Wisconsin football QB Danny O’Neil shines in Week 2 start vs. Middle Tennessee State
Danny O’Neil stepped in as the Wisconsin Badgers' Week 2 starter, showing poise and efficiency that gives the Badgers confidence at QB2.
Backup quarterbacks are funny things. You don’t think much about them until you have to, unless you’re the Wisconsin football team. Under head coach Luke Fickell, QB2 has been a recurring storyline in Madison, and in Week 2, the Badgers' latest chapter featured Danny O’Neil.
With Billy Edwards Jr. sidelined by a sprained knee that has him out week to week, it was O’Neil’s turn to lead the offense at Camp Randall. His first career start as a Badger wasn’t just a cameo; it was a confidence check for a program that has lacked any stability behind center in recent years.
And O’Neil delivered.
The San Diego State transfer went 23-of-27 for 283 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Those numbers speak loudly enough when you consider O'Neil had the most passing yards by a Wisconsin quarterback in his starting debut since 1951. But the way he operated spoke even louder. His performance generated a 0.52 EPA per dropback, good enough to place him in the 90th percentile nationally in Week 2, per Game on Paper. That’s not just efficiency. It’s top-end production for a backup quarterback in a new system, even against a mediocre opponent.
O’Neil wrapped up his first start with an 89.0 offensive grade and an 89.6 passing grade. He logged one big-time throw and was sacked just once despite being blitzed by Middle Tennessee on 79.3% of dropbacks.
O’Neil also had to deal with a shuffled offensive line in front of him. With Jake Renfro out, Kerry Kodanko started at center, Riley Mahlman flipped over to left tackle, Emerson Mandell kicked out to right tackle, and redshirt freshman Colin Cubberly drew his first start at right guard, with Joe Brunner manning his usual spot at left guard. Given all the changes, the group did struggle in the run game but improved along the way, committed no penalties and gave him a shot under tough circumstances.
More than the stat line, it was the poise. Two years ago, when Tanner Mordecai went down with a broken hand requiring surgery, the offense looked disjointed, one-dimensional, and hesitant with Braedyn Locke under center. Last season, when Tyler Van Dyke suffered a torn ACL that ended his season and Locke took over once again, there was no juice. No belief. The body language told you everything you needed to know.
This time? It was different. O’Neil inspired confidence not only in himself but in the guys around him. He admitted afterward that the preparation of being “the guy” all week long made all the difference.
“Just being able to start banking reps from Monday on through the rest of the week, having the confidence in the game plan, having the confidence in the guys around me, just being more comfortable out there — it was definitely fun to just be out there playing ball,” O’Neil said. “I can’t express enough gratitude for the guys around me and how they responded to a not very good first half. We had some tough conversations at halftime to flip the script. We knew that we weren't playing to our standard.
"It started with the guys up front. They took on the challenge at halftime, and we were able to really flip the script coming out for the second half."
That confidence showed in the second half, but it also came through in big moments earlier. When the Badgers rolled the dice on a key fourth down, it was O’Neil who delivered on a touchdown pass to Tyrell Henry.
"I think we all knew that we were going to be aggressive," O'Neil told reporters. "We've talked about it all offseason, leading up to this point, that we're going to be aggressive with the play calling. So to have the confidence in ourselves and know that the coach had the confidence in us to go out there and execute... we got exactly what we wanted with the play that's called, and just being able to really start to get it rolling at that point was a big drive for us, and everything started clicking after that."
He also found Jayden Ballard for a 58-yard pass in the fourth quarter and later connected with Lance Mason on a 17-yard score, the kind of explosive passing plays this offense has sorely lacked in recent years.
Fickell noticed it too.