Winners and Losers from Wisconsin's 54-10 Win Over Eastern Michigan

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After yet another inauspicious start for Wisconsin football, the Badgers exploded with a 28-point second quarter and didn't look back.
A nightmare first quarter evolved into, as head coach Luke Fickell said at halftime, "complimentary football, finally."
With Wisconsin sitting at 2-1 ahead of Big Ten play and a massive trip to Happy Valley to face Penn State next week, Badgers On SI hands out winners and losers from the cathartic Week 3 win.
WINNERS

WR Tyrell Henry
Henry had a 23-yard catch on the first drive and was clearly a big part of the Badgers' early game-plan. However, he also dropped an easy completion on fourth down on Wisconsin's first offensive series, which contributed to the Badgers' alarmingly slow start. After that, the receiver turned it on.
Henry racked up nine catches for 118 yards and one touchdown...in the first half alone. His score was a beautiful toe-drag in the end zone, and he displayed the kind of wiggle and hands that could help alleviate some of Wisconsin's concerns about playmakers at wide receiver, especially with Malachi Coleman sidelined against Eastern Michigan and his status still unclear moving forward. Henry finished the day with a program record 14 catches for 160 yards and a score.
TE Jacob Harris
Harris made one of the nicest snags you'll ever see out of a tight end. Running a deep out-breaking route in the pouring rain — with no receiver gloves on, mind you — Harris reeled in a one-handed 32-yard catch that immediately led to a touchdown run on the next play.
That was Harris' biggest highlight, but he was a problem throughout the game. In additon to the gorgeous one-handed grab, he had catch-and-runs of 27 and 30 yards in the first half. Wisconsin needs to get its uber-athletic tight end the ball more often, because he's got extremely reliable hands and he's a handful to bring down in the open field.
WR Chris Brooks Jr.
Brooks wasn't a huge factor in the Badgers' offense Saturday, but his 75-yard touchdown reception on the first play of Wisconsin's fifth drive was huge in kickstarting Wisconsin's momentum and putting some separation between the Badgers and the Eagles. The ball was slightly underthrown, but Brooks made a nice adjustment and shook off a would-be tackler before trotting into the end zone. It's always good to see the fifth-year wideout, who's stuck with this program through thick and thin, make a big play.
LB Mason Posa
Posa notched the Badgers' first turnover of the season, drifting back into coverage after lining up in the A-gap to read Eagles' quarterback Noah Kim's eyes and step in front of the pass for the easy interception. That was obviously a big play to get the ball back to the Badgers' offense, but it was also a huge weight off Wisconsin's defense's chest to finally create a turnover. He may have opened the floodgates, as safety Matt Jung notched an interception on the very next drive and the Sebastian Cheeks and Cooper Catalano combined for a scoop-and-score on Eastern Michigan's first series in the third quarter.
S Matt Jung
Jung has drawn the ire of some Badgers fans this season, as the safety had yet to make a big splash play and Wisconsin fans wondered just how big of an impact he was making. That's why it must've felt especially good for the Neenah native as he high-pointed a pass intended for tight end Joshua Long, coming down with an impressive interception right in front of Fickell and the Badgers' sideline.
OLB Sebastian Cheeks
Wisconsin needed to get back on the board in the sack category against what had been a permeable Eastern Michigan offensive line, and while Kim wasn't exactly under siege all afternoon, Cheeks once again notched a strip-sack, just like he did against Notre Dame. He also sped up a handful of plays with a good jump off the edge on several occasions.
LOSERS

S Marvin Burks Jr.
Burks has been pretty quiet this season in the back end of the Badgers' defense, and in Week 3, we noticed him for the wrong reasons. The Badgers had a handful of avoidable penalties, and Burks was called for a face-mask on what would've been a third down stop for Wisconsin after missing a tackle several plays earlier. Burks is by no means a problem for the Badgers' secondary, but there were some forgettable plays on Saturday.
CB Javan Robinson
Unfortunately, a single poor rep from a cornerback can land him on the losers list even amidst a blowout win in an otherwise solid performance. Robinson got beat by Eastern Michigan wideout Nick Devereaux on an 18-yard fade route to the end zone. The corner lost a step on the Eagles' play-action, and was beat at the catch point to surrender the first points of the game.

Badgers ON SI lead editor Seamus Rohrer hails from Brooklyn, NY and is a University of Wisconsin J-School grad. He's covered the Badgers since 2020 for outlets including BadgerBlitz, The Daily Cardinal and BadgerNotes.
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