MADISON – Games like Wisconsin’s 16-13 loss to Oregon on Saturday are a reminder of the evolution of football.
Defense no longer wins championships. They don’t even win big games.
The Badgers held the nation’s top-ranked team to its lowest point total of the season and with 254 yards allowed was just 2 yards shy of the Ducks at their lowest yardage output of 2024. Oregon’s 5 yards per play was a season low by more than half a meter.
None of that mattered, because when it counted, Oregon had playmakers on offense who — even on a bad day — moved the needle enough to help their team go 11-0 for the first time since 2010.
Wisconsin currently does not have that.
“Well, that’s crushing,” said Badgers coach Luke Fickell, whose team fell to 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten. “It’s hard not to find a way to get to the top. Those guys in the locker room fought like hell. They did everything we asked of them. They played the way we wanted them to play and expected them to play. We haven’t found a way to complete it at this point.
“The games that have gotten to the fourth quarter. The matches that have reached the most critical times, the deep, deep waters, we still have to get over the hump and find a way to pull it out.
Badgers failed to drive on the final two possessions
Wisconsin finished with a season-low 226 total yards of offense. The Badgers gained just 21 yards in the fourth quarter. Oregon had 91 yards that quarter, far from explosive, but enough to put together the drive for the winning field goal.
Senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel routinely evaded defenders by moving the chains with his arm or feet. He connected on a 15-yard pass to tight end Terrance Ferguson on fourth-and-9 to continue a drive that resulted in the tying touchdown. And on the drive for the winning field goal, his eight-yard run on third down set up a first down, allowing the Ducks to take valuable time off the clock before attempting the kick.
Wisconsin responded with a productive night from senior Tawee Walker (20 carries, 97 yards). UW also had the longest play of the day for either team, a 43-yard pass play from Braedyn Locke to Vinny Anthony that led to the Badgers’ second-game drive. quarter touchdown.
Their efforts brought Wisconsin to the brink of something special, but….
“We played hard. That was a great team,” Walker said. “We just have to work on keeping the momentum going. We had moments of momentum in the game and when we lost it, it was gone. … We have to get better.
Wisconsin had 2 minutes, 36 seconds left to play after Atticus Sappington hit a 24-yard field goal to give Oregon a 16-13 lead.
Somehow UW managed to get two possessions out of the remaining time, but got nowhere. The Badgers were given a delay of game penalty and then went four-and-out on their first possession of the late game. On the second, which was set up by a failed Oregon fake field goal attempt, Locke ran 7 yards on first down at the 17, but a pass was deflected and intercepted on the next play.
Game over.
“It’s extremely tough,” said Locke, who completed 12 of 28 passes for 98 yards. “As a competitor, those are moments you want. Put the ball in your hands and have a chance to win the game. It is a heavy feeling not to come out on top.”
The Badgers had other missed opportunities as well.
In the third quarter, a 6-yard touchdown pass from Locke to Anthony was negated by an illegal man downfield penalty and UW settled for a 35-yard field goal that cut the lead to 13-6 at the 4:43 mark. In the fourth quarter, a 12-yard catch by Trech Kekahuna on third down was negated due to a chop block penalty by Walker and center Jake Renfro. The Badgers failed to get the first down and punted. Oregon kicked the winning field goal on the ensuing possession.
“You have to be able to play clean football,” sophomore guard Joe Brunner said. “The penalties caught up with us, especially late in the game when we’re in the red zone and we could score a touchdown, get penalized (and) have to make a field goal. You have to be able to play clean football. You’re playing against the best team in the country.”
Will the fight UW showed against Oregon carry over to Nebraska?
Despite the outcome, the performance was a nice recovery from a disastrous performance in Iowa two weeks ago.
But will it pass? The Badgers have been up and down this season.
On Saturday they play Nebraska, which is also hungry for a win with four straight losses. The Badgers then close the regular season with a Black Friday game against Minnesota at home.
When it comes to guaranteeing bowl eligibility, Wisconsin has almost no room for error.
“It’s an emotional shot that we have to be able to get over quickly because we have two weeks left in the season and they are two very important weeks of the season,” Fickell said. “We knew this was going to be an NFL schedule. It would be shot after shot after shot.
“What that means is you have to have the maturity, you have to have the discipline and the depth to be able to make some of these shots and keep moving forward.”
