Wisconsin
Wisconsin football insider: Why a third-quarter interception proved costly in Badgers’ pursuit of Axe
MINNEAPOLIS – A look back at Wisconsin’s 17-7 loss to Minnesota on Saturday, Nov. 29, in the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
Big picture
This one hurt for Wisconsin on a few fronts. First, they missed a chance to build on a run of two wins over ranked opponents in a three-game span by getting a road win over a beatable opponent. Second, they went home without the Axe for the second straight season. Third, they wasted an effort by the defense that resulted in just 218 total yards for the Gophers. The loss leaves Wisconsin with a 4-8 mark for the season and a 2-7 record in the Big Ten that ties it for 14th. Last year they tied for 12th in the 18-team conference.
UW schedule | Standings | Box score
Turning point: Minnesota turns interception into points
The first two times Wisconsin turned over the ball, the defense and/or special teams bailed out the offense. The Badgers weren’t so fortunate the third time. Safety John Nestor undercut a route toward the sideline for Trech Kekahuna with about 6½ minutes to go in the third quarter and returned the interception 68 yards to the Badgers 16.
Three plays later redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey hit tight end Jameson Geers for a 13-yard touchdown with 5 minutes 4 seconds to go in the third quarter. It was the only score of the second half and it gave the Gophers a 17-7 edge against a team that reached that point total just three times this season. In other words, the sequence left the Gophers in really good shape.
Thumbs up: Jackson Acker’s concentration pays off; Ben Barten blocks another field goal
- Tight end/fullback Jackson Acker’s tight-rope act along the sideline in the end zone resulted in a 1-yard touchdown pass from Carter Smith.
- Ben Barten blocked his second field goal of the season, a 38-yard attempt in the first quarter that kept the game scoreless. His block against Washington on Nov. 8 prevented the Huskies from tying the game in the fourth quarter.
- Linebacker Cooper Catalano led the Badgers with 10 tackles, which moved him into second place on the team with 61 stops.
- Right guard Kerry Kodanko, who came on for Colin Cubberly last week, started his final game and played throughout.
Thumbs down: Badgers’ struggle with punt game, creating turnovers
- Punter Sean West, who entered play averaging 51.2 yards per punt, averaged 29.2 yards in four punts. His punts of 35 and 11 yards in the second quarter helped flip the field in Minnesota’s favor.
- The Badgers failed to create a turnover, meaning they did not create a turnover on the road this season.
- Mason Posa took the blame for Darius Taylor’s 49-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Up next for Wisconsin: Signing day, transfer portal
The Badgers won’t have to wait for long to dive into the offseason. Wednesday marks the beginning of the early signing period for high school recruits. Wisconsin has 13 commits it will try to keep in the fold over the coming days.
Badger players won’t be able to officially enter the portal until Jan. 2-16, but some will likely announce their intention to do so well before them. Expect Wisconsin to be active in the portal again.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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