The Leftovers: Wisconsin football's offensive formula and Barrett Nelson's opportunity

Wisconsin's win over USC offered a glimpse of a sustainable offensive approach and a feel-good story along an offensive line still searching for consistency.

Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Colton Joseph celebrates during a 24-7 win over USC at Camp Randall Stadium. Photo credit: UW Athletics.

What a difference a week makes.

After looking completely lost offensively against UCLA, the Wisconsin football team (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) responded with arguably its most complete performance of the Luke Fickell era, beating No. 16 USC 24-7 at Camp Randall Stadium.

It wasn’t particularly pretty on offense, but for the first time in a while, I thought the Badgers looked like a team that understood exactly what it needed to be to win.

After some time to process Saturday’s performance, I wanted to revisit a couple of things. That’s the idea behind The Leftovers. A chance to look beyond immediate reactions and spend more time on what deserves our attention.

And this week, there are two offensive developments I think are worth discussing.

Wisconsin’s offense might finally be figuring out what it needs to be