Ever since falling apart in the second half against Notre Dame, Wisconsin football has shown tremendous growth in each of its ensuing games.
The Badgers look like a completely different football team than the one head coach Luke Fickell trotted out last season that limped to a 4-8 record. They’re playing ferocious defense and the offense, while still a touch inconsistent, is exponentially more dangerous than anything we’ve seen under this regime.
In its dominant 31-3 homecoming blowout victory over Michigan State, Wisconsin played perhaps its most complete and satisfying game yet under Fickell. Below, BadgerNotes breaks down nine telling plays from the dominant win that offer a glimpse into how this program has changed its trajectory in 2026.
Any discussion of this defense, which has been one of the nation’s better units through five games, needs to include the Badgers’ star pass-rusher Sebastian Cheeks (No. 15). With 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, he’s certainly created a respectable amount of havoc off the edge. But Cheeks’ 27 pressures, per PFF, tell the best story of his season.
The above play is a perfect example of how pressures can be just as impactful, if not more so, than sacks. Cheeks doesn’t make a dent on the stat sheet on this rep, but his perfect jump and ability to blow by the Spartans’ right tackle forces quarterback Alessio Milivojevic to step up into the waiting arms of Charles Perkins, who notches his first sack of the season.
UCLA head coach Bob Chesney called Cheeks a “problem” this week for a reason. With how frequently Cheeks has gotten into the backfield, the sacks and splash plays will come. But the sheer pressure he is creating off the edge has been one of the biggest assets for the Badgers’ defense.
