by Jacob Szczap
After a November where the Wisconsin Badgers changed the narrative of their 2025 season, they had an opportunity to once-and-for-all flip a disastrous season on its head and ride into a crucial offseason with positive momentum. With exhilarating home victories over then-CFP Top 25 foes Washington and Illinois, Wisconsin proved they were capable of winning and salvaged what was left of their remaining season.
But as Saturday’s 17-7 loss to Minnesota became the last memory of a season many would like to forget, Wisconsin’s feel-good victories have been diminished, instead swapped with the all-too-familiar taste of defeat.
Now, Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell heads into his most important offseason with a team unable to fully get over the hump, and a fanbase that, while less restless than a month ago, is still weary of the job he is doing.
“It’s very, very difficult and tough to swallow,” Fickell said after the Minnesota game. “I know that the locker room feels as bad as you possibly could, and I wanted nothing more than to end this thing for the seniors in a way that they could be proud of.”
No matter the result against Minnesota, Wisconsin’s victories over Washington and Illinois granted the Badgers a level of offseason breathing room that seemed impossible in October.
The Badgers began the season 2-6 and hardly looked competitive against Alabama, Maryland, Iowa and Ohio State.
Wisconsin should feel good knowing that after being embarrassed at home by Maryland and Iowa earlier in the year, they found the will and ability to knock down quality opponents and compete at the Big Ten level later in the season.
The wins were Wisconsin’s first against Top 25 opponents under Fickell. In 2023 against No. 3 Ohio State, and in 2024 against No. 3 Penn State and No. 1 Oregon, Wisconsin fought against highly ranked foes for three quarters, but did not have the stamina to finish with wins.
This season, albeit against different caliber teams, Wisconsin was able to close out victories and produce the signature wins that had previously been so elusive under Fickell. Finishing strong against Washington and Illinois proves there is growth within the program and serves as a testament to the players buying into Fickell’s style.
Still, losing to Minnesota, who Wisconsin has fallen to in four of their last five meetings, is a stark reminder that despite the progress the Badgers have made in recent weeks, there is still a long way to go in climbing the metaphorical “mountain” Fickell speaks of almost weekly.
“Like any last game, in particular at the end of the season, a rivalry game, all the things that build up to this — we weren’t able to get the job done,” Fickell said. “There are a lot of reasons why we didn’t get the job done today.”
The most glaring reason Wisconsin faltered against Minnesota was their quarterback situation, an issue that has plagued the Badgers throughout Fickell’s tenure and continues to plague them into the offseason.
In recent weeks, Wisconsin’s ever-fluctuating quarterback depth chart led to true freshman Carter Smith taking the reins.
Under Smith, Wisconsin hasn’t been a pass-first offense, and that continued against Minnesota as snow blanketed the field. Smith, taking a backseat to the run game, completed five-of-eight passes for 20 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 16 yards.
Wisconsin struggled to move the ball downfield, and it took an improbable toe-tapping touchdown from tight end Jackson Acker on fourth-and-goal with 27 seconds left in the half to get Wisconsin on the board.
The play was set up by a 67-yard pass from backup Hunter Simmons, who replaced Smith for the last drive of the first half, but it was still surprising to see Fickell trot out Simmons for the entire second half. Smith, the 24th ranked quarterback in the 2025 recruiting cycle, was a major recruiting win for Fickell and was seen as the possible future for the position for Wisconsin. The fact that Smith was under center for the two biggest wins of the season certainly added to the questions surrounding his second-half benching.
Simmons also struggled, inhibiting the Badgers by throwing costly interceptions on Wisconsin’s first two possessions of the second half. He finished 12-of-19 passing with 162 yards and no touchdowns.
“It’s nothing against Carter, it’s just the way that they were playing,” Fickell said. “And we thought that, you know, going in at halftime and coming back out, that it gave us a chance to loosen some things up, and they moved the ball decently. Just couldn’t capitalize.”
Whatever the thought process was, Smith’s second-half benching shows that the positive energy he garnered in recent weeks wasn’t enough to convince Fickell his freshman quarterback was the right man to close out the season. In the fast-paced world of college football, it also heavily suggests that Fickell will be looking for a quarterback in the portal over the offseason, diverting from Smith, who while not solely responsible for the late-season wins, played a large role.
Beyond the quarterback, the offense’s play as a whole against Minnesota leaves plenty of questions surrounding the unit’s future. Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes did not meet expectations in his first year in Madison, leading a unit that finished 133rd in total offense, last out of Power conference teams.
After a blip of dynamism against Illinois — in which Wisconsin scored their most points (27) since Sept. 6 — the Badgers returned to their usual stagnation against Minnesota, turning the ball over three times and sputtering their way through a series of frustrating drives.
Heading into the offseason, Fickell will have to decide whether he wants to keep Grimes around to lead the offense in a do-or-die season or dump him after a putrid first year.
Over the season’s last few weeks, the Badgers showed they were a team worth taking seriously, and they created some seriously memorable moments that reminded fans there still is a mystique around Wisconsin football. But for all of the growth Wisconsin showed in their victories, the core tenants of their struggles still remain at season’s end.
Wisconsin finished the season with its worst record in 35 years. They failed to win a game on the road and clearly have the lower-hand in rivalries with Iowa and Minnesota. Heading into a make-or-break offseason, Fickell must build around what his team did well late in the season, while keeping the year’s shortcomings at the front of his mind.