In the wake of its biggest win in recent years, Wisconsin crushed Michigan State on homecoming, in new uniforms at Camp Randall. There were moments of dominance, but also a few things to address going forward. Here’s how I assessed each phase of the game as the Badgers avoided a hangover game.

Offense: B+

I was very impressed with the game Jeff Grimes called today. After his quarterback struggled immensely through the air for three quarters last week, he simplified it and made use of his legs. Joseph responded with 141 yards on the ground, averaging 10.8 yards per carry.

As a unit, Wisconsin averaged 5.4 yards per carry with 228 rushing yards, putting forth its best effort of the season on the ground. Moving forward, Grimes is going to want more out of his backs, as Dupree was the leader in that group today, but averaged just 3.2 yards per carry. But if Joseph is a legitimate threat as a runner every down, the run game is going to continue getting better.

Joseph was explosive today and added three touchdowns through the air, but he only completed nine of his 20 attempts. There were only one or two throws today that put a possession in jeopardy, an improvement from last week. Luckily, the Spartans couldn’t make him pay.

He didn’t need to today, but Joseph will simply have to be more accurate in the mid-range game as a passer for the Badgers to win the big games coming up on the schedule.

Overall, hitting the 30-point mark against a power-conference opponent for the first time this season is a reason for celebration, and the offense once again looked plenty explosive, but there’s also plenty to clean up between the run game and Joseph’s accuracy.

Defense: A-

All things considered, this was another great outing from Mike Tressel’s defense. At the end of the day, allowing just three points in a conference game is more than serviceable, no matter the opponent. 

There wasn’t much to be critical of from the defense today. It’s shown the ability to bend without breaking all season, and today was more of the same. One reason this grade isn’t an A is because the Spartans sustained a number of drives early on, finding some success on the ground.

However, on the money downs, the defense was lights out. It came up with four fourth-down stops, negating any chance Michigan State had for an upset. It was evident from the jump that Pat Fitzgerald was going to take risks offensively and the Badgers looked ready for everything he threw their way.

The other number that stood out was the lack of game-wrecking plays. Sacks from Charles Perkins and Thomas Heiberger were the lone tackles-for-loss and the Spartans didn’t surrender a turnover. Wisconsin did, however, make Milivojevic throw under pressure all day in an effort led by Sebastian Cheeks.

Fitzgerald tried a little bit of everything in hopes of stealing a win on the road, including playing multiple quarterbacks. The Spartans tested every position group, and the Badgers responded appropriately, emphasized by their eight passes defended and holding Milivojevic and Cam Fancher to a completion rate less than 50% on the day.

Going forward, there’s a lot to feel good about with this defense, as it’s now had back-to-back quality performances in conference games, but creating more explosive plays and turnovers is a category it can continue to grow in.

Special Teams: B

Since the conference slate has begun, there hasn’t been the fireworks on special teams we became accustomed to in the first three games. Ironically, this might have been the worst game of the season for Bob Ligashesky’s units, and it wasn’t bad by any means.

Gavin Lahm stayed perfect on field goals for the season, making his lone 30-yard attempt, but Sean West didn’t have his best day. His first punt of the day went just 28 yards, and he averaged less than 40 yards per kick. I chalk it up to an uncharacteristic day from him, and even on a subpar day, Wisconsin did what it needed to in the field position battle.

Expecting a blocked kick or score every week would be unreasonable, but even without a highlight play, the special teams was once again solid and did everything it needed to win.

Overall: B+

On homecoming, in front of a fanbase deprived of winning football in recent years, Wisconsin put forth a quality effort, taking control of a lesser opponent and never letting up for 60 minutes. The spread didn’t suggest as much, but this is what the Badgers were supposed to do to Michigan State.

The Spartans may be one of, if not the worst team in the Big Ten come late November, so there’s no major conclusions to draw from this one, but handling inferior opponents in conference play has been far from a given the last few years, so this was a big victory.