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Wisconsin responded to a Week 7 setback with a statement win, downing then-No. 16 USC 24-7 at Camp Randall. The victory not only steadied the Badgers (5-2, 3-1) but also shifted attention to several players whose profiles changed after the game.
The Badgers’ performance came a week after a loss at the Rose Bowl and featured a stout defensive showing and timely runs. USC fell to 6-2 (3-2), while Wisconsin delivered one of its most complete games of the season.
Stock Up
Bryan Jackson II
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Facing his former team, Jackson logged a season-high 20 snaps and made them count. Abu Sama III handled the bulk of the rushing work with 17 carries for 71 yards (4.2 yards per carry), but Jackson added seven carries for 38 yards (5.4) and a touchdown.
His score came on a five-yard run in the second quarter. Later, Jackson was ruled down half a yard short after what looked like a nine-yard run to the end zone. At 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds, the USC transfer showed the physical running style Wisconsin expected when he arrived, and Saturday offered a reminder of his complementary value when healthy.
Matt Jung
The fifth-year safety paced Wisconsin’s defensive grades, earning an 81.1 from PFF after a heavy coverage day. Jung finished with six tackles (five solo) and three pass breakups against a USC passing attack led by Jayden Maiava.
Maiava targeted Jung eight times but completed only three passes for 24 yards when throwing his way. Jung’s role has expanded since his Division III beginnings at Bethel; he saw more snaps late in 2025 and entered 2026 as a starter, and his work vs. USC suggested that progression is continuing.
Cairo Skanes
When Marvin Burks Jr. left with an upper-body injury, Skanes moved off the bench and made an immediate impact. He jumped a route in the first quarter to intercept Jayden Maiava — the quarterback’s second turnover of the game — and finished with four tackles (three solo) and a pass deflection.
Skanes allowed three catches for 35 yards on five targets and posted a 74.9 PFF grade. He had been used in rotation the past two games, seeing 30-plus snaps against Michigan State and UCLA, but Saturday was his heaviest workload to date. His play provided an encouraging depth preview if Burks misses time.
Junior Poyser
The Buffalo transfer continues to make the kind of plays that matter, even when box-score totals stay modest. Poyser was credited with one tackle and generated two pressures; he also appeared to bat down a pass in the second quarter, which would be his third straight game with such a play though it wasn’t officially recorded.
His most visible contribution came on special teams, when he got a piece of Caden Chittenden’s 44-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter. Poyser’s physical presence inside, alongside Hammond Russell IV and Charles Perkins, helps anchor E.J. Whitlow’s interior rotation.
Stock Down
Darrion Dupree
There were few losers after Wisconsin’s win, but Dupree’s absence from the playcalling stood out. He played only four snaps and did not touch the ball, a limited role the team’s injury report suggested may have reflected less-than-full health.
Through the season he has been productive: 49 carries for 215 yards (4.4 yards per attempt) with two rushing touchdowns, plus eight catches for 68 yards. Still, with Abu Sama firmly in the lead-back role and Jackson’s strong showing against USC, Dupree’s share of carries is a situation to monitor as the Badgers move toward conference play.
