Can Wisconsin Get its Run Game Going in Time for Big Ten Play?

MADISON, Wis. — On the opening drive of Saturday’s 38-14 loss at No. 14 Alabama, Wisconsin was faced with a 2nd and 1. Dilin Jones took a carry up the middle. The redshirt freshman tailback picked up the first down, but was smacked immediately at the marker for no extra gain.

That pretty much summed up Wisconsin’s day, and season, on the ground thus far. Committed to getting back to the days of old with a violent, north/south rushing attack, the Badgers have yet to establish a presence in the trenches.

“It’s frustrating, but you get something to work towards every day,” said senior center Jake Renfro, who may be questionable against Maryland on Saturday with an ankle injury. “We know what we’ve gotta get better at. We see it on film. Saturday was a little frustrating, but it’s something we’re going to continue to work at and bounce back from.”

Through three games, Wisconsin ranks No. 90 in the country in rushing offense, generating just 136.7 yards per game. UW’s first two opponents, Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee State, both rank outside the top 80 nationally in rush defense. In their first test against a power-four opponent, the Badgers managed just 92 yards on 34 carries.

As everything does in football, the run game starts up front. After rolling with the same starting offensive line through all 12 games in 2024, it took one game before a change was made this season. Senior Riley Mahlman has moved from right tackle to left tackle. Redshirt freshman Emerson Mandell slid out to right tackle from right guard. Fellow redshirt freshman Collin Cubberly is now in the starting lineup at right guard. With senior center Jake Renfro banged up, the Badgers have used both senior Kerry Kodanko and redshirt freshman Ryan Cory at center. UW is certainly high on its youngsters, but right now, they’re learning on the job and perhaps being thrown into the fire earlier than hoped.

“This is not a game meant for redshirt freshmen, in particular, on the offensive line,” head coach Luke Fickell said. “I’m not saying there aren’t guys out there who can’t play as true freshmen. These guys are being thrust into a situation, an opportunity — I guess it depends how you look at it — that they have to grow even faster.”

In the final drive against Alabama, Wisconsin got the ball back with roughly three and a half minutes left. Plenty of time to push the ball downfield and steal a score. However, the Badgers committed to the run game. The final six plays were all kept on the ground. While it was against the Crimson Tide reserves, UW actually found some success, running for 23 yards, pushing the ball up near midfield.

Perhaps it was a message sent to his team or simply trying to generate some momentum with the offense going into Saturday’s Big Ten Conference opener against Maryland (3-0). Either way, it worked.

“Coach ‘Fick’ told us before we went out there, ‘Use every rep as an opportunity to get better,” said junior tailback Cade Yacamelli. “You understand the game situation, but use this rep as a practice rep, which I thought was pretty awesome. I think the guys fed into it. I know I fed into it. I thought that was a really good mindset to have late in that game.”

Wisconsin threw the ball just 17 times against Alabama. Fickell made it clear that the Badgers left a lot of yards on the table in Tuscaloosa, and he’s not abandoning the run game, but potentially getting starting quarterback Billy Edwards back in the lineup could allow the offense to loosen up the box.

“We gotta do a better job of pushing the ball downfield some, give those guys better opportunities of maybe not having as loaded of boxes,” said Fickell.

UW’s players also teased that the coaching staff may be opening up the playbook this week to take some pressure off the run game.

“It’s about to start happening,” said Jones, who leads the team with 134 yards and one touchdown. “You’re going to see it come soon. You don’t want to show everything you got now, then you get into league play and everyone knows exactly what you’re going to do.”

Not all the time, but often, the run game struggles boil down to desire. Wisconsin is adamant that’s not the case. To their credit, the Badgers have only surrendered eight negative plays on the ground this season. As a result, UW has only faced nine 3rd-and-long situations in three games.

“I would say, really, just finishing blocks,” said Renfro. “It always seems like we’re one guy away or one play away from popping a big run. It’s really just all comes down to finishing. We’re all marked up, we know where to go, how to do it. Now, it’s just that second effort of just running through someone.”

In the first two years of the Fickell era, Wisconsin hasn’t finished better than 60th in rushing offense. Not including the COVID season, you’d have to go back to the early Barry Alvarez era to find the last time the Badgers finished that low.

“We take pride in being able to run the football,” Renfro said. “Not being able to do it how we want the past few weeks, it sucks.”