Wisconsin did everything necessary to depart Champaign, Illinois with a victory on Saturday. While the team did not answer many questions about where they stand after three ranked losses through the first four weeks, the performance was enough to confirm the group is good enough to beat unranked opponents.
It’s likely only a win against Iowa will flip the script on the season. Nevertheless, Saturday was a good start in that direction thanks to the team’s dominant performance along the offensive line and on the ground and another great day from Jim Leonhard’s defense.
That play by the men up front on offense is a welcome sight after struggles against Michigan and Notre Dame. It was also one of the first times this season we saw a clear 5-man group lead the team in snaps, as previous weeks have seen 50-50 timeshares at many of the offensive line spots.
Related: Big Ten power rankings after Week 6 — Hey, Iowa
BallySports’ Dave Heller tweeted out ProFootballFocus’ snap counts for Wisconsin during its win at Illinois. Here are those breakdowns: