Wisconsin Football: 4 winners and 2 losers after Week 1

The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Miami (OH) RedHawks in a 17-0 shutout to start the season, getting through some adversity with a strong defensive performance.

While it wasn’t the prettiest game, there was much to take away from the game, as several players made their mark, while others disappointed in the season opener.

Whose stock is up and whose stock is down after the season opener?

Stock Up: Sebastian Cheeks

Outside linebacker Mason Reiger’s stock was already high after a strong showing during fall camp. And he proved that with a great complementary performance on Thursday, stopping the run at a high level, while constantly generating pressure as a pass-rusher.

But, nobody improved their stock more in the outside linebacker room than Sebastian Cheeks, who was dominant in the opener.

Cheeks was a constant presence up front, showing good effort, edge-setting ability, and even getting pressure on the quarterback. After moving to outside linebacker last offseason, Cheeks was seen as a pass-rushing specialist.

But, he’s bulked up and now is a three-down player, having good pursuit and good edge setting for quarterback contains, while also teeing up off the edge alongside Reiger. That duo should be a big positive for Wisconsin this season.

Stock Down: Davis Heinzen at LT

One of the biggest question marks heading into the season was who would play at left tackle after Kevin Heywood’s torn ACL in the spring. Former Vanderbilt transfer Leyton Nelson struggled when stepping up with the first-team offense back in the spring, which led to guard Joe Brunner getting some reps at tackle.

That led Wisconsin to nab Central Michigan transfer Davis Heinzen in the spring transfer portal, hoping to get some experience at the position.

Then, in the fall, the Badgers tested out a few options, with Brunner, Heinzen, and guard-turned-tackle J.P. Benzschawel getting reps before Wisconsin settled on Heinzen.

Well, the left tackle really struggled in Week 1, both in pass protection and in the run game, albeit much more in the former. He gave up five pressures and two sacks, according to PFF, but there just didn’t seem to be any stability on the left side for quarterback Danny O’Neil.

Wisconsin did pull Heinzen late for Leyton Nelson, who got the final seven snaps of the game. They face Middle Tennessee State this week, and there may need to be some conversations about moving around the offensive line, given the daunting schedule ahead of the Badgers this season.

Wisconsin could move Brunner out to left tackle, but they don’t have much depth either at tackle or on the interior, raising questions as to who their five best linemen could be.

Stock Up: Christian Alliegro

Wisconsin has had experience, but not really much consistency, over the past few years at linebacker, where the standard of play has certainly dropped from the program’s historical record.

Well, Christian Alliegro had a strong start to the year as the team’s lead linebacker, making plays and showing off his athleticism and versatility. Now, everything wasn’t clean: Alliegro had a bad edge set on the defense’s third drive that allowed a run to kick out to the edge, which was an issue for the defense last year. He also missed a tackle that would’ve led to a sack on a well-timed linebacker blitz.

But, the linebacker wrapped up well on open field tackles, making some major momentum plays there, including a big sack as quarterback Daequan Finn escaped the pocket, and finished with four tackles.

It’s Week 1 against an opponent Wisconsin needed to beat convincingly, but I like what I saw from the linebacker play on Thursday.

Stock Down: Atticus Bertrams’s shank

The Badgers have dealt with special teams woes over the past few years. So, it wasn’t pretty to see Atticus Bertrams shank his first punt, which went for only 20 yards and gave the RedHawks prime field position early in the game.

Now, the defense settled in, and Bertrams punted well enough afterwards, averaging 42.5 yards per punt outside of the miss, but consistency needs to be there for the Badgers punter.

Stock Up: Jeff Grimes’s creativity

We didn’t get to see the full look after Billy Edwards’s injury, but Jeff Grimes’s offense is trending up after Week 1.

There were quite a few players who got a touch, with Grimes mixing up the run game to involve receivers and running backs, and he had the right adjustments early after a quick punt.

Understanding Miami’s initial aggressiveness against the run, Grimes began to dial up the quick passing game, which Billy Edwards executed well, moving the ball down the field. That opened up the run game, with the creativity showing from Grimes.

It may be a while before Edwards gets back under center, but you can see the potential of this offense when things are going well and if those deep shots start to hit.

After transferring in last offseason, Brandon Lane didn’t have as big a role as initially expected. Then, Wisconsin brought in a boatload of transfers this offseason, raising questions about where Lane fits in this year.

Well, that’s with the starters, as Lane was a force on Thursday, especially as a pass-rusher, where he was able to drive interior linemen back into the pocket and make things uncomfortable for quarterback Daequan Finn.

Wisconsin rotated a ton, but Lane was second amongst defensive linemen in snaps and seems to be a regular in the rotation going forward.