After Badger football reached an all-time program low point in their last two weeks, Wisconsin (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) looked to bounce back going into Autzen Stadium against the No. 6 Oregon Ducks (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) for the first time in 24 years on Saturday.
Wisconsin’s head coach Luke Fickell made the decision to keep redshirt senior Hunter Simmons for a fourth straight game, despite some clamoring from the media and fans to start true freshman four-star Carter Smith.
Wisconsin would travel to Eugene with quite the hefty injury report. Wisconsin was out nine total starters as well as seven other key contributors and backups turned starters thanks to injury; what was already an uphill battle turned into an up-Mt. Everest battle.
In a defensive war, Wisconsin’s offense struggled immensely, netting under 200 total yards for the second-straight week. Despite this, redshirt freshman Gideon Ituka played well in his first start, toting the rock for 85 yards on 21 carries.
Wisconsin’s defense showed their best performance yet this season, thanks to very promising first career starts from the stud freshman linebacker duo Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano, who combined for 21 total tackles on the night.
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To open the game, the Ducks surprised everyone by performing a successful onside kick. Fortunately, defense came to play, early and often, forcing a three-and-out and not allowing a single point until there was one minute remaining in the first half.
One of the biggest storylines coming into this game was Wisconsin’s historic scoring drought. The Simmons-led Badgers had not scored a single point in eight quarters, and hadn’t scored a touchdown in 11.
Then, late in the fourth quarter, thanks to a 42-yard prayer answered by true freshman Eugene Hilton Jr, Wisconsin found themselves on the Ducks’ 2-yard line. After 14 total quarters of touchdownless offense, Simmons hit senior tight end Lance Mason on a two-yard out.
Wisconsin’s defense would end up keeping the game closer than many would’ve assumed heading in but not close enough to conquer the offensive woes, losing the game 21-7.
Despite Wisconsin coming out of their supposed hardest stretch of the season according to preseason projections, the path doesn’t get much clearer from here. The Badgers play Washington (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten), No. 2 Indiana (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) and No. 23 Illinois (5-3, 2-3 Big Ten) in their next three games, all of which will be very tough to crawl out with a win from.