How Concerned Should Badgers Fans Be With Wisconsin's Offense?

Wisconsin took the field in front of fans for the first time this fall on Tuesday night, and it was the defense that stood out. For a fanbase starving for a productive offense after a disastrous 2025 season, the lack of offensive fireworks at the practice was concerning.

Based on Tuesday alone, it’s fair to have real concerns about the offense. It was arguably the worst the offense has looked this fall, but it was just one day. I don’t blame fans for having concerns, but as someone who’s been able to attend a number of practices, I wanted to flesh out some thoughts about Jeff Grimes’ group.

It’s just one day

I get it, after being literally one of the worst offenses in the country last year, fans want to see an explosive offense ahead of taking on the No. 4 ranked team in the country in a few weeks. Colton Joseph did connect with both Jacob Harris and Eugene Hilton late in the practice to show fans this offense can provide some fireworks, but it was overall a down day.

If I had to say whether the offense or defense has “won” camp thus far, I’d say the defense, but that’s not because the offense has been bad. The run game has had dominant days, and Joseph has had days where he’s spread the ball around to a number of receivers and made the offense look dangerous through the air.

Understandably, fans are going to overreact to the one practice they get to see, but it’s important to remember that fall camp is a grueling stretch, and the offense has had plenty of moments to have at least some optimism.

Wisconsin's Eugene Hilton. | Christian Borman

Injuries

As much as anyone else, I’m sick of having to address this. I’m not using it as an excuse, but there’s some big holes in the offense right now.

Up front, the Badgers have been working without Kevin Heywood and Emerson Mandell, arguably the top-two linemen on the team, for basically all of camp. I think this defensive front will be good in terms of getting to the quarterback and stopping the run, but it’s also fair to say that should the offensive line be fully healthy, Joseph will have more time to throw, and the running backs will see bigger holes.

Speaking of running backs, there’s plenty of injuries there. Abu Sama and Darrion Dupree are who I expect to be the top-two backs, but behind them, things are murky right now. With Nate Palmer and Bryan Jackson sidelined, Wisconsin turned to walk-on wide receiver Dorsett Stecker for snaps in the backfield yesterday.

If we get to a point where these guys miss games, I’ll refrain from blaming the injury bug, but as of today, I’m not jumping to any conclusions until I see the group at full-strength.

Tackles aren’t going to the ground

Wisconsin is going to be reliant on its run game, and frankly, that’s hard to assess when guys aren’t fully tackling. There’s been days that have felt more productive than others, but in general, it’s a bit of a question mark until gameday.

I think Abu Sama can be a legitimate upper-half of the conference running back, especially if the offensive line can get healthy. Those explosive plays fans want to see, I think he’ll be one of the primary providers, but until he’s getting tackled, it’s tough to determine whether his big run is a 10-yard gain or a house call.

Joseph will also be running the ball often, and he’s obviously not going to get hit in practice, especially with the program’s quarterback luck the last few seasons.

Overall, the fact that the offense is having some big plays through the air is extremely encouraging, because once we get a real look at the ground game, I think that’s where a lot of the explosiveness will come from.

Wisconsin's Abu Sama. | Christian Borman

How good is the defense?

Once Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano slid into the starting lineup last season, the defense was legitimately good. It finished the season ranked No. 24 in the country in total defense, and I think it will be much better in 2026.

The secondary feels like it will be much improved, and as we approach the end of fall camp, the front seven has looked the part of a good unit too, despite some key losses in the offseason.

Sure, there’s been some bad mistakes by the offense, but the defense has made plenty of plays that give me more optimism about Mike Tressel’s bunch than concern about the offense.

Notre Dame has one of the best defenses in the country, so we’ll find out very quickly if the offense can produce against an elite defense, but I think Wisconsin’s defense being a good unit is partially responsible for the offensive struggles.

Conclusion

I’m not going to pretend I believe this offense will be one of the best in the Big Ten, but I’m also not reading too much into one practice.

My expectation for the season is for the program to get back to a bowl game, and the schedule is entirely manageable to do so. I trust the defense to be one of the better units in the Big Ten, so a middle-of-the-road offense would likely be enough to exceed the six-win mark, and I think that’s still very much on the table.

Am I a bit skeptical of the offense? Sure. But at this point, without having seen it on gameday at full-strength, or close to it, I’m not going to write the unit off as some fans are doing after Tuesday’s open practice.

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