The Wisconsin Badgers blew out the Eastern Michigan Eagles 54-10 on Saturday, as their offense was dominant through the air after a slow start.
Colton Joseph threw for 300 yards by halftime, Tyrell Henry broke a school record for receptions in a game, and the Badgers scored on their final seven drives of the game.
Let’s look at the snap counts and how every player on offense was graded for the Badgers in Week 3.
Quarterbacks
Colton Joseph – Snap Count: [64], Grade: 72.9
I would’ve liked to see Ryan Hopkins in this
game, especially given that Eastern Michigan seemed to throw the white flag in the third quarter. But Colton Joseph bounced back from a rough start to post 300 passing yards by halftime. He also was a big threat with his legs, rushing for a touchdown, while tossing three more in the air.
Joseph needs to still clean up the accuracy issues, but the highs were as good as you’d want on Saturday.
Running Backs
Darrion Dupree – Snap Count: [34], Grade: 73.7
Nate Palmer – Snap Count: [17], Grade: 72.7
Bryan Jackson II – Snap Count: [13], Grade: 59.6
Mason Lane – Snap Count: [1], Grade: 60.0
With Abu Sama not playing, the Badgers leaned heavily on Darrion Dupree, while Bryan Jackson and Nate Palmer also got into the mix.
Wisconsin needs Sama’s home-run ability, but they’ve also been looking for him to run more vertical, rather than bouncing to the outside, which will be much tougher against better defenses.
We saw more north-to-south running on Saturday from Wisconsin’s trio of running backs, but the Badgers couldn’t get much going on the ground, with those three combining for 75 yards on 20 carries. They’ll need a better day in Week 4 against Penn State.
Wide Receivers
Chris Brooks Jr. – Snap Count: [54], Grade: 72.4
Eugene Hilton Jr. – Snap Count: [43], Grade: 50.9
Tyrell Henry – Snap Count: [37], Grade: 92.9
Shamar Rigby – Snap Count: [27], Grade: 54.0
Wisconsin’s receiver snaps were consolidated to just four players on Saturday as Malachi Coleman and Jaylon Domingeaux remained out.
Chris Brooks got the most snaps as expected, while Eugene Hilton and Tyrell Henry both got a ton of snaps as well. Henry obviously enjoyed a big day with 14 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown, while Brooks had 91 yards and a score on three catches.
Shamar Rigby also remained firmly in the mix, getting 27 snaps, although he didn’t catch a pass.
Tight Ends
Grant Stec – Snap Count: [32], Grade: 52.3
Jacob Harris – Snap Count: [31], Grade: 81.0
Emmett Bork – Snap Count: [29], Grade: 57.9
Nizyi Davis – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 60.0
The tight end snaps were as even as we’ve seen them in Week 3, as Jacob Harris saw his reps jump in a big way.
Harris had gotten 17 and 21 snaps, respectively, in the first two weeks, which was third on the team, but got 31 on Saturday and responded in a big way. He had three catches for 89 yards, recording a phenomenal one-handed diving catch on a shot play, while also having a big catch-and-run on a play-action.
Emmett Bork also saw his snap count remain quite high, while Grant Stec led the room. With Ryan Schwendeman out, those three are the leaders of the room for now.
Offensive Line
Kevin Heywood – Snap Count: [64], Grade: 74.8
Colin Cubberly – Snap Count: [64], Grade: 56.0
Austin Kawecki – Snap Count: [64], Grade: 52.3
PJ Wilkins – Snap Count: [62], Grade: 55.6
Stylz Blackmon – Snap Count: [38], Grade: 62.5
Emerson Mandell – Snap Count: [26], Grade: 81.0
Lucas Simmons-Johansson – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 60.0
Wisconsin got Emerson Mandell back, although he didn’t start on Saturday. Mandell and Stylz Blackmon split the reps at right guard, with Blackmon out-pacing him 38-26.
Apart from that, the starters remained the same, playing the whole game essentially. We’ll see if Mandell can push to start in the Big Ten opener.
