Wisconsin has flipped the switch in a major way over the last two weeks.
The Wisconsin Badgers are on a roll, having pulled off consecutive blowout victories, as they most recently beat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 42-7 on the road this past Saturday to improve to 4-2 on the year.
There has been much said about the Badgers after their two ugly losses to the Alabama Crimson Tide and USC Trojans, but things seem to have taken a turn for the better as of late, and Wisconsin has an opportunity to add to that this weekend when they face Northwestern.
We’re back with another roundtable discussion after Week 7, as we break down the win for the Badgers, what has changed with the program, and look at what the end of the season could be for Wisconsin.
Reaction to the game?
Rohan: If you weren’t impressed enough in Wisconsin’s 52-6 win over Purdue, something had to give this past weekend, as the Badgers beat a 4-1 opponent by 35 on the road. Yes, Rutgers wasn’t a good football team this past weekend, but there was growth and consistency on both sides of the ball, which was going to be important for Wisconsin.
Offensively, the Badgers faced a team that ran a good amount of Cover 2 and Cover 4 with two-high shells to take away some explosive plays, which created a major avenue in the run game. Defensively, Wisconsin shut down the run game and the secondary was stout against the pass, leading to a quality overall performance.
Scary: As I’ve noted on both Twitter (X) and YouTube, I was very pleased with what I saw on Saturday. While it’s always important to approach any single game in the context of a full season, it’s hard not to be psyched about a 42-7 walkover in a contest where the Badgers were an underdog. Nothing I saw in Piscataway leads me to conclude that Wisconsin won’t need to improve to keep finding success as the season unfolds, but it’s preposterous to take the position that this team isn’t looking better right now.
Connor: I expected the Badgers to win, but not like this. What an impressive victory for Wisconsin and Luke Fickell. I was especially impressed with their balance of running and passing plays. After Braedyn Locke’s interception, he seemed to only take downfield shots when it was safe and when it was necessary. Locke continues to improve when it comes to making the right reads in games like these.
Tawee Walker’s breakout these past two games has also been delightful to see. Many expected him to be good here. Not many expected him to be this great. Walker joins Badger legends Jonathan Taylor and Melvin Gordon as the only three Wisconsin running backs to record three straight multi-touchdown games. Overall, I’m just very pleased with the growth we’ve seen these past two weeks from the Badgers on both ends of the ball.
What has been the biggest change the last 2 weeks?
Rohan: It’s got to be the complementary football between the run and the pass offensively that has been the biggest catalyst for Wisconsin’s success. Over the first few weeks of the season, the Badgers struggled to run the ball at a high clip because they faced more stacked boxes, with teams daring them to throw the football.
That’s how the passing game opened up in Week 5 against USC because 1-on-1 opportunities were there on the outside, but the consistency hadn’t been there in the second half in Week 4.
But, against Purdue, the Badgers really saw the aerial attack open up, as Braedyn Locke overcame two interceptions to pass for 359 yards and three scores, stretching the ball downfield on a number of throws. The run game benefitted as a result, with Tawee Walker going for 94 yards and three touchdowns while seeing a number of big holes.
Then, after a number of early shots, the Badgers capitalized on the ground against Rutgers’ defense, with Walker going for 198 yards and three touchdowns, while the team got over 300 yards on the ground as a whole. If the offense can be multiple, it creates more opportunities overall, and the Badgers are seeing that come together last few weeks.
Scary: Execution and confidence. These things, of course, are flipsides of each other. Doing a good thing leads to more confidence and being more confident begets more positive things and so on and so on. Rutgers was not at its best Saturday, but Wisconsin had a lot to do with that, so writing this off as a laugher over a crappy team doesn’t ring true. Imposing your will on a unit that played a one-score game at Nebraska the week before is a good thing. Enjoy it.
Connor: Dominating the line of scrimmage. Wisconsin thrives when they are in control, both offensively and defensively. On the offensive side of the ball, Phil Longo has made a clear effort to get Walker into a consistent rhythm as the RB1 which has allowed him to be the most explosive and powerful that he has been as a Badger. Defensively, Mike Tressel has done a better job generating pressure and making the opposing offense feel uncomfortable.
These past two weeks have looked a lot closer to the style of football that Luke Fickell promised he would bring to Madison. The offense can play smash-mouth football, but also has the ability and skill set to make plays in the passing game. When an offense has deep-threat capabilities, it opens up the possibilities for the run game. Phil Longo’s “Dairy Raid” system has finally arrived.
Updated season prediction?
Rohan: To begin the season, I had the Badgers with a 7-5 or 8-4 record, but my outlook of the team diminished with the slow start. Now, when you see Braedyn Locke improving and both sides of the ball coming into their own, it’s starting to feel more optimistic that Wisconsin can get closer and closer to that preseason prediction.
The Badgers should beat Northwestern this weekend and have another favorable matchup against Minnesota, but it’s the Big Ten and we’ve seen how things can unfold in the conference.
I expect Wisconsin to pull off at least two more victories, with games like Iowa’s seeming winnable as well from the initial outlook. At the midseason mark, I’m expecting six to seven wins from the Badgers.
Scary: Even with a boost in confidence in this team, I’m still a little reluctant to move the number off of the 6 wins I predicted before the Purdue game. The Boilers and Scarlet Knights were always two of the three most likely wins for the Badgers this season. If the squad keeps improving at the rate they have since USC, a seven or eight-win season is possible.
Otherwise, 6 might still be the ceiling given a very unforgiving schedule. What I am confident about, however, is this team’s ability to better accomplish some of the things it wants to do on offense. This should put them in a position to be competitive in every remaining game with the possible exception of Oregon, who quite simply has loads more talent, as they proved in a win over Ohio State. But, I’d be lying if I said I’m not feeling better about the Badgers now than I was after USC, a team, by the way, that I think the Badgers could beat now if they played again.
Connor: During the preseason, I projected them to win eight games this year. I didn’t feel as confident in that prediction after they lost Tyler Van Dyke, but after these past two games, it seems plausible.
Barring a win at Northwestern, Wisconsin would be 5-2 and would have PSU, Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska, and Minnesota. 2-3 wins during that time frame is very achievable. They would need to keep this level of play up, but I feel pretty confident in Wisconsin winning around 7-8 games this year.