Wisconsin's defense got back on track against Rutgers in a much-needed Week 10 win.

After the upset over then-No. 16 USC, I was ready to deem this Badgers defense one of the best in the nation. Just a week later, they dispelled that notion pretty emphatically in a 30-0 blowout loss to Iowa. Against a much weaker opponent in Rutgers, however, defensive coordinator Mike Tressel's unit righted the ship.

The Badgers notched eight tackles-for-loss, five sacks and held the Scarlet Knights to 161 yards passing and 2.6 yards per carry.

As we did for the offense, Badgers On SI has defensive snap counts and analysis from the Week 10 win over Rutgers:

Author's note: snap count data from Pro Football Focus.

Defensive Line

- Hammond Russell IV (28)
- Charles Perkins (24)
- Junior Poyser (16)
- Dillan Johnson (14)
- Nolan Vils (12)
- DeNigel Cooper (9)
- Jacob Anderson (8)
- Will McDonald (2)

The Badgers' defensive line rotation remained just about the same, although Perkins took more snaps than Poyser this week after it was the other way around against Iowa. McDonald saw his first snaps since the Michigan State game. Anderson also played his most snaps since the Michigan State game.

Outside linebacker

- Sebastian Cheeks (42)
- Tyreese Fearbry (40)
- Nicolas Clayton (26)
- Justus Boone (12)

The Badgers shortened their outside linebacker rotation this week, only deploying four players. Michael Garner didn't see any action after he returned to a semi-prominent role last week with 18 snaps against Iowa. Clayton, who notched a sack, had a strong 26 snaps after playing just seven last week in Iowa City.

Inside Linebacker

- Mason Posa (59)
- Cooper Catalano (59)
- Jon Jon Kamara (2)
- Thomas Heiberger (2)
- Taylor Schaefer (2)

It was a quiet day for the Badgers' three-ILB package; after Kamara, Heiberger and Aaron Witt all saw significant snaps in Iowa City, Posa and Catalano played all but two defensive snaps. Schaefer saw action for the second game in a row. After playing 33 snaps last week, Witt rode the bench against Rutgers.

Cornerback

- Javan Robinson (59)
- Bryce West (56)
- Eric Fletcher Jr (35)
- Jai’mier Scott (26)
- Donovan Dunmore (2)

After leading the way in the cornerback room for several weeks, Jai'mier Scott was limited to 26 snaps as he rolled an ankle defending a deep pass. West got banged up too, but he still managed to play 56 snaps after playing a season-low 17 last week. Dunmore got involved briefly for the first time since Week 5 against Michigan State, while Fletcher's 35 snaps were also the most he's played since the clash with the Spartans.

Safety

- Matt Jung (59)
- Marvin Burks Jr (53)
- Cairo Skanes (17)
- Carson Van Dinter (2)
- Raphael Dunn (2)
- Matthew Traynor (2)

The Badgers went deep into their safety room, as their comfortable lead afforded them some garbage time. Otherwise, not much changed in position coach Jack Cooper's room; Jung and Burks remained at the top, while Skanes saw his snap count decrease slightly after he played 25 snaps last week in Iowa City.