Wisconsin

Three Burning Questions: Wisconsin braces for No. 1 Oregon

Published

1 year ago

November 13, 2024

Three Burning Questions: Wisconsin braces for No. 1 Oregon

Wisconsin has one more shot to shock the nation when the top-ranked Oregon Ducks come to Madison for a primetime showdown under the Camp Randall lights.

As the Badgers look to avoid a three-game losing streak, what questions surround this matchup?

1. Can Wisconsin’s secondary hold up against Oregon’s dynamic receiver trio?

Oregon’s passing attack, currently ranked 15th in the nation, boasts one of the most dynamic receiver corps in the entire country. It’s comprised of Tez Johnson, Evan Stewart and Traeshon Holden, all of whom figure to play on Sundays.

Johnson has 64 catches for 649 yards and eight touchdowns. Stewart has 37 grabs for 517 yards and five scores. Holden has reeled in 30 passes for 492 yards and three touchdowns. Oregon’s third-leading receiver has outpaced Wisconsin’s top receiver (Vinny Anthony).

Wisconsin has faced plenty of dynamic wideouts this fall. Alabama’s Ryan Williams and USC’s Ja’Kobi Lane come to mind. The Badgers didn’t fare well against either.

Williams reeled in all four of his targets for 78 yards and a touchdown. Lane caught a whopping 10 passes for 105 yards and two scores. In both instances, the opposing receiver simply beat the Badgers’ defensive backs in coverage time and time again, and there were multiple offenders. Nyzier Fourqurean, Hunter Wohler and RJ Delancy are among those who fell victim to the aforementioned electrifying wideouts.

“They’re gonna be challenged in different ways, and that’s the beauty of college football, right? You can be challenged in a lot of different ways, and this would be one that maybe we haven’t seen really the entire year. The ability for them to throw the ball downfield, the dynamic of the wide receivers that they have, obviously the quarterback and the ability for him to make plays both with his feet and in the air,” head coach Luke Fickell said.

Fickell is right: Oregon poses a different test in terms of the sheer number of talented wideouts they deploy. With the Crimson Tide, Williams was by far and away the top receiving threat. In the USC game, Lane dominated the target share — and Wisconsin’s defensive backs. But the Ducks spread the ball to a variety of capable eligibles.

“We’ve got the utmost confidence, right?” Fickell continued. “We talked about Rico (Hallman) earlier; there’s gonna be a lot more opportunities this week for him to be in positions to have a chance to make some plays. And he’s gonna be challenged, no doubt.”

2. Can the Badgers inspire any confidence in the trenches?

In back-to-back games against Iowa and Penn State, Wisconsin’s play along the offensive line and from the defensive front seven has left much to be desired. The Badgers got dominated at the point of attack in both games, an area that’s particularly frustrating for Fickell.

The head coach is a noted traditionalist in terms of trench play being the most important aspect of the game. The entire season, he’s harped on how significant the action around the line of scrimmage is. But in Wisconsin’s losses, namely against Alabama, Penn State and Iowa, the trenches were owned by the Badgers’ opponents.

Oregon will pose yet another daunting test up front. On the Ducks’ offense, tailback Jordan James has been a stud. He’s racked up 946 yards on the ground on 5.7 yards-per-carry with 10 touchdowns. He was limited last week against Maryland with just seven carries, but should have little to no limitations Saturday night in Camp Randall. The Oregon offensive line has also allowed just 10 sacks this season.

The Ducks have a stout rushing defense that’s surrendered 117.4 yards-per-game. For reference, that’s about a yard more than Iowa. In consecutive games, Wisconsin will face an upper-echelon run defense. Oregon has also compiled 27.0 sacks this fall, tied for ninth in the nation.

Oregon brings a lot of glitz and glamour with its playmakers at the skill positions, but make no mistake — if Wisconsin wants to win this game, it needs to play better in the trenches. If the Badgers can bring pressure, for example, it won’t always matter how tightly the Ducks’ wideouts are blanketed.

3. What personnel adjustments will be made after the bye week?

Bye weeks are often used as a period of self-scouting and reflection, and for the Badgers, there’s plenty to clean up on both sides of the ball. But as the season begins to wind down, and decisions begin getting made for the future, it stands to reason that Wisconsin is in line for some personnel shuffling in its final three games.

Offensive coordinator Phil Longo spoke this week about an effort to get several players more involved schematically, and he named Trech Kekahuna, Vinny Anthony, Tucker Ashcraft and Darrion Dupree. Kekahuna especially makes since: after his 134-yard, two touchdown outing against Purdue, the slot receiver has just five catches across the following four games.

Dupree, meanwhile, makes plenty of sense as well as a player who could see his snap count spike. The Badgers are still committed to using Tawee Walker as their bell cow back, but Dupree looks like a very mature runner and feels like an underutilized weapon in this offense. He was the team’s leading rusher two weeks ago in Iowa City and had the Badgers’ longest run of the night.

On defense, I would expect linebacker Christian Alliegro to continue to be heavily involved. Especially against a quarterback like Dillon Gabriel, who can extend plays with his legs and stress defenses with his mobility, Alliegro’s closing speed will be of the utmost importance Saturday night.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Adds Robert Steeples to 2026 Coaching Staff

Published

10 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin Adds Robert Steeples to 2026 Coaching Staff

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin has added Robert Steeples to its 2026 coaching staff, head coach Luke Fickell announced on Tuesday. Steeples will serve as cornerbacks coach for the Badgers, moving Paul Haynes to oversee the entire secondary.

“Bringing Robert Steeples to Wisconsin is a great addition to our coaching staff,” Fickell said in a statement. “He has seen the game at every level – Playing professionally, coaching at the high school and collegiate level. Our players and staff will love working with him and we’re excited to get him here.

“With the addition, we will be moving Paul Haynes to a role that will allow him to work with our entire secondary to strengthen our unit.”

Steeples spent the last two seasons at Iowa State as a defensive analyst. Prior to his two seasons with the Cyclones, Steeples coached cornerbacks at LSU from 2022-23. The St. Louis native played collegiately at Missouri and Memphis. He went undrafted in 2013, but spent four seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs, and Dallas Cowboys.

“Wisconsin’s commitment to excellence and rugged style of play gives me the opportunity to work with the type of student-athletes that can benefit most from my style of coaching,” Steeples said in a statement. “The defensive structure and culture that Coach Fickell and Coach Tressel have implemented complements the guys on the island – the corners. The defensive staff is full of experience, great leaders, but most importantly great human beings – which makes for a fantastic environment for growth. I’m excited to get into the trenches with the guys and do my part. The opportunity ahead is a blessing.”

Steeples will inherit a Wisconsin cornerback room that currently returns two key performers from the 2025 season — redshirt freshman Omillio Agard and true freshman Cairo Skanes.

Steeples is the second off-season hire for the Badgers, joining offensive line coach Eric Mateos, who came over from Arkansas.

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The transfer portal opens on Jan. 2 and the insider rumblings are already heating up for Wisconsin! There’s not a better time to join the fastest-growing UW team site. New members can sign up and enjoy insider access for just $1!

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin judge sends Slender Man attacker back to mental health institution after group home escape

Published

22 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin judge sends Slender Man attacker back to mental health institution after group home escape

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin woman who almost killed her sixth-grade classmate to please the fictional horror villain known as Slender Man was ordered back to a state psychiatric hospital Tuesday after she escaped from her group home last month.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge K. Scott Wagner granted a state Department of Health Services request to revoke 23-year-old Morgan Geyser’s release privileges. Geyser told the judge through her attorney, Tony Cotton, last week that she would not fight revocation. Wagner then approved the request during a short hearing.

Cotton didn’t immediately respond to an email message seeking comment.

Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier cheered her on. A passing bicyclist discovered Leutner, who barely survived. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.

Geyser and Weier later told investigators they attacked Leutner in hopes of impressing Slender Man enough that he would make them his servants and wouldn’t hurt their families. Both of them were eventually committed to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute — Geyser for 40 years and Weier for 25 years.

Weier earned conditional release in 2021. Wagner granted Geyser conditional release this past September despite warnings from state Department of Health Services officials that she couldn’t be trusted.

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Geyser was placed in a Madison group home. Authorities say that on Nov. 22 she cut off her GPS monitor and fled the state with a 43-year-old companion. Police arrested both of them the next day at a truck stop outside Chicago, about 170 miles (274 kilometers) south of Madison.

Geyser’s companion told WKOW-TV that the two of them became friends at church and had been seeing each other daily for the last month. Geyser decided to escape because she was afraid the group home would no longer allow them to see each other, the companion said.

Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudsen in 2009 as a mysterious figure photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. He grew into a popular boogeyman, appearing in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin warns of “sextortion,” online crimes against kids

Published

1 day ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin warns of “sextortion,” online crimes against kids

MILWAUKEE – The FBI calls it an online crime against kids – perpetrators convincing kids to send sexual images of themselves and then blackmailing them.

Online crime against kids

The backstory:

The reality is settling in. This will be Brittney Bird’s first Christmas without her son, Bradyn Bohn, since he was born. That is because just nine months ago, the 15-year-old died by suicide, just hours after telling his family good night.

“This winter has been pretty heavy,” Bird said. “This will be a lot of first this year.”

Bird said Bradyn was the kind of kid who would always try to make you launch. The teen had a lot of friends, played sports, did well academically, and had big plans for the future.

“Definitely a kid who we were just so proud of,” Bird said. “Bradyn never struggled with or suffered from mental illness or depression or anything of that nature so immediately we knew, you know something’s wrong.”

Once police went through Bradyn’s phone, she said it came out he was the victim of the cyber crime, sextortion.

What is sextortion?

What we know:

“Sextortion is a form of online child exploitation where a child is coerced by a perpetrator to send compromising images,” said Jesse Crowe from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

This week, the Wisconsin Department of Justice sent out a public service announcement on sextortion.

Officials say suspects often pose as someone else online. While exchanging messages, they convince a child to send images of themselves. Once they have explicit images of the child, they use the photos or videos to blackmail the child into sending even more images, money or ask for sexual favors.

FBI data, change in Wisconsin law

Dig deeper:

The FBI said victims are typically males between the ages of 14 and 17, but any child can be a target.

This crime led to at least 20 suicides between October 2021 and March 2023.

In the months after Bradyn’s death, change would come to Wisconsin. Earlier in December, Gov. Tony Evers signed Bradyn’s Law. It creates a new crime of sexual extortion in Wisconsin. It aims to ensure harsh penalties for those who exploit children online.

“It will bring, hopefully statewide, eventually nationwide attention to where every family is having this conversation with their kids,” Bird told FOX6 News.