Wisconsin football report card from 17-0 win over Miami (OH)
Breaking down grades for the Wisconsin Badgers offense, defense, and special teams from the 17-0 win over Miami (OH) in Week 1.
Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin football team opened the 2025 season on the right foot at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers knocked off Chuck Martin and the Miami (OH) Redhawks by a score of 17-0, collecting their 28th consecutive season-opening non-conference win in the process.
That said, the victory in front of 65,952 fans, the lowest home-opening attendance since 1992, wasn’t without its fair share of challenges. Wisconsin (1-0) suffered a key injury at quarterback that loomed large after the win, raising questions that could shape the rest of this season.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was telling. We learned a great deal about how this Wisconsin Badgers team intends to operate on both sides of the ball in Year 3 under Fickell, and we got a first glimpse at the areas that will ultimately decide whether this season meets expectations or falls short.
"When you have adversity like that, you’ve got to have guys that have confidence in what they’re doing, whether that’s the guy coming in or the guys around him," Fickell said. "I feel we’re in a different place. You can have some struggle, you can have a tough game, you can have adversity like losing a quarterback, but you can still play the game the way you expect to play it. That’s what I thought we looked like tonight. There was nothing we did to beat ourselves."
With that as the backdrop, let’s hand out some grades.
Offense: C
I already feel better about the direction of this offense. There’s a plan, and it's one that actually fits the personnel and puts guys in positions to succeed. That said, the win still came with its share of growing pains.
The story was supposed to be Billy Edwards leading Jeff Grimes’ new-look offense, but that plan got thrown off course in the second quarter.
Edwards went down with a non-contact lower-body injury, walked off under his own power, but returned after halftime in street clothes. That left Wisconsin leaning on San Diego State transfer Danny O’Neil, who took over in a tough spot. To his credit, O’Neil looked solid enough, finishing 12-of-19 for 120 yards with two total touchdowns and one interception. Not perfect, but steady enough to get Wisconsin across the finish line.
"I don't have any answers on Billy, so we can just get that out of the way right now," Fickell said after the game. "I don't know a whole lot. Good to see that he was back out there and able to be a part of the game and be with our team. So, hopefully that's a really good sign for things moving forward. But we won't have any updates right now."
Fortunately for the Badgers, Edwards' MRI came back clean, and he is considered week-to-week with a sprained knee, with no official timetable for his return. Talk about catching a much-needed break at quarterback.
The run game did its job, chewing up 165 yards on 43 carries. Both Dilin Jones (14 carries for 73 yards, 5.2 YPC) and Darrion Dupree (eight carries for 41 yards, 5.1 YPC) were effective, and Miami (OH) managed just one tackle for loss against Wisconsin's backs all night. Jones paced the group with 31 snaps, while Dupree added 28 and Cade Yacamelli chipped in 23.
The offensive line, however, remains a mixed bag. Senior left tackle Davis Heinzen was tagged with five pressures and two sacks allowed on 39 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and that’s a glaring concern against better competition down the road. The problem is that I'm not sure there is a better option available, short of moving players around.
Even so, there were some bright spots in the passing game. Vinny Anthony did some nice things, catching four passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. Grant Stec filled in admirably for the injured Tucker Ashcraft at tight end and showed flashes. And credit to Grimes for finding ways to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands, mixing in pre-snap motion and some creativity that kept Miami (OH) from locking in on any one option.
I get that Miami stacked the box and dared Wisconsin to throw, but the Badgers were still effective on the ground when they committed to it. That part felt underutilized, especially with a backup quarterback thrust into a less-than-ideal situation. That felt a little puzzling at times.
Add it all up, and the Badgers out-gained Miami (OH) 353-117 while limiting mistakes to five total penalties and a single turnover. Solid, but not without flaws. Given the quarterback injury, the uneven pass protection, and the lack of explosive plays, this performance lands at a C.
Defense: A
If you’re looking for the story of the night, this was it. Wisconsin’s defense flat-out suffocated Miami (OH) in the opener. The RedHawks failed to convert a single third down, finishing 0-for-9, and never found the end zone. They managed just 117 total yards, seven first downs, were held under three yards per play, and averaged only 4.74 plays per drive.
According to Game on Paper, Miami (OH) also finished with an EPA of -0.53, which landed in the 0th percentile. That’s about as dominant as it gets for a defense ushering in a new(ish) system.
The front seven controlled everything at the line of scrimmage, holding Miami to just 34 rushing yards. Christian Alliegro and Darryl Peterson each notched a sack, while Mason Reiger and Brandon Lane chipped in half-sacks. Meanwhile, the secondary limited Dequan Finn to 83 yards through the air on 50% passing with no touchdowns and two interceptions, both of which were courtesy of safety Preston Zachman.
On the night, Wisconsin piled up 20 total pressures as a defense, including four from Reiger. I’d be remiss not to mention Sebastian Cheeks, who finished with four total tackles and three pressures while looking disruptive on the edge from start to finish. Cheeks was in the backfield and near the ball all night, and the team's ability to rotate bodies up front the way they wanted to only added to that constant wave of pressure.
It was the full picture — pressure up front, good coverage behind it, and no way out for Miami’s offense. Coach Fickell summed it up afterward.
“I would say defensively that was a heck of a game," Fickell said. "I’m not singling out any one person. It’s easy to say Mike Tressel and that defensive staff did a really good job in the preparations and really made some really good adjustments. I don’t know that initially we expected the quarterback to run the ball quite as much, and I think the first couple of series, he came out and showed that they were willing to run the quarterback. I thought our guys adapted really well to that. They played really well on third down. Hopefully that’s a great sign for us moving forward, as you can see we’ve done a much better job creating pressure, those guys up front creating havoc, whether they’re sacks or not.”
That last part is key. The sack total may not jump off the page against a MAC opponent, but the constant pressure did. Finn never looked comfortable, and Wisconsin’s defense dictated the game start to finish. If you’re grading it, there’s no hesitation: this was an A performance.
Special Teams: C-
The big storyline here is that Nathaniel Vakos took full control of the kicking duties for Wisconsin. After competing with Gavin Lahm in fall camp, Vakos not only made both of his extra points but also connected on his lone field goal attempt from 42 yards out. He even handled kickoffs, a role usually reserved for Lahm. If Vakos can shoulder both responsibilities this season, the plan appears to be redshirting Lahm, who has a big leg, with the expectation that he steps into all of those duties in 2026.
That’s a positive development.
But the decision-making around Vakos was puzzling. Wisconsin passed on a chip-shot 27-yard field goal in the second quarter, opting instead to go for it on 4th-and-3 from the Miami 10. O’Neil threw an interception in the end zone. Later, the staff chose to punt rather than let Vakos try a 54-yarder, even though he’s the program’s all-time leader in makes from beyond 50. Those choices didn’t backfire on the scoreboard in a 17-0 win, but they were head scratchers in the moment nonetheless.
As for the punting game, it was shaky at best. Atticus Bertrams had five punts for 190 yards, averaging just 38.0 with a net of 30.8. His first effort went just 20 yards, setting up Miami at midfield. Notably, Bertrams did manage to drop one inside the 20 and had a long of 54 on the night.
All told, Vakos did his job, but the overall operation left plenty to be desired. Between the conservative choices by the staff and Bertrams’ uneven night, this was a below-average performance. The grade lands at a C-.
Wisconsin will host Middle Tennessee next Saturday, Sept. 6th, at 3:00 PM CT on FS1.
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I suspect the 'C' grade for the offense rests primarily on the OL.