Grading Wisconsin's Performance Against Rutgers: Ryan Hopkins Provided a Major Spark

Wisconsin returned to Camp Randall on Saturday, led by a true freshman at quarterback, and took care of business against Rutgers. These are the games where I think you need to be careful not to overreact because of the quality of the opponent, but here’s what I thought about each phase of the game.

Offense: A-

In recent years, the presence of a backup quarterback in the Badgers' offense has been a detriment. On Saturday night, it was the spark that the offense needed. Ryan Hopkins, outside of a few plays, was very good.

The true freshman completed 18 passes on 24 attempts, connecting with eight different receivers for 241 passing yards and three scores. Hopkins did throw two near interceptions, but it was luckily called back for roughing the passer. He also had a ball go straight through a defensive back’s hands that would have been a walk-in pick-six. Finally, Rutgers caught a break as Hopkins fumbled late, but it didn’t change the outcome of the game.

Offensively, things just seemed crisper with Hopkins under center. The ball went to every part of the field, both near the line-of-scrimmage and deep downfield. My only other negative, a minor one at that, was it took a while for the Badgers to establish the run. They did, however, finish with 122 yards on the ground, a respectable if not dominant number.

Overall, I’m not going to jump to major conclusions based on one with Hopkins, against one of the worst defenses in the nation at that, but 31 points in a conference game wasn’t something I could confidently anticipate after last week, so my grade is friendly.

Wisconsin's Eugene Hilton Jr.. — Nov 7, 2026; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Eugene Hilton Jr. (13) celebrates with tight end Ryan Schwendeman (84) during the third quarter against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Defense: A

Outside of a few AJ Surace completions over the top, the defense seemed to return to form this week, at least somewhat. The play that left me most puzzled was when Wisconsin went with three safeties on the field, just to get beat over the top for a 30-yard touchdown pass.

Surace threw for 161 yards in the game, completing 14 of 24 attempts and didn’t commit a turnover. I thought that would be a key for the defense, but it controlled the game even without a takeaway, so no complaints there.

Against the run, Mike Tressel’s group was solid as expected. Antwan Raymond had a few nice carries, but he totaled just 56 yards on 15 carries and couldn’t get much going on the ground. Without KJ Duff, I thought it was critical for the run defense to dominate, and while it wasn’t as dominant as we’ve seen, it was plenty good enough to handle the Scarlet Knights.

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Most importantly, the defense logged eight tackles for losses, five of them being sacks, led by Cooper Catalano who had 2.5 TFLs. Sebastian Cheeks, per usual, got home for a sack, but four other Badgers brought down Surace in the backfield. The front seven took advantage of an inferior opposition and it showed Saturday night.

Wisconsin's Sebastian Cheeks. — Wisconsin linebacker Sebastian Cheeks (15) celebrates his sack of Rutgers quarterback AJ Surace during the second quarter of their game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Special Teams: B+

Saturday’s highlight for the special teams was, without a doubt, Lahm’s 51-yard field goal. Anytime you have a clean operation and make a long kick, it’s a win, especially to support an offense led by a true freshman in his first start.

Beyond that, there wasn’t a ton that stood out. Lahm converted on his other two kicks, both of the short variety, and Sean West remained consistent with a few kicks inside the 20-yard line.

Rutgers wasn’t able to muster much of anything in the return game to jumpstart a comeback or momentum-shift, which is always a win for Bob Ligashesky’s guys.

Once again, the special teams didn't jump off the page as they have in other games this season, but the absence of errors and overall stability earns a fairly-high grade.

Overall: A-

I like to try to sum up my overall grades as concisely as possible, so here goes. Wisconsin shifted to a true freshman at quarterback, had a few breaks go its way and handled an inferior opponent the way it should.

What I saw on Saturday didn’t necessarily blow me away, and I’m being cautiously optimistic because of the opponent, but it would be unreasonable to say that it didn’t look like this offense had something with Hopkins leading the charge. I’m excited to see it over a larger sample size as he starts the final three games of the season, but for one game, I was impressed.

As I have been on numerous occasions, I felt really good about the way the defense played on Saturday and trust that unit in the final three games. Overall, it was a quality performance that lived up to my expectations, but didn’t blow me away, so I feel like an A- is fair here.

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