Winners and Losers from Wisconsin's 24-7 Win over No. 16 USC

Wisconsin football desperately needed a big win against No. 16 USC at home. That's exactly what it got, using a vintage defensive performance and a running game that did just enough to control the line of scrimmage when the Badgers needed it most.

Wisconsin now sits at 5-2 (3-1 in the Big Ten), with another enormous game on tap next week: on the road at Iowa for a Big Noon Kickoff clash on Halloween.

As we continue to unpack the Badgers' enormous win over the Trojans, Badgers On SI hands out winners and losers from the Week 8 victory:

WINNERS

RB Bryan Jackson

Any time you notch a touchdown against your former team, that's a big win and Jackson was rightfully fired up after he took a carry five yards right into the teeth of the USC defense for the score, dishing out some punishment while he was at it to put Wisconsin up 10-7 in the second quarter.

The Badgers also unleashed him on their final touchdown drive, and he racked up 26 yards on that series, gashing the Trojans' defensive front and appearing to score the final dagger touchdown before tight end Ryan Schwendeman finally did.

CB Bryce West

West notched Wisconsin's first turnover of the game, benefitting from some blanket coverage from his fellow cornerback Javan Robinson down the sideline and completing the tip-drill interception. He was banged up a few times during the first half, and NBS Sports' sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen reported he was dealing with a shoulder stinger.

He showed immense grit, playing throughout the night while clearly hampered by the ailment. It was a tremendous game for the nickel corner, who has been one of the most consistent players on the Badgers' defense this fall.

Safety Cairo Skanes

Skanes notched his first career interception, stepping in front of a Jayden Maiava pass after reading his eyes as linebacker Cooper Catalano brought the pressure. The safety had to play extra snaps with starter Marvin Burks dealing with an upper body injury and hardly seeing the field, and he proved he's ready to step into a larger role. Skanes is a big part of the future of the Badgers' secondary.

RB Abu Sama

At the very least, Sama proved why Wisconsin needs to get him the ball. He repeatedly broke tackles, displayed great patience and converted third downs when the Badgers handed him the rock. Sama has been hindered by injuries in the first half of the season, but he clearly has some elite wiggle and ability to make defenders miss in space. Sama finished with 17 carries for 71 yards, but past the numbers, he re-established himself as the best back in Wisconsin's backfield.

WR Chris Brooks Jr

You have to love to see the fifth-year wideout thrive. Brooks has stuck with this program through thick and thin, and his touchdown against the Trojans was the third of his career but easily his best. He caught a screen pass from Colton Joseph on a 4th-and-2, slipped through the tunnel his blockers created and made a man miss, extending the ball for across the plane for a touchdown.

DL Junior Poyser

Poyser continues to have some of the best hands on a defensive lineman I've seen at the college level. He finished with one tackle and two quarterback hits, and had yet another batted pass on defense plus a blocked field goal to hold the Trojans scoreless on a drive on which they had converted multiple 3rd-and-longs. There's no one star of this defensive line room, but Poyser, Charles Perkins and Hammond Russell IV are a stout, disruptive troika.

LOSERS

Director of strength and conditioning Brady Collins

The fact that I need to call out Collins' sideline gaffe to have someone in the losers' category is a tremendous sign for the Badgers. It was a true team effort, and though there were several mistakes made, namely in terms of penalties (Jai'mier Scott's face-mask on third-and-goal, Charles Perkins' face-mask on the same series), it's hard to say a single player's stock declined in the huge win over the No. 16 team in the country.

Still, Collins' sideline fraction penalty was comical. It came after a Sebastian Cheeks sack for an eight-yard loss that would've set the Trojans up with a third-and-long. Instead, Collins strayed too far onto the field as the play ended and collided with an official that was running down the sideline, prompting the flag to be thrown. USC wound up scoring on that drive, but it was the Trojans' lone score of the game.