The Wisconsin Badgers can only look forward after their 17-7 loss at the hands of the now No. 10-ranked UCLA Bruins.
Accepting the loss is one thing, but no one in this locker room has forgotten about the abysmal offensive display that saw the Badgers put together a 214-yard performance.
Among the team’s most inconsistent players was quarterback Colton Joseph. Joseph tallied just 66 yards across six complete passes, and while he made up for it with his 71 rushing yards, that still doesn't excuse a non-existent passing game in a contest many argue UW should've won.
Continued poor performances for the Old Dominion transfer
By no means was anyone expecting Joseph to be perfect, but here's a closer look at Joseph’s stat lines against Notre Dame, Penn State, and UCLA:
Notre Dame (41-13 L): 63.3% completion
percentage, 217 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
Penn State (24-20 W): 47.3%, 235 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions
UCLA (17-7 L): 37.5%, 66 yards
For what it's worth, Joseph has also tallied 113 yards and two rushing touchdowns in those three games.
Is Wisconsin on the path to making a quarterback change?
If the Badgers wanted to make a change at quarterback, Ryan Hopkins and Deuce Adams would be ready. So far this season, Adams hasn’t seen a snap, and Hopkins has compiled only 14 yards across two completed passes.
Hopkins is officially listed as the QB2 on the depth chart, though there are no indications that Joseph is going to be benched, nor should he be at this stage.
Joseph has been nowhere near perfect, and he deserves some blame; but the lack of Abu Sama has certainly played a factor and to no surprise, Joseph's worst performances have all been against ranked teams.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Should Wisconsin consider a quarterback change in Week 8 vs. USC?
