Wisconsin's Passing Attack Finally Wakes up With Ryan Hopkins Under Center

It's been a while since Wisconsin fans have had anything to get excited about with the passing game. The Badgers were shut out by Iowa last week, and moving the ball through the air has been a struggle for some time now.

But on Saturday against Rutgers, freshman quarterback Ryan Hopkins made his first career start and shined in the win over the Scarlet Knights. For an offense that has struggled to move the football, it was a performance the Badgers badly needed.

Wisconsin Finally Found Some Life Through the Air

Hopkins and the Wisconsin offense showed promise right away on the Badgers' second drive of the game. Hopkins connected with Hilton Jr. for a 21-yard touchdown to put Wisconsin up 7-0.

Although the offense struggled at times in the second quarter and Rutgers managed to tie the game at 10-10, Wisconsin was able to find yardage in the passing game essentially unlike they had all season.

Ryan Hopkins completed 18 of 24 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He completed passes to eight different receivers, including Ryan Schwendeman for an 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter and Jacob Harris for a 66-yard touchdown in the fourth.

The biggest play of the night came on third-and-16 when Harris caught a pass from Hopkins, broke a tackle and raced down the sideline for the score. Wisconsin has not had enough plays like that this season, especially in situations where the offense needs to convert a difficult third down.

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Ryan Hopkins May Have Changed the Quarterback Conversation

After a tough game against Iowa, Luke Fickell decided to give freshman quarterback Ryan Hopkins his first start against Rutgers. Colton Joseph had thrown for fewer than 100 yards in each of the three games prior to Rutgers.

Hopkins looked comfortable throwing the ball and made some big plays in the game. He helped the Badgers pull away from Rutgers in the second half after taking a 13-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.

While it is good that Hopkins had such a solid game against Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights came into Saturday's game with a 2-6 record, so there is still plenty of room for improvement for the Badgers.

One good game does not mean that Wisconsin's offensive woes have been cured. However, it was nice to see the passing game finally come to life in the 31-10 victory over Rutgers.

The next test for Hopkins and the Badgers will be on the road against Maryland, and it will be interesting to see if the young signal-caller can build on his impressive performance against Rutgers.

For now, Wisconsin finally has something positive to build on. That's a welcome change after weeks of struggling to move the ball through the air.

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