Even after winning three games in a row, Luke Fickell knew it was time to make a change on the offensive line. The team had yet to really get the rushing attack going, and there seemed to be consistent issues at left tackle with PJ Wilkins. Well, the leash got short this week, and Fickell benched the starting left tackle.
This decision ignited the Wisconsin offensive line to their best performance of the season. It's also not surprising that this decision was made. But the why, how, and what happened next is what we should focus on. According to Fickell, the decision to bench Wilkins was simple: "We just want to continue to get our five best players on the field."
Why did Wisconsin make the move to bench PJ Wilkins?
Wilkins is a monster and has all the intangibles that you want to see in a left tackle. Yet, it appears his work ethic is lacking. Fickell said earlier this year, ahead of the Eastern Michigan game, "And then I’m not gonna lie, PJ (Wilkins), we have to push a little more."
A similar thing was said today after the Michigan State win and the justification for the reshuffling: "We wanted to continue to push PJ. We wanted to continue to find a way." But it's also about how good Stylz Blackmon has been. "We felt like he gives us a little something different in there." Fickell said, "So we flipped Kevin over to the other side, and then we used Emerson and PJ at the right tackle to try to continue to generate some competition and find a way to get us our best guys on the field."
Fans have been asking for weeks why Heywood wasn't the left tackle. He's the best offensive lineman and plays with the physicality that fans love. In fact, Heywood jumped at the opportunity to play left tackle.
Fickell says Kevin Heywood jumped at the chance to play left tackle. Would do anything for the team.
— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) October 3, 2026
"He’d cut off his right arm for us."
What was the starting offensive line against Michigan State?
Wisconsin rolled out this starting offensive line:
LT: Kevin Heywood
LG: Colin Cubberly
C: Austin Kawecki
RG: Stylz Blackmon
RT: Emerson Mandell
How did this group perform?
This was the best performance thus far for the Wisconsin Badgers offensive line. This unit allowed zero sacks and very few pressures. Colton Joseph had plenty of time back there, and that may have helped his decision-making. Joseph didn't have any overly stupid throws this week, which obviously helps, and while Joseph was being smarter, the offensive line was helping him not feel stressed in the pocket.
The offensive line also helped generate 228 yards rushing. While 141 of those yards came from Joseph, many of his runs were designed runs, and thus the offensive line gets credit. The running backs carried the rock 26 times for 83 yards, which works out to over three yards per rush. Not amazing but also not shabby.
This group hasn't had a lot of time together, and if Fickell continues to get "his best five guys on the field," Then we may see this unit take another jump after the bye week. Give them tons of reps because it sure looked like an offensive line that knew what they were doing.
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