Stock up, stock down for Wisconsin football after Week 2 win over Middle Tennessee
Wisconsin football stock report after the 42-10 win over Middle Tennessee State. Who’s rising, who’s falling, and what it means heading into Week 3.
The University of Wisconsin football team handled its business at Camp Randall with a 42-10 win over Middle Tennessee State in Week 2. The Badgers outscored the Blue Raiders 28-0 in the second half and moved to 2-0 for the second straight season under head coach Luke Fickell.
Danny O’Neil impressed in his first start at quarterback for the Badgers, Wisconsin’s defense tightened after a sloppy opening half, and Jeff Grimes’ offense finally hit on some explosive plays. Just as notable, the team finished without a penalty despite playing behind a shuffled offensive line, an encouraging sign of discipline despite all the new faces.
The first 30 minutes weren’t pretty: 17 rushing yards, a turnover, and multiple explosive plays allowed to a C-USA opponent. The back half of the game looked a lot more like the version Fickell’s staff wants to see, as the Badgers ripped off 28 unanswered points, pitched a second-half shutout, and ultimately out-gained Middle Tennessee 436 to 241. But the slow starts remain a legitimate concern with Alabama looming in Week 3.
Fickell and his staff know how to make adjustments. We’ve seen it time and again with the way this team steadies itself after halftime. But the real question is, why does that never seem to show up in the first quarter?
“We’ll see,” Fickell said regarding whether this team is ready for the schedule ahead. “No. Right at this moment? No. We can’t play the way we did in the first half, there’s no doubt about that. That's why we said in the locker room, our greatest jump has to be between game two and game three.
“We know that this is a long journey... the leadership of this team understands that there's going to be body blows. We're going to take shots. We've got to continue to get up. This isn't the way we want to play, but we've got to continue to grow. We understand the journey in front of us and what the mountain looks like. We've got to continue to climb."
With that in mind, let’s sort through whose stocks are rising and who is falling as Wisconsin football moves into Week 3.
📈 Stock up: TE Lance Mason
Senior tight end Lance Mason was the biggest beneficiary of Danny O’Neil being under center in Week 2. He turned in a breakout performance, hauling in seven passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. Five of those catches went for first downs, and the tape matched the box score. He looked fluid, athletic, and like a piece this offense can finally lean on.
"I just think that there's a combination of things that Lance gives us an opportunity to use," Fickell said. "It's not just speed, it's not just his ability to catch. He's really grown since he walked in the door here. He's a complete guy right now, and he's every bit as part of the blocking in the run game at the point of attack, on pulls and counters, and kick outs in the passing game. I think the best thing he's brought us is versatility."
Production from the tight end room has been anemic for years, so you don’t want to crown anyone off one game. Still, Mason was heavily involved across his 35 snaps, with 19 as a pass catcher and 14 as a run blocker. He finished with an 84.6 offensive grade and a 91.5 pass-catching grade. With Tucker Ashcraft still sidelined, Mason’s role only feels like it’s going to expand.
His stock is very clearly on the rise, and this is a piece Jeff Grimes should build around in the weeks ahead.
📈 Stock up: QB Danny O'Neil
Stepping in for the injured Billy Edwards Jr., O’Neil made the most of his first start in Madison. The San Diego State transfer went 23-of-27 for 283 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception — the most passing yards by a Wisconsin quarterback in their starting debut since 1951. His 0.52 EPA per dropback ranked in the 90th percentile nationally in Week 2, per Game on Paper, and he did it with a shuffled offensive line in front of him.
O’Neil also showed leadership when it mattered. At halftime, with the Badgers stuck at 17 rushing yards, he challenged the offensive line to play with more juice and swagger. The second half response spoke volumes.
"As you go back and look at it, I think Danny did a really good job," Fickell said. "He only had a few incompletions, and those in particular might have been things that were rushed and were open for him. But all in all, what we asked him to do, I think he did a really good job of. I was happy after evaluating the game film and watching and seeing the decisions he made, where he threw the football, and how he threw the football. He actually played a pretty clean game for us. So that's exciting, moving forward."
Not all backup quarterbacks are created equal, and O’Neil looks a lot closer to the so-called “1B” label the staff used loosely a year ago than what Braedyn Locke ever provided. Nobody’s anointing him the quarterback of the future after one game against a Conference USA opponent. Still, it’s hard not to walk away encouraged about what O’Neil is and what he could become with more time to develop in the system.
📈 Stock up: WR Trech Kekahuna
Wisconsin made a concerted effort to get redshirt sophomore wideout Trech Kekahuna involved in Week 2, and it paid off. He was targeted five times, caught four passes for 28 yards, and delivered the game’s most electric play — a 61-yard rushing touchdown on a well-timed reverse that reminded everyone what can happen when the ball is in his hands.
That’s the thing with Kekahuna: he’s dynamic. The staff went out of its way to manufacture touches, and with Grimes calling plays, there’s reason to believe that this trend will continue. He logged 21 snaps, posted an 84.0 offensive grade, and looked like someone they can’t afford to ignore.
For a unit that needs more explosive threats, Kekahuna fits what they do perfectly. The Hawaii native is the kind of player who forces defenses to respect him out in space, and his stock is trending up as one of the weapons Wisconsin's staff must lean on more as the season unfolds.
📈 Stock up: DL Brandon Lane
Sometimes the most encouraging signs early in a season come from guys you weren’t necessarily counting on. Brandon Lane fits that description.
Against Middle Tennessee State, the 6-foot-3, 322-pound defensive lineman played 19 snaps, eight against the run and 11 as a pass rusher. Lane walked away with a 72.3 defensive grade, two total tackles, and his first sack of the season while primarily working out of the B-gap.
Sure, it’s still a small sample size, but it follows a Week 1 showing where he logged 17 snaps and recorded two hurries. For a player who entered fall camp with a long way to climb on the depth chart just to carve out a role in the rotation, Lane is making the most of his opportunities.
"I don't think that it's a scheme thing that's different. The truth of the matter is that there's a maturity, there's a growth," Fickell said of Lane. "Sometimes people don't see or wait for it in college football. He's done an unbelievable job from where he was at this time last year and where he is right now. And I can only credit Brandon's maturity for that and his ability to stick things out... he's in a completely different place now. So, it's not just a scheme thing. It's a credit to him and his dedication."
Given all the new bodies Wisconsin brought in up front through the transfer portal, and the returning options like Ben Barten and Dillan Johnson, it wasn’t a given that Lane would find his way onto the field. Two weeks in, though, it looks like the staff is starting to trust him and that his opportunities are only going to grow. That’s no small development for a position group that needs as many steady contributors as it can get.
📉 Stock down: OL Kerry Kodanko
With Jake Renfro sidelined with an injury, Kerry Kodanko drew the start at center, which was his first real shot at meaningful snaps.
The former walk-on logged 56 offensive plays because the staff views him as their top swing option across the interior. But the results left plenty to be desired. Kodanko finished with a 42.6 offensive grade, per PFF, a 41.7 mark as a run blocker, and 56.2 in pass protection. More glaring were the snapping issues that disrupted the rhythm throughout the game.
Now, some context is fair. This wasn’t an ideal scenario to be thrown into, and it’s important to remember this was Kodanko’s first real action at the college level, and Wisconsin's offensive line was shuffled around.