Fickell: Colton Joseph limited after getting ‘dinged up’ vs. Notre Dame

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The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Western Illinois Leathernecks 36-9 in their home opener on Saturday, but the win prompted some key questions about both the offense and the defense as it wasn’t as clean as many hoped.

Wisconsin’s offensive issues mainly came in the passing game, as quarterback Colton Joseph was inconsistent with his accuracy, missing a number of open throws as he completed just 54.5 percent of his passes on the day.

It wasn’t the prettiest day for Joseph after an inconsistent Week 1 against Notre Dame, leaving several questions about the transfer quarterback two games in. Well, head coach Luke Fickell revealed after the game that Joseph was limited throughout the week after getting dinged up against Notre Dame, which changed up the game plan for Saturday.

“He was a little dinged up from last weekend,” Fickell said about Joseph after the game. “Obviously nothing was ever really said. He wasn’t able and ready himself to go on Tuesday, still a little bit sore from a shot he took for Wednesday.

“So we knew going out there tonight he was gonna have to take a little bit more time to get loosened up. I thought that throwing the ball down the field during the week, we had kind of taken off of his plate. So he hadn’t been hit like that in a while. And so I think that maybe caused a little bit of rust. I think that even hesitated us from, right off the bat, saying we’re going to throw the ball down the field.

It felt like there was something different about Joseph, as the Badgers didn’t dial up many quarterback runs after the zone-read was a focal point of the offense in Week 2.

Still, Fickell acknowledged that the Badgers need to be better throwing the ball down the field.

“But I think, as we recognize even from tonight, that’s going to be something we have to be able to do. And sometimes those shots, whether they’re not connected, still give you a chance to loosen up some guys on the other side of the ball. But I think all in all, we know we’re going to have to start a little bit better, sustain some things. I mean start better, I mean throwing the football in particular. We got to start a little bit better. We got to be able to sustain some things. We got to be a little bit sharper when it comes to throwing the football.”

We’ve seen the potential from the Badgers offense through two games. But that has been mixed with a ton of inconsistency and some frustrating moments. A part of that growing process was expected from a team with over 30 new players, but Wisconsin is going to have to pick things up soon, with only one non-conference game left before the Big Ten slate.

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