Studs and duds from Wisconsin Badgers' 17-0 win over Miami (OH) in Week 1

The Wisconsin Badgers win over the Miami (OH) RedHawks was ugly and came with a massive scare, but it still counts the same as any other win in the record book.

Despite the slow start and the injury to Billy Edwards Jr., the Badgers still had plenty of strong individual performances to build off of in Week 1.

They also had a few new starters struggle, and they'll need to be better when the level of competition picks up in two weeks.

Here are the studs and duds who stood out on Thursday night.

Stud: Danny O'Neil's resilience

The backup quarterback was thrown into the game without much notice, and he had a rough start with some early incompletions and a bad interception in the endzone.

What stood out was his ability to bounce back and not let the moment get too big for him.

He didn't let his early mistakes faze him, and O'Neil had the self-confidence to find a rhythm and lead the Badgers on its first touchdown-scoring drive of the season.

If he has to play in more games this season, Wisconsin is going to need more of that energy from its No. 2 QB.

Dud: Danny O'Neil's internal clock

The consistent flaw O'Neil kept showing was a tendency to hold onto the ball too long.

Wisconsin's offensive line did a fine enough job giving him clean pockets to throw from, but he had multiple plays where he had the ball in the pocket for a full three or four seconds before trying to escape pressure.

Sometimes, good coverage can force a QB to hold the ball too long, but it was a more frequent flaw for O'Neil that led to unneccesary sacks and other break downs.

That's something that could speed up with more experience, if the backup is pressed into further action with Edwards Jr.'s injury.

Stud: OLB Mason Reiger

Mason Reiger was one of the stars of fall camp, and he backed that up when the bullets started flying for real on Thursday night.

He was a disruptive force in run defense, setting firm edges and knifing inside for key stops.

Reiger only got credit for a half a sack, but he registered another quarterback hit, and his pressure off the edge forced RedHawks QB Dequan Finn out of the pocket numerous times.

Dud: LT Davis Heinzen

It was Heinzen's first game with the Badgers after transfering in from Central Michigan, but he didn't give Wisconsin fans a ton of confidence in the quarterback's blindside.

Coming from the MAC, he struggled against one of his former conference opponents, allowing pressure off of the edge and losing control of his gaps in the running game.

He still has time to improve before he faces SEC and Big Ten quality pass rushers, but he'll need to step his game up quickly or else the Badgers could have a problem on their offensive line.

Stud: WR Vinny Anthony II

After a bad dropped pass early in the game, Anthony bounced back quickly and looked like the clear-cut top play-maker at wide receiver.

He was shifty after the catch, helping backup quarterback Danny O'Neil look good by taking shorter routes and turning them into long gains.

Anthony also caught the first touchdown of the Wisconsin season on a slant route in the endzone, and he was the team's leading receiver with four catches for 57 yards.

Stud: FS Preston Zachman

Zachman had a more quiet first half, but his play-making shined through in the second.

He recorded two impressive interceptions, the first of which was nearly a pick six.

His coverage on the backend kept Miami (OH) from connecting on deep shots, forcing Finn to often throw short or resort to scrambling to pick up yards.

Zachman has already matched his interception total from last season in just one game. He's primed to nab a bunch more in 2025.

Dud: Punt coverage

Special teams errors didn't cost the Badgers against the RedHawks but those kinds of hidden yards can be a bigger problem in tighter contests where the margin of error is smaller.

Punter Atticus Bertrams shanked his first punt of the game for only 20 yards, but he recovered with more solid punts the rest of the game.

His coverage unit didn't do him too many favors. He landed one punt inside the five yard line, but the gunners misplayed the ball and allowed it into the endzone for a touchback.

On another, the coverage defenders ran past the punt returner thinking he would call fair catch, but he didn't and returned the ball out past the 20 and negated another decent punt from Bertrams.

Stud: Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes

Losing your starting quarterback in the first half is tough for any offensive coordinator, but Grimes found a way to get points on the board with his backup.

The most impressive part was how well Grimes got so many different play-makers involved.

On the second drive of the game, six different players rushed with the ball, including three running backs, two wide receivers and a fullback.

Edwards' first four completions were to four different receivers and eight different players caught passes in the game.

Badgers fans might have wanted to see more points, but the offense showed some good signs in their first game running Grimes' system.

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