Wisconsin Football Week 4 Defensive Snap Count Breakdown and Analysis vs. Penn State

The Badgers just pulled off the biggest win of the Luke Fickell era, toppling No. 13 Penn State on the road in a thrilling start to conference play.

Wisconsin authored a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, and while the offense went on two consecutive clutch touchdown drives with under four minutes to play, it was the Badgers' defense that gave them the opportunity to claw their way back into the game time and time again.

As we did for the offense, Badgers On SI has defensive snap counts and analysis from the stunning Week 4 victory.

Author's note: snap count data from Pro Football Focus.

Defensive Line

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Snap Counts:

- Hammond Russell IV (31)
- DeNigel Cooper (24)
- Charles Perkins (21)
- Junior Poyser (20)
- Nolan Vils (14)
- Dillan Johnson (11)
- Jacob Anderson (2)

If you thought the Badgers' seven-defensive lineman rotation last week against Eastern Michigan was the result of playing an overmatched, inferior opponent, think again. EJ Whitlow is serious about rotating his linemen, and Wisconsin continued to deploy seven defensive linemen in Week 4. Once again, Russell and Cooper were the top two players in terms of snap counts. Behind them, the playing time of players like Poyser, Perkins and Vils continues to fluctuate.

Outside Linebacker

Wisconsin Badgers offensive linebacker Tyreese Fearbry. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Snap Counts:

- Sebastian Cheeks (58)
- Tyreese Fearbry (48)
- Nick Clayton (25)
- Justus Boone (12)
- Michael Garner (3)

Cheeks and Fearbry continue to be the top two players in this room and it's not especially close. After a quiet start to the season for Fearbry, he was tremendous against Penn State with 1.5 TFLs and a clutch pass-breakup on third and goal. Clayton continued to see his snap counts increase, and 25 was easily a new career high for him. He logged three pressures and two tackles.

Inside Linebacker

Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Mason Posa. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Snap Counts:

- Cooper Catalano (67)
- Mason Posa (66)
- Jon Jon Kamara (26)
- Aaron Witt (3)
- Thomas Heiberger (1)

The Badgers kept their inside linebacker rotation tighter, and played with three inside backers on the field (Posa, Catalano and Kamara) quite a bit. Catalano played every snap on defense. Posa came out for one play. After Heiberger played 24 snaps against Western Illinois and 26 snaps against Eastern Michigan, he was hardly a part of the defensive game-plan in Beaver Stadium.

Cornerback

Snap Counts:

- Javan Robinson (66)
- Jai’mier Scott (42)
- Bryce West (39)
- Eric Fletcher Jr (23)

The cornerback rotation remained status quo against the Nittany Lions. Robinson, who played one of the best games from a Badgers cornerback in recent memory, was on the field for all but one play, while Scott and Fletcher continue to rotate (though the former is clearly the 1A opposite Robinson).

Safety

Snap Counts:

- Matt Jung (67)
- Marvin Burks Jr (60)
- Cairo Skanes (7)
- Carson Van Dinter (1)

The Badgers didn't get too creative in their safety room in Week 4. Jung played every snap, while Burks wasn't far behind. After he saw 20-plus snaps in both Weeks 2 and 3, Skanes was on the field for just seven defensive plays. Van Dinter remains a non-factor on defense.

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