5 Wisconsin Football Overreactions From the Badgers' First 5 Games

Wisconsin football is positioned just about as well as it can be through five games.

The Badgers lost their opener against a stacked Notre Dame team — as they were universally expected to — but have since won four straight games including a road upset of then-No. 13 Penn State.

Still, there's a general consensus that October is when we really find out who this team is. Wisconsin enjoys a Week 6 bye before traveling to Los Angeles to face UCLA, returning home to host USC and going back on the road to play Iowa on Halloween. It's an absolutely pivotal three-game stretch that could make or break the season for the Badgers.

Nonetheless, there's plenty to discuss with this team through five games, and plenty that we've learned (or think we've learned) through September. Below, Badgers On SI takes a look at five overreactions from the Badgers' September slate and evaluates them ahead of the defining stretch of the season.

Wisconsin's run game is a problem

Wisconsin Badgers running back Darrion Dupree. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Badgers are coming off their best rushing performance of the season in the homecoming romp over Michigan State, gashing the Spartans for 228 yards on the ground.

However, 141 of those yards came from quarterback Colton Joseph. Badgers' tailbacks only accounted for 83 of those yards. Joseph is also the team's leading rusher with 262 yards (5.1 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. The four Wisconsin halfbacks that have seen carries (Darrion Dupree, Abu Sama, Bryan Jackson and Nate Palmer) have 490 yards on 102 carries (4.8 yards per carry).

Those numbers aren't horrible on their own, but overall, Wisconsin has just the 79th-ranked rushing offense in the country at 153.0 yards per game. Other than Abu Sama's 72-yard touchdown scamper on the first play from scrimmage against FCS Western Illinois, the Badgers' longest run by a running back is 28 yards.

Ultimately, Wisconsin would obviously like to deploy a more punishing and assertive ground game. But though it hasn't always been as easy as it was against the Spartans, the Badgers have been able to move the ball on the ground, especially when they get Joseph's legs churning.

In short: is there room for improvement on the ground? Yes. Is the running game a massive problem for Wisconsin? Not currently.

We must live with Colton Joseph's mistakes

Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Colton Joseph. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

People will tell you who they are; it's up to you to listen.

There's no shortage of reasons why Badgers fans were and should continue to be excited about Joseph. He's dynamically mobile and blazing fast. He can make NFL-level throws. He has a certain moxie to him and can make plays outside the pocket most quarterbacks simply can't.

But as we've been saying since Joseph arrived in Madison, he's not without his flaws. Namely, his accuracy and decision-making. He's currently tied (with 11 other quarterbacks, mind you) with the fourth-most "turnover-worthy plays" this season with eight. Last fall at Old Dominion, he was responsible for 14 turnovers with 10 interceptions and four fumbles lost. Though he has yet to lose a fumble, he's thrown five picks through five games this fall.

Joseph can make plays that leave your jaw agape. But he also makes plays that leave you scratching your head. We'll see how quarterbacks coach Kenny Guiton can coach him up down the stretch, but with Joseph, you must take the good with the bad.

Sebastian Cheeks is an elite pass-rusher

Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Sebastian Cheeks. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I'll tell you right out of the gate: this isn't an overreaction. Far from it. The nation's leader in pressures with 27 has only notched 2.5 sacks, but he's responsible for a litany of other positive plays for the defense jumpstarted by him bearing down on opposing quarterbacks.

The problem for the Badgers is that he's their only consistent pass-rusher. Tyreese Fearbry has the second-most pressures on the team with seven, followed by Mason Posa and DeNigel Cooper with six each.

Wisconsin appears to have just one true alpha pass-rusher, which isn't exactly ideal but it's also far from the worst-case scenario, considering if Cheeks didn't take the leap the coaching staff was counting on, it would have none.

Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel is going to need to keep scheming up pressure with his two star inside linebackers, and I'd like to see him send his nickel Bryce West (who has one pressure and one quarterback hit this season) on some more blitzes to keep this pass rush humming.

The Badgers have a problem at left tackle

Wisconsin offensive lineman Kevin Heywood. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Through the first four games, I would've said this is far from an overreaction. Ole Miss transfer PJ Wilkins struggled in pass protection through four games, to the point where he lost his gig as the starting left tackle in Week 5 against Michigan State. Kevin Heywood flipped from right tackle to the blindside tackle spot, while Emerson Mandell is now back at right tackle where he played the majority of last season. D-II transfer Stylz Blackmon, who's been something of a revelation for Wisconsin this fall, now looks poised to be the full-time starting right guard.

Against the lackluster defensive front of Michigan State, that worked just fine. We'll see how the Badgers' new starting five holds up the rest of the season, but at the moment, consider the left tackle issue solved by Heywood.

Wisconsin's wide receiver room was slept on this offseason

Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Malachi Coleman. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wideout was one of the biggest question marks on the Badgers before the 2026 campaign began. And for good reason; Wisconsin returned almost no production and was relying on a hodgepodge of less-than-accomplished transfers.

Through five games, however, it looks like Wisconsin has what it needs at wide receiver. Due to the nature of this run-heavy offense, it's going to be hard to sustain a consistent WR1. But plenty of players have proven they're more than capable.

Malachi Coleman broke out in the opener against Notre Dame, displaying real NFL traits in the process. Chris Brooks Jr has proven to have taken strides in his final year. Eugene Hilton Jr has been relatively quiet, but his gorgeous touchdown against Penn State reminded us why he wrote headline after headline in offseason camp. Meanwhile, Tyrell Henry just set the Wisconsin single-game receptions record.

Between those four, Wisconsin has its top receivers and that's without Shamar Rigby and Jaylon Domingeaux, the two most productive incoming receiver transfers, doing much of anything. For the style of offense the Badgers run, they have more than enough firepower at receiver.

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