Wisconsin football 2026

[Jim French Stepstool]

Vs two B10 teams, they've allowed 2 TDs and neither one of them was the fault of the defense. Both opposing QBs were so-so at best, but that's impressive regardless. They've had some wonderful LB groups over the years but I honestly don't know if they've ever had the number of guys in that unit who can make possession or even game-changing plays than they have now. Even Heiberger, who doesn't start, looks like a standout. The interior lineman are getting a nice push, occupying blockers & even get pressure on the passer at times. And while they'll certainly face passers down the road who are better, I did not expect the secondary to cover, compete & get hands on balls the way they do.

I think it's unfortunate that they need Joseph to be as big a part of the run game as he is, but they do, and he's good at it so you just keep fingers crossed that he can stay healthy. Having a more conventional run game vs some of the people coming up will be tough; hopefully the O-Line can maintain health & get a little better each week. I like Mandell playing tackle so hopefully Blackmon can hold down the G spot. I thought Ryan Corey kept things pretty seamless at C after Kawecki went down, so kudos to him.

[Jim French Stepstool]

6 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

I really liked how they used Joseph with the read options.  He had better throws, too.  The one that was high across the middle was bad, but all in all, I thought it was a good performance.

The two roughing the passer penalties were very questionable.  I started calling them "Vegas Flags".  You see Vegas Flags - a - plenty in the NFL.

Pat Richter is looking very old.  The Season Ticket Seat Holder of the game was sitting next to us.  The gentleman that was with her said that Pat Richter was not able to walk out there by himself.  

Joseph makes some great throws, and some that make you want to hide under the bed. I thought today was more of the same, but I guess a little better as the game went on. The play-action throw for the TD I thought was a thing of beauty--not because it was a perfect ball or that he hit him in stride or anything, but he saw it was so wide open he appeared to just lay it out there since he had so much margin for error. Smart. Agree totally about the read options. He seems to have a great feel for decisions, at least today he did.

At least one of the PI flags was thrown by an extended member of the Kneuppel clan. I'll just leave it at that😁.

Agree re Pat Richter. I was actually a little shocked when they showed him on screen. But when you do the math, the guy is in his 80s. I have no idea where the time went.

[homer]

Someone online compared Joseph to Mike Samuel.

 

Good lord that was 28 years ago.

[yourout]

13 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Joseph makes some great throws, and some that make you want to hide under the bed. I thought today was more of the same, but I guess a little better as the game went on. The play-action throw for the TD I thought was a thing of beauty--not because it was a perfect ball or that he hit him in stride or anything, but he saw it was so wide open he appeared to just lay it out there since he had so much margin for error. Smart. Agree totally about the read options. He seems to have a great feel for decisions, at least today he did.

At least one of the PI flags was thrown by an extended member of the Kneuppel clan. I'll just leave it at that😁.

Agree re Pat Richter. I was actually a little shocked when they showed him on screen. But when you do the math, the guy is in his 80s. I have no idea where the time went.

Like the Kenny Chesney song. Don't blink 100 years goes faster than you think. I had an 87-year-old aunt that passed away yesterday.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4f0p5KqdU9U

[Jim French Stepstool]

4 hours ago, yourout said:

Like the Kenny Chesney song. Don't blink 100 years goes faster than you think. I had an 87-year-old aunt that passed away yesterday.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4f0p5KqdU9U

Condolences.

[yourout]

1 hour ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Condolences.

Thanks... She was in a lot of pain after breaking her other hip earlier in the week. 

She was a good soul.

[JosephC]

Good solid performance.  I still have some doubts how this offense will perform against better teams, but I've heard enough to convince me that this is not a bottom third Big 10 team.

[yourout]

1 hour ago, JosephC said:

Good solid performance.  I still have some doubts how this offense will perform against better teams, but I've heard enough to convince me that this is not a bottom third Big 10 team.

Better than bottom but not sure where they will land. Luckily seems like the B10 is down a bit from the last couple of years and Bucky avoids the Hoosiers and Buckeyes and Ducks.

[nate82]

2 hours ago, yourout said:

Better than bottom but not sure where they will land. Luckily seems like the B10 is down a bit from the last couple of years and Bucky avoids the Hoosiers and Buckeyes and Ducks.

Indiana doesn't look all that good.  To be honest beyond Ohio State and Oregon the B10 looks very punch less.

Indiana hasn't played anyone yet and one of their two B10 games looked bad and one great.  They played poorly against Northwestern and steam rolled Rutgers.  I think Nebraska upsets them on Saturday looking ahead to the Ohio State game and then get steam rolled by Ohio State.  I just don't see Indiana as being that good of a team this year.  Last year was special for them but this year they are just not as good.  After Ohio State there next "tough game" is against USC at home in November.  They probably finish second in the B10 and get a revenge matchup against Ohio State but I think they miss the playoffs this year with two losses in the regular season and then one loss in the championship game.  

The Badgers I think they finish in the middle of the pack with Iowa, USC and UCLA just above them.  Win one of the three against USC, UCLA and Iowa and that should give them 6 wins in the B10.  Going 6-3 or 5-4 is probably the more realistic finish which should put them in the middle of the pack of the B10.  Michigan, Penn State, Washington, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State and Rutgers are all currently 0-2 in the B10.  Maryland, Michigan State and Rutgers look like they are a one or two win max teams in the B10.

Defensively I think the Badgers can shut down Rutgers, Maryland and Purdue.  I think they will also be competitive against UCLA, USC and Iowa.  The problem is the QB and how well Joseph will play against the those three teams and Minnesota.  If Joseph can keep the turnovers down the Badgers should compete in those 4 games.  They could get to 7 or 8 wins if Joseph limits the turnovers.  I think the realistic record is 5-4 which puts them in the same category as Michigan and USC.  USC has a tough schedule with Ohio State, Indiana and UCLA left on the schedule.  Only easy win is against Maryland and maybe against Penn State.  4 wins would put USC at 6-3 that is assuming they beat Wisconsin, Penn State, Maryland and UCLA and lose against Ohio State and Indiana.  They could lose at least one or two of those 4 which would put them at 5 or 4 wins. 

Here is a crazy thing.  If the Badgers win out and miss or lose the championship game they would have about a 90% chance of making the playoffs.  I don't think this could happen and I don't think they can or will win out as Joseph is not that kind of a QB you want to depend on and the Badgers will need to depend on him for at least the next three games and possibly the Minnesota game.  That is just way too much on a QB like Joseph.  

[Jimbo]

On 10/3/2026 at 7:04 PM, Jim French Stepstool said:

Agree re Pat Richter. I was actually a little shocked when they showed him on screen. But when you do the math, the guy is in his 80s. I have no idea where the time went.

My dad played basketball against him in high school.  So yeah...old.

 

[RedStickBrew]

Now that we are a few games into the season, I think I agree with many fans, this is a good, not great, team.  I do like the defense.  D-line play is better than I thought, LBs about what expected, and secondary has been pretty good. 

Offensively, they are going to struggle to move the ball against the more physical defenses and it could be disastrous relying on Joseph's arm to win games.  

[Jim French Stepstool]

On 10/4/2026 at 8:24 AM, homer said:

Someone online compared Joseph to Mike Samuel.

 

Good lord that was 28 years ago.

The willingness to run with the ball & the instincts are pretty similar IMO. But Samuel was a much more physical runner. I'm concerned about Joseph if he keeps toting it this often, but they need him to unless the conventional run game suddenly gets much better.

[nate82]

The Badgers have so much depth at LB that 3 and 4 star recruits haven’t even seen the field yet.  That is crazy I don’t think a Badgers team has ever had this problem at any position other than at RB for a year or two.  

[RedStickBrew]

8 minutes ago, nate82 said:

The Badgers have so much depth at LB that 3 and 4 star recruits haven’t even seen the field yet.  That is crazy I don’t think a Badgers team has ever had this problem at any position other than at RB for a year or two.  

Probably about time to name Mitchell co-defensive coordinator and raise his pay. I think he was a head coach at a smaller school before he was hired at UW. I don’t want to see him leave 

[LouisEly]

22 hours ago, nate82 said:

Indiana doesn't look all that good.  To be honest beyond Ohio State and Oregon the B10 looks very punch less.

And Oregon lost to Oklahoma State who lost to Tulsa.

I think Northwestern is really good.  Chip Kelly knows how to build an offense around what they have.  Should have beaten Indiana if not for a horrible facemask penalty on a 3rd an 19 deep in Indiana territory, then trucked Penn State.