When Wisconsin wasn't beating down on the lowly Boilermakers or Scarlet Knights in 2024, the offense was a mess. They scored 13 or fewer points in four of their final games and, outside of the two aforementioned games, never eclipsed the 30-point milestone. Injuries to Tyler Van Dyke and Chez Mellusi, paired with the deficient air raid system made the Badgers a tough watch for most of the campaign.
Luke Fickell claims that they'll be getting back to traditional Wisconsin football, and the hiring of Jeff Grimes certainly backs that up. But will that lead to more success on the offensive end?
Here are three stats that Wisconsin will need to improve upon in 2025:
36.1 Percent Third Down Conversion Rate
Wisconsin's offense frequently fell stagnant in 2024. It struggled to sustain drives and made the easy plays look difficult. Braedyn Locke often missed open throws, they failed to pick up third and shorts on the ground and had a steady diet of broken plays.
Still, a 36.1 percent conversion rate is horrendous. In fact, it ranked 108th of 133 teams in the FBS. The only Big 10 teams to finish lower than Wisconsin? Purdue and Northwestern.
But with Jeff Grimes at the helm, the Badgers should see drastic improvment in their third down efficiency. At Kansas last season, Grimes' offense converted on 51 percent of its third downs, a rate which trailed only the University of Miami (FL). Replicating that number feels improbable, especially when you consider Grimes' Baylor teams finished with conversion rates of 36, 40 and 42 percent.
At its core, however, Grimes' offense is meant to be efficient on third down. Heck, it's even in the name: Reliable, Violent Offense. It may not create as many explosives as Phil Longo's air raid, but Grimes excels at manufacturing consistent positive gains.
Whether it's through misdirection, wide receiver runs or screens, Grimes' offense is designed to get playmakers the ball in space and confuse defenses. As long as the execution is there -- which is a legitimate question mark given the amount of turnover on the offensive side of the ball -- Wisconsin should have much more success on third down.
.570 Completion Percentage
As a unit, the Badgers 2024 quarterbacks ranked 110th in the nation in completion percentage. Obviously, losing starter Tyler Van Dyke in non-conference play didn't help, but Braedyn Locke couldn't get the job done and Longo certainly didn't do enough to assist.
Locke struggled to complete easy passes and relied heavily on the deep ball. This strategy worked at times, but when wideouts couldn't separate in a foot race, it was ugly. Locke finished with fewer than 140 yards in four of his 10 appearances. To make matters worse, he completed more than 52 percent of his passes in just four games.
As I mentioned before, the blame doesn't fall solely on Locke: there were very few bright spots on offense. But Locke and Van Dyke leaving could be addition by subtraction.
The simplicity of Grimes' offense should produce plenty of easy completions and Billy Edwards completed 65 percent of his passes for Maryland a season ago. In theory, this QB/OC pairing should lead to a massive improvement in completion percentage, but I'll refrain from guaranteeing improvement considering the Badgers' awful luck with quarterback health.
.780 Redzone Scoring Percentage
I'll preface this by noting Nathaniel Vakos went 6-for-10 from 30-39 yards last season. That doesn't help. But still, there was far too many missed scoring opportunities a season ago.
The Badgers' redzone scoring percentage tied for 108th in the country. Surprisingly, it wasn't interceptions or fumbles that resulted on no points -- those often occurred in deep Wisconsin's territory -- it was an inability to gain yards on first down or convert on third or fourth and short.
When there wasn't enough space to stretch the defense vertically, Longo's offense struggled on early downs. Whether it was incompletions, runs for minimal gains or negative plays, the Badgers often found themselves in obvious passing situations, which is especially disadvantageous considering the team's inconsistency through the air. When they did succeed on early downs, Longo's insistence on playing out of the shotgun and using lighter personnel sets made third or fourth and ones feel impossible.
If you've been following along with spring practice coverage, you'll know Wisconsin is going to utilize 12 personnel often, and even utilize a fullback. Those two things won't solve the redzone problem, but Grimes' creativity should at least keep defenses guessing.