Wisconsin Football Stock Report: Who's Up and Who's Down After Blowout vs. Michigan State

On Homecoming weekend, Wisconsin drubbed Michigan State 31-3 at Camp Randall Stadium to move to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play. Ahead of the bye week, Badgers On SI takes stock of which players are trending up and down.

Stock Up

Colton Joseph

After quite the mixed bag of highs and lows in Week 4 at Penn State, Joseph responded with an explosive performance. His accuracy marks remained poor, as he completed under 50% of his attempts at 9-of-20, but the fourth-year gunslinger compiled 145 passing yards and three touchdowns, including a beautiful 46-yard strike to Malachi Coleman in the fourth quarter.

What really has Joseph trending in the right direction after Michigan State was the use of his legs. The Old Dominion transfer took 13 carries for 141 yards (10.8 yards per carry), highlighted by a 47-yard burst to the end zone in the third quarter. Coming off a 2025 campaign in which he totaled 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, Saturday provided a glimpse into the expansive dual-threat danger Joseph can pose for opposing defenses.

Consistency as a passer may be tough to come by with Joseph, but as long as he’s keeping the ball out of harm’s way more often, as he did against the Spartans with no turnovers, the Badgers have to feel plenty content with where QB1 is trending.

Charles Perkins

Thought of primarily as a run stopper, Perkins has come through to make an impact in different ways over the past two weeks. At Penn State, the big defensive tackle snatched his first career interception, courtesy of a deflection from teammate Hammond Russell IV. Then, against Michigan State, he logged his first sack with Wisconsin by taking down Alessio Milivojevic in the first quarter.

A fan favorite in his second year with the program after spending three years at FCS UT-Martin, Perkins has been a key part of defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow’s rotation on the interior. The counting stats won’t wow you, and the flashy moments aren’t likely to come each week, but Perkins deserves some kudos for his role up front as part of a stellar Badgers defense.

Tyreese Fearbry

Sebastian Cheeks got off to a fast start against Notre Dame and has been consistently disruptive, but with Cheeks’ emergence, questions sprouted about who else could step up in the pass rush. Fearbry looked the part against Michigan State, generating four pressures while also notching a pass deflection for the second straight week. It’d be preferable to see the fifth-year edge rusher turn those pressures into sacks, but a similar sentiment can be applied to Cheeks, and considering the overall effectiveness of the Wisconsin defense, I’m not overly fixated on the sack totals.

Last year, Fearbry showed some flashes but wasn’t able to consistently get on the field with Mason Reiger, Darryl Peterson III and Cheeks notably ahead of him. Thrust into a full-time role this season, the former Kentucky Wildcat started slow against Notre Dame but has progressively improved week by week. Fearbry continuing to improve moving forward bodes well for the Badgers defense continuing to stifle opponents.

Stock Down

Austin Kawecki

Kawecki departed for the locker room toward the end of the first half and didn’t return due to an upper-body injury. The center struggled before exiting, however, with an errant snap and a team-worst 48.7 PFF grade across 33 reps.

Lauded as one of Wisconsin’s top portal acquisitions, the Oklahoma State transfer hasn’t lived up to that billing thus far. His overall 58.7 PFF grade ranks 16th of 17 Big Ten centers to play at least 200 snaps. The extent of Kawecki’s injury is currently unclear, though the bye week gives him some extra time to recover.

Backup center Ryan Cory looked improved compared to last year but remained suspect in pass protection against Michigan State. Kawecki has been a bit of a disappointment through five games, but the drop-off behind him remains a concern. If healthy, he’s still clearly Wisconsin’s best option in the middle of the offensive line.

Sean West

West got off to a blazing start with a majestic 70-yard boot against Notre Dame and continued to punt well up until Saturday. The Mequon native shanked his first punt of the day for just 20 yards in the second quarter, playing a part in Michigan State’s lone scoring drive. He closed the contest with five punts for 191 yards (38.2 average), marking his first time this season averaging under 45 yards per kick.

One poor showing shouldn’t negate his previous success or cause mass panic surrounding West and his capabilities. With that said, in a game with plenty of positive contributors, the junior punter sticks out on the opposite end of the spectrum.

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