BLOOMINGTON, IND. – Given the Wisconsin football team’s résumé, a win would have been a lot to expect.
Indiana is the No. 2-ranked team in the country for a reason. The Hoosiers are getting outstanding quarterback play, have potential NFL talent on the offenisve line and at receiver and have studs at each level of the defense.
Indiana is headed to the College Football Playoff. The Badgers are still finding their way.
So one week after getting its first Big Ten win of the season, did UW show progress in its 31-7 loss to Indiana on Saturday, Nov. 15?
In answering that question, consider:
Of course the Badgers need much more to become a consistent winner, but what they showed Saturday was more in line with what we saw from the team in its two previous games against Oregon and Washington than what it delivered against Iowa, Ohio State and Maryland.
The challenge Saturday was maintaining that standard of play for 60 minutes against a team that ranks top six nationally in total offense and defense.
“I think the first half you saw us execute a majority of the half, and I think that wasn’t the case in the second half,” said graduate outside linebacker Darryl Peterson, who had a career-high 2½ sacks. “Obviously, the last two games, we’ve got to try to put together four quarters of execution, all three phases.”
Despite the spirited start, Wisconsin’s Achilles heel came back to trip it.
It gained just 23 yards in the second half, and its 168 total yards for the game was its second-lowest total of the season behind the 144 it gained against No. 1 Ohio State.
Injuries played a role in those struggles. Running back Gideon Ituka, a spark for the run game the previous two games, was carted off the field and taken to the hospital after a hard hit in the third quarter and center Davis Heinzen, who made his third straight start, didn’t finish the game due to an ankle injury.
Meanwhile, the defense didn’t force a turnover for the sixth game this season and was carved up by IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who connected on 22 of 24 throws for 299 yards. Big plays were huge as he gained 166 of those yards on just five completions.
His opposite number, Wisconsin freshman Carter Smith, completed nine of 15 passes for 98 yards and one touchdown.
“It’s a tale of two halves,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said. “In the first half, to be honest with you, that’s kind of the way you’d draw it up for us, methodically doing some things, moving the football, taking care of the football, eliminating big plays other than one defensively.
“I think that was the idea of the way we want to be able to play right now and the complementary idea of what football’s got to look like for us.”
Smith was given a looser rein in his second game and was given the opportunity to make more plays downfield.
The coaches showed him great trust in calling what proved to be Wisconsin’s biggest play of the day, a 45-yard touchdown pass to tight end Lance Mason on a fourth-and-1 play.
That score tied the game, 7-7, with 3 minutes 42 seconds to go in the first half, but in the second half Smith turned it over twice. The crucial one was his fumble at the UW 21 that almost instantly led to a Hoosiers touchdown that pushed their lead to 24-7. Two of Indiana’s three second-half touchdowns came off Smith turnovers.
The Badgers tried to take some chances in the second half. They just didn’t work out.
“To think that you’re going to methodically drive 12, 13 plays down the field on a really, really good football team, it’s not (realistic) …” Fickell said. “We’ve got to be able to take some more shots. We’ve got to give him some more opportunities. We’ve got to turn him loose a little bit more, and unfortunately, you know, it didn’t work well for us.”
Smith entered the game during the second series against Washington but didn’t get starter snaps in practice that week. Heading into the Indiana game, he received more of those reps in practice.
He also had more put on his plate.
“That’s something that comes with playing quarterback,” Smith said about the added workload. “So it’s something I need to get better with is having a lot on my plate and being able to handle it all.”
The loss guarantees Wisconsin (3-7, 1-6) its second straight losing season, but the team has two games remaining.
Next Illinois (7-3, 4-3) comes to Camp Randall on Nov. 22; then UW plays at Minnesota (6-4, 4-3) on Nov. 29.
“We got to keep pushing, and we’re going to find out a hell of a lot about everybody that’s in this program, whether they’re seniors that have two guaranteed opportunities to play the game of football left, or young guys,” Fickell said. “Everything has got to be evaluated, and we’ve got to grow.”
Storms Friday night but a dry weekend ahead in SE Wisconsin
More storms are likely Friday night before our weather quiets down for Easter weekend in SE Wisconsin
RIGHT AFTER WORLD NEWS WITH DAVID MUIR AT 530. THANK YOU DIANA. SHOWERS AND STORMS ARE MOVING IN, BUT IT WILL NOT BE A REPEAT OF LAST NIGHT. THAT’S GOOD NEWS, MARK. THE CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER IS VERY LOW. IT IS VERY GOOD BECAUSE NO, I WOULDN’T WANT TO HAVE A REPEAT OF LAST NIGHT. THANKFULLY, WE’RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT. WE DO HAVE SOME SHOWERS ROLLING IN. IT’S A ROUND OF EVENING SHOWERS, BUT A LOT OF THIS IS FALLING APART. I THINK IT’S MAINLY GOING TO BE A COUPLE OF SPRINKLES BY THE TIME IT GETS TO MILWAUKEE. RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY OVERNIGHT. A COUPLE OF STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE. YES. RAIN MOVES OUT BY EARLY SATURDAY. MOST OF SATURDAY IS DRY. IT GETS BREEZY. TEMPERATURES. NOT BAD THOUGH. WE’LL MAKE IT INTO THE MID 50S. ALL RIGHT. FOR THE REST OF TONIGHT YOUR SEVERE THREAT LEVEL ONE AGAIN. LAST NIGHT WE ARE LEVEL THREE ON THE SEVERE THREAT INDEX. WE’RE NOT THERE. ANY KIND OF THREAT WOULD BE HAIL. THAT’S THAT’S OUR ONLY WORRY. I’M NOT WORRIED ABOUT TORNADOES. ANYTHING LIKE THAT. SO A LOW CHANCE OF SOME HAIL. ANY OF THE THREATS ARE VERY LOW. VERY LOW THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS THAT SHOULD STAY WAY SOUTH. VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY LOW THREAT OF TORNADOES. I’M ALWAYS SCARED TO PUT ZERO THREAT OF TORNADOES, BUT IT’S CLOSE TO ZERO FLOODING. WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE ARE WATERLOGGED. AND SO IT’S NOT GOING TO TAKE THAT MUCH RAIN. WE COULD GET UP TO AN INCH OF RAIN AND THAT WOULD CAUSE SOME ISSUES. NOTICE HOW THIS CONTINUES TO FALL APART. IT’S A STEADY RAIN THOUGH IN WESTERN WAUKESHA COUNTY. IT’S STARTING TO MOVE INTO THE CITY OF WAUKESHA AND INTO PEWAUKEE AS WELL. THUNDERSTORMS BACK OUT TO THE WEST OF US. THE SEVERE THREAT REALLY, I THINK IS WELL, SOUTH. THAT’S WHERE THE WARMER AIR IS LOCATED. IT’S NOT HERE. SO AS WE HEAD THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT, THAT MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, WE BRING IN SHOWERS AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS, MAYBE A LITTLE SMALL HAIL IN THERE AS WELL. THE COLDER AIR STARTS WRAPPING BACK IN AS WE HEAD INTO SATURDAY NIGHT. MAYBE EVEN ENOUGH TO GET A PASSING FLURRY JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER MORNING. BUT THAT’S NOT GOING TO LAST LONG. EASTER IS OKAY. I WOULDN’T SAY IT’S GREAT, BUT IT’S ALL RIGHT. IT’S 49 DEGREES, A FEW SPRINKLES EARLY, EARLY, EARLY ON SATURDAY. IT’S GONE BY 8:00 AT THE LATEST. THE REST OF THE DAY IS FINE. HOW ABOUT EASTER? WELL, WE START OUT PRETTY CHILLY, 33 AT 7 A.M. IF YOU’RE GOING TO DO EASTER EGG HUNTS. ONE. IF IT’S OUTSIDE, YOU BETTER DRESS FOR IT AND ALSO BE READY FOR THE MUDDY BECAUSE IT IS GOING TO BE WET. WE’RE WET ALL OVER, BUT WE’RE GREENING THINGS UP PRETTY QUICKLY HERE, THANKS TO THE FACT THAT WE’VE HAD ALL THAT RAIN YESTERDAY. 1.8IN OF RAIN IN MILWAUKEE 39 RIGHT NOW IN ELKHART LAKE, 46 DEGREES IN DELAVAN, WHERE YOU’VE HAD A PASSING SHOWER, BUT THAT HAS MOVED ON. NOT EXACTLY SEEING ANYTHING WARM UNLESS YOU GO HERE 81 DEGREES DOWN IN SAINT LOUIS. YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE WHERE THE FRONT IS LOCATED. ALL RIGHT, EARLY SPRINKLES. A BREEZY DAY FOR TOMORROW. MOST OF THE DAY IS DRY, AND I DO THINK WE’LL SEE SOME SUNSHINE OFF. AND ON EASTER SUNDAY DRY, WHICH IS NICE. 49 IT’S KIND OF NICE BECAUSE MOST OF THE STRETCH AFTER WE GET THROUGH TONIGHT IS QUIET. MONDAY AND TUESDAY ARE QUIET. TUESDAY, OF COURSE, IS ELECTION DAY HIGH OF ONLY 38. SO DRESS WARMLY HEADING TO THE POLLS AND THEN WE WARM RIGHT BACK UP IN THE 50S. CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AS WE HEAD INTO THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. IT’S OKAY.
Storms Friday night but a dry weekend ahead in SE Wisconsin
More storms are likely Friday night before our weather quiets down for Easter weekend in SE Wisconsin
Updated: 6:30 PM CDT Apr 3, 2026
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More storms are likely Friday night before our weather quiets down for Easter weekend in SE Wisconsin
More storms are likely Friday night before our weather quiets down for Easter weekend in SE Wisconsin
We found no evidence that liberal Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor has supported allowing noncitizens to vote.
Taylor and conservative state Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar are running in the April 7 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
A Lazar ad claimed Taylor is “pushing for noncitizen voting.”
Lazar’s campaign cited:
Taylor’s opposition, while a Democratic state lawmaker, to the Republican-backed 2011 state law requiring identification to vote.
Her introduction of a 2017 bill, which did not become law. It would have provided driver’s licenses to unauthorized residents, but the licenses would have been labeled: “Not valid for voting purposes.”
Taylor’s opinion, in a 2024 appeals court ruling, which said absentee ballots count even if voters’ witnesses fail to give election clerks their full address. Citizenship is required to vote in Wisconsin, but Wisconsin election officials generally do not verify citizenship when a person registers.
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/04/wisconsin-supreme-court-candidate-taylor-lazar-noncitizen-voting-election-campaign-ad/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://wisconsinwatch.org”>Wisconsin Watch</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-WCIJ_IconOnly_FullColor_RGB-1.png?fit=150%2C150&quality=100&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
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The president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque was detained by federal immigration agents, drawing accusations from local officials and religious leaders that the arrest was motivated by his statements against Israel.
Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was taken into custody by nearly a dozen US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Monday in Milwaukee after he left his home, according to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.
Supporters called for his immediate release on Thursday and his attorneys said he was detained on the grounds that he is a foreign policy threat. His attorneys say the claims have no merit.
Instead, they believe Sarsour, 53, was targeted for speaking out against Israel and for a conviction as a minor by Israeli military courts, which have faced scrutiny over allegations of limited due process and high conviction rates of Palestinians. Israel rejects those claims. The offenses included allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli officers, according to attorney Munjed Ahmad.
“Our government should not be doing the bidding of a foreign government,” Ahmad said of Israel. “There’s no question in my mind is that this is to stifle the discourse on the Palestinian narrative.”
Attorneys said Sarsour, born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has no criminal record in the US.
Sarsour’s attorneys have likened the case to that of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University activist who faces deportation because the federal government said he was a foreign policy threat.
An email message left on Thursday for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security was not immediately returned.
Sarsour has been the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, the largest Islamic organization in the state, for five years. His attorneys say he’s held a green card for years and lived in the Milwaukee area. His wife and four adult children are US citizens.
His arrest prompted outcry from top elected officials, including Milwaukee’s mayor, Cavalier Johnson, who called it “an outrage”.
“He is a legal permanent resident. There is no substantive evidence he has done anything wrong,” Johnson said in a post on X. “This is another example of overreach and harm from the U.S. Immigration authorities.”
Sarsour is being held at county jail outside Indianapolis. His attorneys have filed a petition seeking his release.
“He is ready to fight tooth and nail to make sure that he’s not drug through the mud,” Ahmad said. “He wants to stay in this country.”
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