Wisconsin football stock report: Week 2
Stock report for the Wisconsin Badgers heading into Week 2 of the regular season.
The Badgers kicked off the 2025 season with a 17-0 shutout victory over the Miami (OH) RedHawks last Thursday night under the lights of Camp Randall. Next, the Wisconsin football team will look to go 2-0 as they take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Saturday afternoon.
But before we completely turn the page on their Week 1 victory, let’s take a look at how different aspects of the Wisconsin football team are trending heading into next weekend’s slate of games in the Badger Backer’s Week 2 stock report.
Stock Up 📈
The Defense
There are plenty of players I could have made their own categories for in this section, so I just decided to lump them all together and just say the defense as a whole.
Yes, Miami (OH) is a lesser opponent, and the Badgers’ defense should shut down lesser opponents. But the RedHawks are a contender in the MAC with a playmaking and mobile quarterback who has put up big numbers on Power 4 schools in the past. The Badgers struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks last year, but they showed on Thursday night that they are capable this year, holding Finn to just 13 rushing yards (with sacks included).
The pass rush looks immensely improved from a year ago, consistently pressuring Finn and forcing tough passes. Finn completed just 50% of his passes (9/18) for just 83 yards and two interceptions. The addition of Mason Reiger looks like it could pay off big time for the Badgers this season.
When Finn could get those passes off, the secondary also did their jobs, especially safety Preston Zachman, who was targeted three times in coverage and didn’t give up a catch. In fact, he had two interceptions in the game, one of which he almost returned to the house for a touchdown. His performance landed him the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award.
The run defense, which was a sore subject all of 2024, also held up well. The Badgers gave up just 34 yards on the ground on 22 attempts, just 1.55 yards per carry. We’ll see how well they can hold up when they get into conference play in the coming weeks, but that’s definitely an encouraging start.
Overall, the defense looks great to start the year, and with Middle Tennessee up next, we should see more of that next week.
Vinny Anthony II
If there were any questions of who would be WR1 heading into the regular season, there shouldn’t be now. Vinny Anthony II led the team in receptions (4), yards (57), and touchdowns (1). Anthony was the clear go-to target for quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. before Edwards’ injury. Edwards made multiple attempts to hit Anthony deep, and although they couldn’t quite connect, I’d expect them to start hitting a few of those once Edwards is back from his injury.
We saw it last year; his speed is a problem for opposing teams. Once the Badgers can get their running game established and going a bit, that should open up some deep shots for Anthony out of play-action.
It’s early, but I already love his fit in this offensive scheme compared to the Air Raid. I think Anthony is primed for a big season compared to what we’ve become accustomed to at the position in the past.
Stock Down 📉
Injuries at Quarterback
For the third season in a row, the starting quarterback for the Wisconsin football team went down with an injury. It’s football; players are going to get hurt. But the fact that quarterbacks keep suffering injuries that result in missing multiple games is getting a little frustrating.
In the past two seasons, Braedyn Locke came into the game in relief and definitely underperformed, leaving Badgers fans frustrated that even winnable games with a backup quarterback were being lost after subpar quarterback play and back-breaking turnovers. This year, sophomore Danny O’Neil came in after Edwards went down with an injury, and even though he wasn’t wowing anyone with his passing ability, he was able to make some plays with his feet to extend drives.
It’s still not ideal to be down your preferred starting at the most important position on the team, even if it isn’t for a long period of time, but hopefully O’Neil is an upgrade from Locke and can still be serviceable while Edwards is out.
Replacement Offensive Linemen
Oof.
The loss of Kevin Heywood is looming large for the Badgers. Davis Heinzen struggled mightily against the RedHawks as Heywood’s replacement, allowing multiple pressures throughout the game. He was replaced by Leyton Nelson later in the game, and he wasn’t any better.
With a game against Alabama and a tough conference schedule coming up, the Badgers need to figure out what to do at that spot. The depth at offensive tackle is definitely lacking right now. One solution that has been floated is moving left guard Joe Brunner out to tackle and filling his spot at the interior line, where the team has more depth.
Of course, you don’t want to have to move Brunner from his best spot, but if the Badgers can barely get a clean pocket against Miami (OH), they are going to be in big trouble when they are playing Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, and other Big Ten opponents this season.
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Badgers ought to start a third string qb in their first game of the year. That way when he gets hurt, you have the top 2 still keft