Wisconsin
No. 1 Ducks finish strong, outlast pesky Badgers
MADISON, Wis. — Oregon had yet to score a touchdown on Saturday night when “Jump Around” blared throughout Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium, signaling the start of the fourth quarter.
The top-ranked Ducks trailed and faced fourth-and-9. Oregon coach Dan Lanning considered taking a delay of game penalty and punting. Instead, he put his trust in quarterback Dillon Gabriel. And once again, the Heisman Trophy contender delivered.
Unable to find an open receiver, Gabriel scrambled left before threading a pass through a trio of Wisconsin defenders into the chest of tight end Terrance Ferguson for a first down at the Badgers’ 26-yard line. Three plays later, the Ducks scored their only touchdown.
That was all need they needed. Oregon survived with a 16-13 victory to remain unbeaten.
According to ESPN Research, the Ducks are the only team in the country to win three times this season after trailing by at least six points in the fourth quarter. They’re also just the seventh team in the AP Poll era (since 1936) to start 11-0 with three wins by three or fewer points. Oregon also rallied for wins against Boise State and Ohio State, by a combined margin of four points.
“It’s hard to win. Big plays need to happen in big moments,” said Gabriel, who passed for 219 yards versus the Badgers. “Winning games are hard, and we have a team that knows how to win. That just speaks volumes about the guys we have.”
The Ducks didn’t make it easy.
Oregon twice settled for field goals in the first half after promising drives. Gabriel also had a pass tipped and intercepted on first-and-goal.
With Oregon’s offense scuffling, the Badgers gradually took control with a methodical rushing attack led by running back Tawee Walker, who finished with 97 yards.
The Badgers led 13-6 to begin the fourth quarter and seemed headed for their first win over a No. 1 team since toppling Ohio State in 2010.
But momentum swung back in Oregon’s favor after “Jump Around,” Wisconsin’s famed tradition. The Ducks played the song all week during practice to prepare them for the trip.
To begin the fourth quarter, Lanning told Gabriel to take the delay of game penalty if the Badgers showed zone coverage against Oregon’s triple slant play.
“[They] were in the look that we liked and then they actually checked out of that look,” Lanning said. “But our guys did a good job of executing the scramble drill.
“We probably had a little good luck there — and an impressive play by Dillon to keep it alive and find somebody down the field.”
Two possessions later, the Ducks added the winning field goal. Gabriel’s 8-yard scramble on third down helped set up a chip shot for kicker Atticus Sappington, who nailed the 24-yard attempt with just over two minutes to play.
Oregon’s defense did the rest, forcing a turnover on downs then a tipped ball that resulted in an interception on Wisconsin’s final drive.
The Ducks will have a bye before hosting Washington on Nov. 30 in the regular-season finale. If they win, they’ll have a chance to secure the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff with another victory in the Big Ten championship game.
“We can handle critical moments,” Lanning said. “We can handle when it’s tough, and at some point, that experience is going to pay off for us. It certainly paid off for us tonight.”
Wisconsin Badgers (10-2, 1-0 Big Ten) at Indiana Hoosiers (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten)
Bloomington, Indiana; Saturday, 1 p.m.
Watch on the Big 10 Network, listen here, or keep up with live stats here.
BOTTOM LINE: Indiana takes on Wisconsin after Shay Ciezki scored 20 points in Indiana’s 90-55 win against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
The Hoosiers are 6-1 in home games. Indiana scores 72.0 points while outscoring opponents by 10.2 points per game.
The Badgers have gone 1-0 against Big Ten opponents. Wisconsin averages 13.0 turnovers per game and is 3-1 when committing fewer turnovers than opponents.
Indiana scores 72.0 points, 10.6 more per game than the 61.4 Wisconsin allows. Wisconsin averages 8.0 more points per game (69.8) than Indiana allows to opponents (61.8).
The Hoosiers and Badgers match up Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Yarden Garzon is scoring 14.2 points per game with 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Hoosiers.
Serah Williams is scoring 20.0 points per game and averaging 12.3 rebounds for the Badgers.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hoosiers: 8-2, averaging 71.4 points, 30.8 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 6.2 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.0 points per game.
Badgers: 8-2, averaging 66.4 points, 33.6 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 6.1 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.8 points.
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Wisconsin football’s Luke’s Fickell shares his message for team, fans
The Badgers football coach spoke to reporters following the team’s 24-7 loss to Minnesota Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
The year 2024 wasn’t necessarily a banner one for Wisconsin sports fans. Which of these will most stick with you in 2025 and beyond? What’s the biggest disappointment in 2024?
Vote for your pick below.
Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers football team
Year 2 of the Luke Fickell Era was supposed to push the program a step forward from the 2023-24 team that barely qualified for a bowl game.
Instead, against a tougher schedule and after the loss of starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, the Wisconsin Badgers took a step backward, finishing 5-7 and missing a bowl game for the first time since 2001.
Fickell fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo, but with another brutal schedule ahead and no clear-cut top option at quarterback, the 2024-25 season looks bleak.
Giannis gets hurt and the Bucks stumble in the playoffs
A late-season calf injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo kept the Milwaukee Bucks star from the playoffs, and Milwaukee was dismissed in six games by the Indiana Pacers in the first round, a second consecutive first-round playoff loss.
Damian Lillard also missed two games in the series and was limited when he played. Though Khris Middleton did what he could, a strange season (featuring a mid-season coaching switch from Adrian Griffin to Doc Rivers) ended in disappointment.
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The Brewers haven’t advanced out of the first playoff round since 2018.
Packers drop a heartbreaker to 49ers
The 2023 Green Bay Packers season finished as a success, but there’s the pain of wondering what else could have been.
In the divisional round of the playoffs, Green Bay had a 21-17 lead on San Francisco until the final 2 minutes, when Christian McCaffrey scored a go-ahead touchdown with 1:07 remaining in the 24-21 loss.
Wisconsin, Marquette lose to double-digit seeds in NCAA Tournament
Marquette has to get credit for reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013, registering an 81-77 victory over Colorado in the second round. But upstart 11th seed NC State, a team that only made the tournament thanks to five wins in five days to claim the ACC Tournament, dispatched second-seeded Marquette at that point, 67-58, en route to a Final Four berth.
Wisconsin had it much worse, garnering a No. 5 seed and losing pretty convincingly in the opening round to 12th-seeded James Madison, 72-61; JMU lost by 38 points in the next game against Duke.
TUCSON, Ariz. — Former Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke is headed to Arizona.
Locke announced his decision in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday, giving the Wildcats two veteran quarterbacks with Noah Fifita returning.
Locke sat out as a redshirt at Mississippi State in 2022 before throwing for 1,936 yards and 13 touchdowns with 10 interceptions for the Badgers last season.
Arizona will have a new-look offense with the addition of offensive coordinator Seth Doege, a disciple of late Texas Tech coach Mike Leach.
Fifita has been Arizona’s starter most of the past two seasons and announced earlier this month he would be returning to Tucson.
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