first win of the week on Saturday, beating Western Illinois 36-9 at Camp Randall Stadium in a game that had its ups and downs.
Wisconsin looked to be physical on the ground and had varying success there, but their passing game was inconsistent once again.
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Let’s break down Wisconsin’s snap counts and PFF grades and what they mean for the offense in Week 2.
Quarterbacks
Colton Joseph – Snap Count: [47], Grade: 71.5
Ryan Hopkins – Snap Count: [8], Grade: 76.0
No surprises here. The Badgers were able to get Ryan Hopkins some snaps at quarterback with a 36-9 lead late in the game. He seems to be their QB2, which is a good sign for the future.
Running Backs
Darrion Dupree – Snap Count: [19], Grade: 58.8
Bryan Jackson II – Snap Count: [17], Grade: 55.5
Abu Sama III – Snap Count: [16], Grade: 61.4
Nate Palmer – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 74.3
Abu Sama got the start and a ton of the early snaps, going for 103 yards on his first two snaps. But the Badgers did pivot more to Darrion Dupree and Bryan Jackson II later in the game as they tried to establish the run again.
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Wisconsin seemed to like the vertical running from both Dupree and Jackson, who combined for an eight-play, 68-yard touchdown drive all via runs. Nate Palmer also got a few snaps late, and has seemingly picked up a return role with the injuries there.
Wide Receivers
Chris Brooks Jr. – Snap Count: [39], Grade: 64.3
Tyrell Henry – Snap Count: [27], Grade: 81.0
Eugene Hilton Jr. – Snap Count: [26], Grade: 61.8
Shamar Rigby – Snap Count: [20], Grade: 53.6
Malachi Coleman – Snap Count: [9], Grade: 55.7
Kash Brock – Snap Count: [8], Grade: 59.7
Zion Kearney – Snap Count: [8], Grade: 58.6
Jackson McGohan – Snap Count: [6], Grade: 59.5
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Wisconsin had a fairly equal split again at receiver, but the reps were consolidated to their top four wideouts after Malachi Coleman was ruled out with an injury. Chris Brooks got the lion’s share of the reps, but Tyrell Henry, Eugene Hilton, and Shamar Rigby all saw solid action as well.
With Wisconsin not pushing the ball downfield as much, Tyrell Henry got a ton of targets. We’ll see if this room can get healthier next week.
Tight Ends
Grant Stec – Snap Count: [34], Grade: 62.1
Emmett Bork – Snap Count: [22], Grade: 62.8
Jacob Harris – Snap Count: [21], Grade: 55.5
Nizyi Davis – Snap Count: [1], Grade: 59.2
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The Badgers went with their top three at tight end with Ryan Schwendeman out. Grant Stec led the room, as expected, while Emmett Bork and Jacob Harris each saw a good number of snaps.
Harris was mainly running routes and had a couple of missed opportunities with Colton Joseph missing him on some short and deeper routes.
Offensive Line
Colin Cubberly – Snap Count: [47], Grade: 73.0
Austin Kawecki – Snap Count: [47], Grade: 60.2
Kevin Heywood – Snap Count: [47], Grade: 66.6
PJ Wilkins – Snap Count: [47], Grade: 66.0
Stylz Blackmon – Snap Count: [47], Grade: 65.7
Lucas Simmons-Johansson – Snap Count: [8], Grade: 64.8
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Barrett Nelson – Snap Count: [8], Grade: 59.8
Blake Cherry – Snap Count: [8], Grade: 59.4
Ryan Cory – Snap Count: [8], Grade: 59.4
Hardy Watts – Snap Count: [8], Grade: 57.9
Wisconsin went with Stylz Blackmon as the clear starter at right guard, with Blake Cherry not getting in until the final reps with Ryan Hopkins. That’s pretty notable for the Badgers, who rotated the two last week.
Apart from that, it was as expected with the starting offensive line for Wisconsin.
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