The Wisconsin Badgers beat the USC Trojans 24-7 on Saturday night, improving to 5-2 behind a masterful performance from the defense.
In the win, Wisconsin held USC to the lowest scoring total ever by a Lincoln Riley-led offense as a head coach. They also held USC to -17 rushing yards, while forcing two interceptions on quarterback Jayden Maiava.
Here are the PFF grades and snap counts from Wisconsin’s win over USC.
Defensive Line
Hammond Russell IV – Snap Count: [49], Grade: 66.9
Junior Poyser – Snap Count: [27], Grade:
74.0
Charles Perkins – Snap Count: [20], Grade: 50.2
DeNigel Cooper – Snap Count: [19], Grade: 53.0
Nolan Vils – Snap Count: [16], Grade: 55.0
Dillan Johnson – Snap Count: [6], Grade: 68.1
Michael Garner – Snap Count: [3], Grade: 68.7
Hammond Russell continues to be Wisconsin’s top defensive lineman. He’s been an important run-stopper for them this year, and added two pressures in this one.
Thought Junior Poyser made another few impact plays, and we’re seeing him emerge as Wisconsin’s No. 2 defensive lineman. He also had two pressures in this one.
Overall, it was a very good performance from the defensive line defending the run, which kept USC one-dimensional. We also saw Wisconsin shorten the rotation to five main defensive linemen, even in a game with 76 defensive snaps.
Outside Linebackers
Sebastian Cheeks – Snap Count: [62], Grade: 80.5
Tyreese Fearbry – Snap Count: [43], Grade: 60.8
Nicolas Clayton – Snap Count: [28], Grade: 50.2
Justus Boone – Snap Count: [18], Grade: 55.9
Aaron Witt – Snap Count: [1], Grade: 60.0
Sebastian Cheeks’s snap count continues to rise, and he continues to excel. A week after UCLA tried to stifle him with chips, Cheeks had a phenomenal game with six pressures and 2.5 sacks.
Tyreese Fearbry had some huge plays in the run game. He recorded two defensive stops, and his athleticism off the edge has been huge for Wisconsin defending the run.
Used again primarily as a pass-rusher, Nicolas Clayton didn’t record a pressure after having four last week. The Badgers also played Justus Boone a good amount as a jumbo edge.
Linebackers
Mason Posa – Snap Count: [76], Grade: 69.6
Cooper Catalano – Snap Count: [76], Grade: 62.4
Jon Jon Kamara – Snap Count: [1], Grade: 60.0
Straightforward here. The Badgers went with their stars for the entire game, and both delivered.
Posa and Catalano had good games against UCLA, but were picked on a few times in coverage and had a few mistakes as well. In this one, the duo were vital.
Posa continues to be a very good blitzer and off-the-edge rusher on third downs. He was second on the team with three pressures to go with 1.5 sacks. Catalano was the enforcer in this one with 10 tackles and five defensive stops.
Cornerbacks
Jai’mier Scott – Snap Count: [76], Grade: 66.2
Bryce West – Snap Count: [68], Grade: 60.5
Javan Robinson – Snap Count: [41], Grade: 75.2
Eric Fletcher Jr. – Snap Count: [34], Grade: 65.7
With Javan Robinson’s health questionable, the Badgers rotated him with Eric Fletcher again this week, which meant a full workload for Jai’mier Scott. Wisconsin was also in nickel nearly the entire game, hence 68 snaps for Bryce West.
Teams continue to throw away from Robinson. He was targeted just three in this game, and one of them was his pass breakup that was tipped up for Bryce West’s interception. Another was a different pass breakup. West and Scott also both allowed passer ratings under 80.0, a good mark.
Safeties
Matthew Jung – Snap Count: [76], Grade: 81.1
Cairo Skanes – Snap Count: [65], Grade: 74.9
Carson Van Dinter – Snap Count: [16], Grade: 65.2
Marvin Burks Jr. – Snap Count: [9], Grade: 54.7
Matthew Traynor – Snap Count: [6], Grade: 64.6
Have to give a big shout-out to the safety room in this game. Marvin Burks left early and did not return, forcing Cairo Skanes into action, while Carson Van Dinter and Matthew Traynor played real snaps.
Skanes did not have a good game against UCLA. But he was all over the place in this one, recording four tackles, a pass breakup, and an interception. He was moved around a ton and had a good game.
Jung had six tackles and three pass breakups, leading him to be the highest-graded player on defense. It was a good bounce back game from this unit.
