Wisconsin · Big TenColton Joseph shares Big Ten honor after four-touchdown game
The Wisconsin quarterback totaled 268 yards in a 31-3 win over Michigan State and became the program’s first quarterback to earn the award since 2020.
OCT 7, 2026
Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph shared Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors with Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith after totaling 268 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-3 win over Michigan State.
Joseph became Wisconsin’s first quarterback named the conference’s offensive player of the week since Graham Mertz in 2020. Smith shared the honor after a 206-yard performance with two touchdowns on 11 receptions.
Joseph’s performance helped Wisconsin move to 4-1, matching its win total from a 4-8 season in 2025. The production gives the Badgers a quarterback who has shown he can drive a win before games against UCLA, USC and Iowa.
Wisconsin visits UCLA on Oct. 17, then hosts USC on Oct. 24 before traveling to Iowa on Oct. 31. Joseph now has to turn the Michigan State performance into something more than a one-game spike.
01 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
Wisconsin’s schedule gives Joseph a clean reset and then removes the cushion. The Badgers have 14 days between the Oct. 3 win over Michigan State and the Oct. 17 trip to UCLA, followed by USC on Oct. 24 and Iowa on Oct. 31. That is three games in 15 days, with the first and third on the road. The longer preparation window puts extra weight on UCLA: Wisconsin will not get the same spacing again during that run.
The opponent context also narrows what the award proves. Michigan State reached Oct. 3 at 2-2 and left Madison on a third consecutive loss, while Wisconsin’s previous road game was a 24-20 win at Penn State. No Joseph breakdown is available for either result, so the durable comparison is team-level: The Badgers followed a 28-point loss at Notre Dame with four straight wins by margins of 27, 44, four and 28 points. UCLA is where Joseph’s individual spike meets a road schedule that quickly tightens.
02 · The Open QuestionsQuestions to Be Answered
Can Joseph repeat his four-touchdown impact on the road at UCLA?
The Oct. 17 game is the first chance to separate an award-winning performance against a 2-3 Michigan State team from a dependable offensive baseline. It also begins Wisconsin’s three-game, 15-day stretch and is one of two road dates in it. Joseph’s passing and rushing splits against Michigan State were not provided, so UCLA’s box score will supply the cleanest tell: whether he again accounts for touchdowns and total yardage, and which part of his production travels before USC and Iowa. A win would carry a five-game winning streak into the Oct. 24 USC game.