Wisconsin is heading into its season opener with more than 40 new players on the roster and new projected starters at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, cornerback, safety and kicker. For a team that has spent the past two seasons trying to find a reliable way to run the ball, the overhaul is not just extensive. It is immediate.
That is why Colton Joseph is being searched now: Wisconsin has reached the point where the opener is no longer about easing into a season but about finding out whether the new pieces fit. Luke Fickell acknowledged this week that the team has unknowns, and the clearest ones sit in the middle of the offense, where the Badgers need both better line play and a rushing attack that can actually travel against a top opponent.
Wisconsin did bring in what was described as a good amount of depth on the offensive line and a brand-new running back room, which gives the staff options it did not have before. Abu Sama III, who entered college football at Iowa State and has carried the reputation of a player who has oozed with potential, now has the opportunity to be the bellcow. Darrion Dupree could handle third-down work, while Bryan Jackson brings a bruising 6-foot, 235-pound frame that can change the feel of a drive. That mix gives Wisconsin a more flexible backfield than it had a year ago.
The problem is that flexibility has to turn into production, and that is where the test gets harder. Wisconsin has struggled to run the football efficiently over the past two seasons, and the answer cannot come from the backfield alone. Austin Kawecki is the most experienced and perhaps best offensive lineman on the team, Colin Cubberly finished last year playing better, and the interior line has to be punishing if the run game is going to matter against anyone, let alone Notre Dame.
That matchup is what makes Sunday different. Wisconsin is a 20.5-point underdog against the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Lambeau Field, and the game will show whether a roster rebuilt almost everywhere can function before the season even settles in. The Badgers are also replacing major contributors on both sides of the ball, but the run game is the clearest barometer because it has already been a problem for two straight seasons.
Phil Longo's hiring has been described as one of the major missteps in Luke Fickell's career at Wisconsin, which only raises the stakes for the new setup. If the offensive line can create movement and Sama can give Wisconsin a lead runner, the opener will look like the start of something usable. If not, the season will begin with the same question that has followed the Badgers into September: whether this group has enough in the trenches to turn possibility into offense.
On Sunday, Wisconsin will take on the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Lambeau Field, and that first snap will tell the Badgers more than any practice report ever could.
