The Wisconsin Badgers blew out the USC Trojans 24-7 behind a strong run game and a dominant defensive performance, improving to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in the Big Ten.
The Badgers threw for even fewer yards than they did a week ago, but were able to establish the run and get some big help from their defense to control the game on the ground.
Wisconsin also made another change on the offensive line, inserting a new starter at right guard, which panned out quite well in the win.
Here are the snap counts
and PFF grades from Wisconsin’s 24-7 win over USC on Saturday night.
Quarterbacks
Colton Joseph – Snap Count: [60], Grade: 58.7
It was a run-heavy game for the Badgers, as Colton Joseph followed up his 66 passing yards from last week with 58 on Saturday. This time, he completed 12 of 14 passes, but he was also very involved in the run game.
Not including sacks, Joseph also had 13 carries for 43 yards. Most importantly, he didn’t have a costly turnover, and Wisconsin mainly took the game out of his hands in the air after some early mistakes.
Running Backs
Abu Sama III – Snap Count: [36], Grade: 68.6
Bryan Jackson II – Snap Count: [20], Grade: 68.5
Darrion Dupree – Snap Count: [4], Grade: 55.9
We finally saw Abu Sama fully healthy, and he got a big workload with Darrion Dupree very limited due to injury. Sama got 17 carries for 71 yards, while backup Bryan Jackson filtered into the mix with 38 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
The Badgers needed everything they got from both running backs on a run-heavy game, as Wisconsin had 43 total carries in this one.
Wide Receivers
Chris Brooks Jr. – Snap Count: [43], Grade: 68.1
Jaylon Domingeaux – Snap Count: [30], Grade: 59.5
Eugene Hilton Jr. – Snap Count: [29], Grade: 63.5
Tyrell Henry – Snap Count: [25], Grade: 53.6
Shamar Rigby – Snap Count: [12], Grade: 56.7
Jaylon Domingeaux’s snap count quickly jumped in his second game back, as the Badgers primarily relied on their top four guys with Malachi Coleman out.
Wisconsin didn’t have any big plays in the air, so it wasn’t a very eventful day from this group, but Chris Brooks did have a 16-yard catch-and-run on a fourth-down screen for a touchdown.
Tight Ends
Grant Stec – Snap Count: [31], Grade: 61.3
Jacob Harris – Snap Count: [31], Grade: 62.3
Ryan Schwendeman – Snap Count: [30], Grade: 55.3
Emmett Bork – Snap Count: [9], Grade: 58.2
Wisconsin gave Jacob Harris some more snaps in this one, and that took away from Emmett Bork. The Badgers had their usual dose of heavy personnel, involving a lot of two tight-end looks, and Grant Stec, Jacob Harris, and Ryan Schwendeman all played.
Schwendeman got his first touchdown on a fullback dive.
Offensive Line
Stylz Blackmon – Snap Count: [60], Grade: 63.4
Emerson Mandell – Snap Count: [60], Grade: 69.9
Kevin Heywood – Snap Count: [60], Grade: 57.6
Colin Cubberly – Snap Count: [60], Grade: 57.5
Barrett Nelson – Snap Count: [53], Grade: 72.1
PJ Wilkins – Snap Count: [7], Grade: 52.1
This was where the big change came. Wisconsin made another move on the offensive line after the continued struggles of PJ Wilkins, starting Barrett Nelson at right guard.
It’s been a full circle for Nelson, who had been seen as a potential future starting right tackle for the Badgers before dealing with a bevy of long-term injuries over the past few years. A few weeks ago, Nelson had moved in from tackle to guard, and he made the start at right guard on Saturday.
Not only was Nelson the highest-graded offensive lineman for the Badgers, but he was their highest-graded offensive player overall in the game.
Wisconsin allowed just five total pressures in the game, and the offensive line did their job in the run game.
