Grading Each Phase of Wisconsin's Victory in its Home Opener

Week two is in the books and Wisconsin is in the win column for the first time in 2026. Was it pretty? Absolutely not, but it was a win. With just one game remaining before hitting the ground running in the Big Ten, there’s a lot for this team to clean up.

Neither the offense or defense delivered memorable performances in the home opener, but the Badgers walked away with a four-score victory. Here’s how I felt about the team’s performance in each phase of the game.

Offense: C

I’m growing a bit concerned with this offense. Emerson Mandell was dressed tonight, but didn’t play. His return will certainly help, but against an inferior opponent, Jeff Grimes’ bunch failed to dominate as myself — and all Badger fans — would have hoped.

Abu Sama started the game with a bang, scoring from 72 yards out on the first offensive snap, but after that, it was a bit of a struggle. As was the case last week, the offense moved the ball down the field, an improvement from last season, but saw drives stall.

In the first half tonight, Wisconsin settled for three field goals. In the second half, it had a 68-yard touchdown drive, with all 68 yards coming on the ground, and a late offensive flurry with a 50-plus yard reception for Tyrell Henry and a 33-yard touchdown for Chris Brooks. There were flashes, but not enough to feel great about this unit.

Wisconsin's Chris Brooks. — Sep 12, 2026; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Chris Brooks Jr. (2) scores a touchdown in front of Western Illinois Leathernecks defensive back Elia Ofosu (2) during the fourth quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On a more positive note, I didn’t feel like Colton Joseph threw into harm’s way very much, he will just need to be much more accurate. He doesn’t seem totally flustered making reads, he’s just failed to hit receivers in stride or thrown a tad too high on too many occasions.

At this point, I think the issues are things that can be cleaned up, but to be determined if Grimes is able to do so.

Defense: C-

I tried to give Mike Tressel’s bunch the benefit of the doubt last week against Notre Dame, but there’s no excuse for the performance against an FCS opponent. Keeping the Leathernecks out of the end zone is a positive, but there’s no excuse for Western Illinois moving the ball and dominating possession.

When the Leathernecks kicked a field goal on the opening drive of the second half, they were out-gaining the Badgers offensively. That was certainly a testament to how poor Wisconsin’s offense was playing, but the way Western Illinois moved the ball raises concerns about the defense.

Wisconsin's Thomas Heiberger. — Sep 12, 2026; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Thomas Heiberger (19) breaks up the pass intended for Western Illinois Leathernecks tight end David Hargro (15) during the third quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There weren’t many fireworks in the passing game for the Leathernecks, but they established the run and sustained drives fairly well, despite none reaching the end zone. In the Big Ten, Wisconsin will simply need to be able to stop the run, and as it struggled to do so against an FCS opponent, there is plenty of room for concern come Sept. 26 when conference play begins.

It’s fair to say I’m being harsher on the defense than the offense, but that’s because this was the group that was expected to lead this team, and on a night where the offense had some obvious growing pains, I was hoping for a more dominant effort from the defense.

Special Teams: A

Being good on special teams can win football games. Unfortunately for Wisconsin in recent years, special teams has been a highlight because of how poor the offense and defense have been. For a while on Saturday night, it was the same story.

Carson Van Dinter had one of the plays of the night when he blocked and recovered a punt, then housed it for a touchdown. He and Liam Danitz got home to create the score and extend Wisconsin’s early lead to 17-0.

In the return game, there were some sparks as well. Tyrell Henry had a nice punt return to set up the offense near midfield, and Nate Palmer brought a kick out of the end zone on a 42-yard return.

Flying a bit under the radar, Gavin Lahm went 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, connecting on kicks of 30, 49 and 51 yards. Lahm was hit-or-miss throughout fall camp, but through two games, he's connected on all five of his field goal attempts. He did miss an extra point, but unless that becomes a recurring issue, I'm not letting it skew my grade.

Ideally, you’d like to see the offense and the defense outshine the special teams. After all, if your special teams are your best units, it’s hard to win a lot of games. Still, it’s an encouraging sight that Wisconsin has not only been serviceable on special teams, but made a lot of big plays.

Overall: C+

Wisconsin wide receivers celebrate a touchdown. — Sep 12, 2026; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Javan Robinson (2) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

First thing’s first, it’s a win. Those haven’t been easy to come by for this program as of late, so I’ll take them in any form. Looking beyond the win-loss column, however, this win was underwhelming. Against an inferior FCS opponent — one that hasn’t had a winning season since 2017 — Wisconsin seemed to let off the gas after its blistering 17-0 start.

On both sides of the ball, there were flashes of what could make this team one that turns a corner under Luke Fickell, but not being able to sustain those moments of dominance against Western Illinois is where concern creeps up on me.

I couldn’t care less that the Badgers didn’t cover the spread, but I was hoping for a total route of the Leathernecks and we didn’t get that. The defensive unit, which I felt pretty good about this offseason, had struggles against Western Illinois’ run game and tempo and the offense made too many mistakes.

I’m refraining from formulating major conclusions about this team until the conference slate, but so far, there’s not a lot of major positives to pick from. But, as I said earlier, there were clear flashes of what success could look like for this team, and it won its home opener by four scores. Sure it could’ve — and should’ve — been more, but there hasn’t been enough winning in recent years to complain about tonight’s result.

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