Former Wisconsin Badgers and current Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Maema Njongmeta had a breakout game in his NFL debut on Saturday.

That debut came in the Bengals 17-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first week of the 2024 NFL preseason. He finished the contest with a team-high 10 tackles (seven solo) and two pass deflections.

 Every former Wisconsin Badger currently on an NFL roster entering 2024 training camp

The former Badger signed with the Bengals in April after going unselected during the 2024 NFL draft. He is currently listed as a fourth-team inside linebacker on the Bengals’ roster, along with several other post-draft signees.

A debut performance like this one has Njongmeta’s stock soaring as the preseason schedule continues. Bengals writers and fans alike were all surprised by his strong debut showing:

The multi-year starter at Wisconsin will get two more preseason opportunities before the Bengals must decide on their 53-man roster. The next chance comes on Saturday, Aug. 17 against the Chicago Bears.

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Wisconsin Sports Weekend returned this weekend live at the Wisconsin State Fair with Greg Matzek and Alex Strouf.

During the first hour, Greg was joined by Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin to talk about the Green Bay Packers first preseason game and Jeff Levering of the Brewers Radio Network to talk about the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Second hour of the show was focused on the State of the State Teams as Greg and Alex talked more Packers, Brewers, Bucks, and Badgers football. Alex and Greg talked where the Packers may finish in the NFC North, how far the Milwaukee Brewers may go, the Bucks off season moves, and what to expect from the Badgers football team this fall.

Harris, however, is now in a much stronger position in the trio of must-win states. In Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Harris now leads Trump by four-point margins each (50% to 46%) among likely voters.

In the latest polling, Harris showed strong results among the groups she’ll need to win over to defeat Trump in the November general election.

Across the three states, Harris held a 20-point lead over Trump (58% to 38%) with women and a 15-point advantage with voters aged 18 to 29 (56% to 41%). Harris led among suburban voters by a 10-point margin (53% to 43%), and she even retained much of Biden’s strength with seniors, leading among the latter group by 13 points (55% to 42%) across the three states.

The latest survey is significant because both Harris’s and Trump’s campaign strategies are rooted in appealing to voters in these battleground states.

Pennsylvania is the biggest electoral prize of the group, with 19 electoral votes. Many Democrats wanted Harris to tap the state’s popular governor, Josh Shapiro, as her running mate. But earlier this week, she opted for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former congressman who, for 12 years, represented a conservative-leaning district but has compiled a progressive record as the state’s governor.

Democrats believe Walz will still be an asset to Harris in Pennsylvania but also add support in the Midwestern battlegrounds of Michigan (15 electoral votes) and Wisconsin (10 electoral votes).

For Trump, the July selection of Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate was supposed to be a nod to his conservative base in a contest that, at the time, was moving increasingly in his favor.

But Harris’ entrance into the presidential race completely reset the dynamics. Vance has so far struggled to appeal to the suburban swing voters who were once on the fence but who now appear to see a viable alternative in the vice president.

Harris is poised to enter the Democratic National Convention on August 19 as the slight favorite in many of the closest swing states. Should Harris receive an added polling bump after the convention, it would surely put even more pressure on Trump to reorient his campaign in advance of the September 10 debate between the two candidates.