The Wisconsin Badgers had a rough 2026 season that included a six-game losing streak before some hope at the end of the season. At the end, they finished 4-8, marking their worst finish in over 30 years, while having back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since that similar timeframe as well.
It was especially a tough year for the Badgers offense, as transfer quarterback Billy Edwards played in two games (and sparingly in those as well), and Wisconsin could never take off with any of its backup options.
The run game took some time to get going behind an injured offensive line, and the passing game was a struggle all year long.
Let's hand out position-by-position grades to the offense, based on the level of play this season compared to expectations.
Quarterbacks: D
There's no easy way to sugarcoat it: Wisconsin had some of, if not the worst quarterback play in the conference this season. When you cycle through four quarterbacks in a season, that's usually not a good sign.
Billy Edwards playing in half of two games was a huge miss, even if it wasn't necessarily his fault. It's tough to see a path to him returning in 2026, which means that it's the second straight year the Badgers have gotten minimal return on their investment at quarterback.
Wisconsin had a 200-yard passing game once this season. Once. And that was back in Week 2 against Middle Tennessee.
In fact, there was a six-game stretch where the Badgers' leading passer went for under 100 yards. The tough part was that Wisconsin's defense kept them in games over the last six weeks of the year, which made the lack of offense even more frustrating.
The only reason this wasn't an F was because of the development of Carter Smith at the end of the season, showing a glimpse of what the future could be. But, even that could be in limbo, as you know, in this world of college football.
As a group, Wisconsin quarterbacks threw for 1,637 yards, nine touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in 14 games this season, while completing 57.7 percent of their passes.
Running Backs: B-
When grading the running backs, we have to take into account all the external factors, which include the lack of success in the passing game and the offensive line's issues over the first half/two-thirds of the season.
Wisconsin entered the year with Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree as its lead backs. Neither could really take off and create any explosive plays behind an offensive line that really struggled to get movement up front.
Then, both got injured, which paved the way for Gideon Ituka to take over and impress, despite starting the year as the No. 4 running back. Ituka finished the season with 255 yards, including games of 85 and 73 yards, while averaging 4.3 yards per carry with his hard running style.
Dupree had a nice finish to the season, including Wisconsin's lone 100-yard rusher game in the win over Illinois.
RB3 Cade Yacamelli had a very quiet year, going for just 128 yards on 38 carries (3.4 yards per carry), failing to see run near the end of the year, even with other injuries.
But, overall, there was just a lack of explosive plays from the running back room. Perhaps Wisconsin looks for a speedy threat to complement its backfield in 2025.
The reason this grade was saved is that we did see the running backs have some success with better offensive line play near the end of the season. It's extremely tough to accurately grade them without any semblance of a supporting passing game, so a B- seems fair here.
Wide Receivers: C
Be it due to separation issues or quarterback play, this group was not productive in 2025.
Vinny Anthony finished the season with 31 catches for 391 yards and one touchdown after having 39 catches for 672 yards and four scores a year ago. The poor quarterback play eliminated his deep-threat capabilities for the most part, but Wisconsin did not do a good job of looking his way enough and force-feeding him the ball.
Anthony remained positive the entire year, but it was a lost season for him and a tough one for the rest of the group.
Trech Kekahuna, who was supposed to be a big part of the receiving room this year, had only 26 catches for 211 yards. He's probably also frustrated with his role. Jayden Ballard was Wisconsin's third-leading wide receiver, and he had seven catches.
While this low of a grade may not be fair to the wide receiver room, separation remains an issue, and Wisconsin is going to lose its best WR1 it's had in some time this offseason (Anthony is a senior).
Tight Ends: C
Lance Mason led the team with 30 catches for 398 yards and four touchdowns after arriving via the transfer portal. But, 102 of those yards came in his first game with the team against Middle Tennessee. He averaged less than 25 yards a contest the rest of the way, while never topping 50 yards in a game.
Once again, that wasn't as much of an indictment on him as it was the quarterbacks, but Mason did have a drop issue and never really became a security blanket for any quarterback.
Behind him, there was zero production. Tucker Ashcraft, who had a quality offseason and was set to earn snaps, only played in four games this year. He missed a good chunk of the season to start, making his debut against the Michigan Wolverines, then proceeded to miss a stretch of games for unknown reasons (wasn't on the injury report) before playing in the final two games. He finished playing four games, catching two passes for 10 yards.
No other tight end had more than 70 yards on the year. But, I also came away not as impressed with the blocking from the group in the run game, especially early in the season. While a solid pass-catcher, Mason wasn't as good a blocker.
With the offensive line struggling and the lack of a passing game, there could've been more in the run blocking from the tight end room.
Mason leading the team in receiving saved the room, but this grade could (and maybe should) be lower.
Offensive Line: C-
Heading into the season, there were good expectations for this team. They had three returning starters on a quality offensive line, a redshirt freshman who was a highly-touted recruit, and a multi-year starter coming in from the transfer portal.
Well, this group suffered through injuries to start the season, and did not play well.
Jake Renfro battled through an injury from fall camp, which impacted his start to the season. Davis Heinzen did not play well at left tackle in Wisconsin's first game of the season, prompting the Badgers to make a major switch, moving Riley Mahlman to left tackle and Emerson Mandell to right tackle.
Mahlman didn't have the success he was used to at right tackle, especially early in the season, as he had to learn a position he hadn't played in years. That was a blow for the Badgers.
Joe Brunner, known for his physical style of play, was up and down this season with fluctuating parts around him. Renfro really battled through injuries and was never himself this season before getting surgery to finish the year. And Emerson Mandell went through growing pains, being forced into a new position as a first-year starter after repping at right guard all offseason.
Wisconsin had injuries dating back to fall camp, and there was never any camaraderie with the group. But, there were some positive moments.
I thought the offensive line really grew over the last month of the season, especially in the run game. Wisconsin saw growth from Mandell and redshirt freshman Collin Cubberly, who permanently took over the starting right guard role, and the move to center for Davis Heinzen paid dividends as his athleticism fit well in the run game.
The pass protection was also okay enough for most of the year, with a ton of sacks being on the quarterbacks this year. But, it's also tough to gauge that when defenses don't respect the passing game.
Still, there needs to be a serious step up in offensive line play next season, which starts with coach A.J. Blazek. Wisconsin needs to figure out where the pieces will be and what they need in the portal. Because this year wasn't the standard the Badgers are used to at the position.
Overall
You can't sugarcoat it: Wisconsin's offense was one of the worst in the country in 2025. Even when winning games, it was really the defense performance that played a big part in those victories.
There needs to be serious growth on this side of the ball everywhere in 2026. Wisconsin needs a solution at quarterback, better playmakers offensively that can create explosives, and more consistent offensive line play.
There's a lot that needs to happen with the increased investment this offseason.