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Published Nov 7, 2024
Bye week check-in: Grading Wisconsin's defense
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Jon McNamara  •  BadgerBlitz
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With the Wisconsin football team on a bye this weekend, it's a great time to do an overall assessment of the Badgers' defense.

Overall, this group has performed below expectations as the unit works to find an identity. Currently, Mike Tressel's room ranks No. 28 (323.4 yards) in the country in total defense and No. 38 in scoring defense (21.67 points per game).

RELATED: Bye week check-in: Grading Wisconsin's offense

Position-wise, BadgerBlitz.com took a deeper dive into Pro Football Focus to learn more about snap counts and overall grades. The UW defense has played 558 total snaps this year. So when you see the snap count for an individual player, compare it with that total.

As far as the grading system, anything above 70 is usually pretty good. In the 60s is pretty close to average and in 50s is below.

Players listed have played above 50 snaps through nine games.

DEFENSIVE LINE
PlayerSnapsRun DTacklingPRSHOverall

Elijah Hills

312

70.7

46.3

69.2

71.6

Curt Neal

322

48.8

56.6

68.5

53.9

Ben Barten

325

66.6

70.8

58.1

63.7

Dillan Johnson

80

49.5

74.5

58.7

51.6

Cade McDonald

81

51.1

36.9

56.3

52.4

Brandon Lane

85

50.9

44.2

53.4

50.7

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