Biggest Takeaways from Wisconsin's Scrimmage to Wrap up Fall Camp

Fall camp has officially come and gone, and now, Wisconsin officially begins prep for Notre Dame. In the media’s final opportunity to see the team in action, there was a lot to like. A few questions remain, but overall, I’d say I feel more encouraged about the team following Sunday’s scrimmage.

Luke Fickell was encouraged by the competitive spirit of his group on fall camp’s final day, so here are a few of my immediate takeaways from practice No. 15.

The offense found a rhythm and avoided disaster

It wasn’t a perfect day from the offense by any means, but I was encouraged by what I saw. All eyes are on Colton Joseph and the first team, which was productive, but neither he, Ryan Hopkins or Deuce Adams had a drive that ended in a three-and-out.

The first-team offense was unable to find the endzone, but in all three of its drives going the length of the field, it set up a manageable field goal attempt. There was an emphasis on the passing attack today, and Joseph targeted a number of receivers.

There were a few long third-down conversions, which can be interpreted as both a positive or a drawback, but most importantly, Joseph looked comfortable navigating the pocket and taking off when needed.

A major question mark for Joseph has been if he can avoid disastrous mistakes, and he responded well Sunday. Outside of one throw under heavy duress on his final drive on the day, he refrained from putting the ball in places where it could be picked off.

If he can avoid turnovers, hit underneath routes and be accurate 15-20 yards down the field, as he was today, alongside a serviceable run game, the offense will be in a decent spot.

Defense bent, but didn’t break

It was encouraging to see the offense getting to the red zone, especially the first team, but once it got there, the first team defense shut it down, allowing no touchdowns from the first-team offense.

On the day’s first drive, once in the red zone, Sebastian Cheeks had pressure leading to a Javan Robinson tackle for loss, and Cairo Bates broke up a pass in the end zone to force a field goal attempt. In the first team’s second trip to the red zone, Junior Poyser and Bryce West got home for what would be a sack, forcing another field goal attempt.

Both Hopkins and Adams orchestrated touchdown drives, but even for the twos, both scores came on fourth down, so the defense made things difficult on every drive.

I hoped to see the offense finish more drives with touchdowns, but success moving the ball and the defense holding steady in the red zone feels like a win.

Kicking game still in question

A few days ago, Gavin Lahm went 4-for-5 on field goals, including 3-for-3 from 50 yards and beyond, highlighted by a 58-yard make. He’s been up-and-down throughout camp, but it was encouraging to see him have a huge day in the closing days.

Today was not a great day for Lahm. He missed his first two kicks of the day from 36 and 47 yards. He recovered with makes from 32, 36 and 27 to close the day, but this offense simply isn’t strong enough to survive leaving points on the field on a regular basis.

Backup quarterback battle not decided yet

When Jeff Grimes spoke to the media on Saturday, he used one word to describe the battle for the backup quarterback position: ongoing. Sunday seemed like a good day for Hopkins or Adams to emerge, but the two still feel neck-and-neck, as they both played well today.

On Adams’ first drive of the day, he had a nice completion to Jackson McGohan, but his legs made the difference. He had a fourth-down conversion with his legs to extend the drive, and shortly after, scored from eight yards out on fourth down.

Hopkins’ first drive ended in a missed field goal, but he redeemed himself with a score on his second drive. After nearly throwing a pick to Carson Van Dinter, he converted on a long third down with his legs, then strung together a couple nice completions to McGohan and Zion Kearney.

Wisconsin's Ryan Hopkins. | Christian Borman

Inside the 10-yard line, an incompletion and Grant Dean tackle for loss set up a fourth down from the seven, and Nizyi Davis motioned to the right side of the formation and continued to the end zone. Hopkins lofted a beautiful ball over the top for the score.

Hopefully neither player is needed for meaningful snaps in 2026, but it’s a battle that remains notable.

Front seven produced

As a whole, I feel pretty good about the defense as camp concludes. The secondary feels much improved, there’s two players who can definitely be all-league performers, and players like Cheeks and Charles Perkins feel poised to breakout.

Defensively, the front seven is probably the hardest group to assess without fully tackling, but I feel confident that Sunday was a great day in the trenches.

Junior Poyser, Cheeks and Tyreese Fearbry were the three that stood out, but there seemed to be a good push against the run, especially in the first unit, and guys got home to the quarterbacks pretty consistently.

Notre Dame will be arguably the toughest team this defense faces in the trenches all year, so we’ll find out quickly how good the unit can be, but today was a strong day.

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