BadgerBlitz.com returns the weekly 'Stock Up, Stock Down' for the 2023 season. In this series, we'll offer evaluations of players on Wisconsin's roster in the context of their 'stock.' Performance, playing time and opportunity are all factored into the movement of a player's stock.

It's about time Bryson Green got involved for Wisconsin. His 54-yard touchdown catch was his first of the season as well as the longest play the Badgers have made all year.

On his score, Green displayed great concentration as quarterback Braedyn Locke put the ball in a window so tight he nearly clocked the referee. He then displayed his run-after-catch skills, streaking down the sideline and scoring to bring Wisconsin back within three points.

Green has been underutilized all season. He has some of the best hands on the team, especially in jump-ball, contested catch situations. The Badgers desperately need to be able to stretch the field to get defenders away from the line of scrimmage, and Green is one of the answers staring them right in the face.

Locke targeted slot receiver Will Pauling a whopping 16 times against Indiana. That's nine more targets than his next most targeted pass-catcher. You think the quarterback like's Pauling's ability to separate underneath?

The receiver only managed to reel in five of those targets, but that's more of a knock on Locke's poor command in Bloomington. Pauling also scored his third touchdown in as many games. He leads the Badgers in receiving yards, catches and touchdowns by a sizable margin in each category.

Pauling is one of the few players on Wisconsin's offense who has proven he can create for himself. No other receiver has taken matters into their own hands like Pauling has with his elite route-running and ability to finish plays by getting in the end zone. He's a bright spot for an otherwise abysmal offense, and will be a core piece for Phil Longo to build around as he constructs his scheme next season.

Austin Brown played 61 snaps against Indiana, which was easily a season-high for the young safety. He appears to be earning more playing time slowly but surely as the season rolls on. That was reflected on this week's depth chart, as he's now listed as an OR at free safety alongside Kamo'i Latu, who didn't play at all in Bloomington.

Brown quietly made plays all over the field against Indiana. He had six total tackles, including a tackle-for-loss. He broke up two passes as well, but his biggest play was a huge 15-yard sack on third-and-long late in the third quarter that pushed the Hoosiers out of field goal range.

The safety has played a little less than expected this season, but the same could be said for many players on Wisconsin's defense. His talent should ultimately become apparent; he just needs to be given snaps on a regular basis.

Locke threw two touchdowns and didn't turn the ball over. Those are about the only two positives from his performance against Indiana.

Locke struggled immensely with accuracy on Saturday, which was extremely unexpected. That's been one of the quarterback's strong suits to this point, and yet he repeatedly missed open receivers and sailed balls out of the reach of his pass-catchers. Locke's struggles with command were very surprising, and it's an issue he needs to get fixed quickly.

Once again, the quarterback's completion percentage hovered around 50, which is not going to cut it. On the year, Locke has completed less than half of his attempts, which is a big reason why the offense has frequently stalled out in the last couple of weeks. Locke needs to get in rhythm early on in games, not only for the success of the offense but to continue to build the young quarterback's confidence.

Alexander Smith logged the most snaps he's played since the Iowa game, but the cornerback once again struggled in coverage.

It's hard to place too much blame on Smith for the touchdown he gave up against Hoosiers' wide receiver Donaven McCulley. He made an unbelievable one-handed grab in the end zone, and there wasn't much Smith could've done to better defend the play. Still, it was his fourth touchdown allowed on the season.

More alarming was the fact that of the six times Smith was targeted in coverage, five of those passes were caught. The cornerback displayed an ability to be a sticky cover corner this offseason, but he's played below his potential on the back end for the Badgers' defense.

It's a tall order to ask Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli to carry a team's ground game, but the two couldn't get the job done against a Hoosiers' defense that's been porous all season.

Acker and Yacamelli are both natural ball-carriers in some sense, but neither is a natural halfback, per se. That was extremely evident in Bloomington. Wisconsin only mustered 101 yards on the ground at 3.6 yards-per-carry, which wasn't nearly enough to compensate for another shaky performance through the air.

It's clear that the Badgers are in dire need of a healthy Braelon Allen. Their makeshift backfield has some potential when evaluating the skills of Acker and Yacamelli individually, but that didn't come to fruition when Wisconsin desperately needed it to. It's one thing to have young, inexperienced runners waiting in the wings, but neither tailback has exactly inspired confidence about the future of the position moving forward.

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