The Wisconsin Badgers blew out the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 31-10 this weekend, bouncing back from a rough loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes the week before.
After the defense was manhandled against Iowa, especially through the air, Wisconsin responded quite well on Saturday, holding Rutgers to just 10 points as they got back in the win column.
Here are the PFF grades and snap counts from the Badgers win over the Scarlet Knights on Saturday.
Defensive Line
Hammond Russell IV – Snap Count: [28], Grade: 69.6
Charles Perkins –
Snap Count: [24], Grade: 66.1
Junior Poyser – Snap Count: [16], Grade: 69.7
Dillan Johnson – Snap Count: [14], Grade: 71.5
Nolan Vils – Snap Count: [12], Grade: 69.3
DeNigel Cooper – Snap Count: [9], Grade: 51.6
Jacob Anderson – Snap Count: [8], Grade: 62.0
Will McDonald – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 60.6
With the lead, the Badgers rotated a ton more on the defensive line, while lowering snaps for their top guys. No defensive lineman played over 50 percent of the snaps, and Hammond Russell and Charles Perkins were the leaders on the day.
Russell had three defensive stops, good for second on the team.
The group had done a fine job defending the run against Iowa, and they did a good job on Saturday, holding the Rutgers running backs to just four yards per carry.
Outside Linebackers
Sebastian Cheeks – Snap Count: [42], Grade: 76.7
Tyreese Fearbry – Snap Count: [40], Grade: 54.4
Nicolas Clayton – Snap Count: [26], Grade: 72.6
Justus Boone – Snap Count: [12], Grade: 59.5
Liam Danitz – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 61.4
Sebastian Cheeks was dominant once again, recording three pressures and a very impressive 26.7 percent pass rush win rate.
Outside of him, Wisconsin pressured A.J. Surace on 38 percent of his dropbacks as a team, and he operated well when kept clean. Once again, an opposing team’s game plan was to get the ball out quickly, as Surace had a 2.25-second time to throw when kept clean.
Nicolas Clayton also added a pressure with a 10.5 percent pass rush win rate.
Linebackers
Mason Posa – Snap Count: [59], Grade: 75.5
Cooper Catalano – Snap Count: [59], Grade: 74.0
Taylor Schaefer – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 68.2
Jon Jon Kamara – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 59.5
Thomas Heiberger – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 37.4
Cooper Catalano was phenomenal once again, racking up 14 tackles and seven defensive stops. Mason Posa was also all over the place, adding his share of tackles, three defensive stops, and two pressures as a pass rusher.
Those two played 59 of the 61 defensive snaps.
Cornerbacks
Javan Robinson – Snap Count: [59], Grade: 62.7
Bryce West – Snap Count: [56], Grade: 75.9
Eric Fletcher Jr. – Snap Count: [35], Grade: 65.2
Jai’mier Scott – Snap Count: [26], Grade: 70.9
Donovan Dunmore – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 60.0
Bryce West and Jai’mier Scott didn’t allow a catch, while West and Javan Robinson both had pass breakups. We did see Eric Fletcher play a good amount in this one, while the Badgers played a ton of nickel in this one.
Safeties
Matthew Jung – Snap Count: [59], Grade: 64.3
Marvin Burks Jr. – Snap Count: [53], Grade: 61.7
Cairo Skanes – Snap Count: [17], Grade: 53.5
Raphael Dunn – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 60.1
Matthew Traynor – Snap Count: [2], Grade: 65.0
Carson Van Dinter – Snap Count: [1], Grade: 60.4
Wisconsin had its top two safeties back, and Matt Jung and Marvin Burks dominated the snaps in the room.
Cairo Skanes did give up a 30-yard touchdown catch on his lone target in coverage. But overall, nobody in the room had a missed tackle, while Jung had two defensive stops.
