PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — When Luke Fickell reflected on preparing Wisconsin’s football team for last season, one of his regrets was that he and the coaching staff didn’t do enough scrimmage and live tackling situations during practices. He set out to rectify that this preseason to better understand how players would react and who he could trust in Year 2. So when the Badgers donned full pads for the first time Saturday morning at UW-Platteville, the team spent more than an hour working through what Fickell said was a 75-plus-play scrimmage.
Here are five observations from an entertaining and informative session.
1. Five days into preseason practices, Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke are still competing for the starting quarterback job. Fickell said after practice that he would go through “at least the next few days” before making further evaluations but that he would like “to get something into play sooner rather than later” for offensive continuity. The goal Saturday was to ensure both players earned equal reps.
During the scrimmage sequence, Van Dyke handled six drives with the first- and second-team offenses and Locke handled five. Mabrey Mettauer earned three drives with the third-team offense. Van Dyke and Locke led two touchdown drives apiece, though all those series began at the defense’s 25-yard line.
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Locke began the scrimmage with the first-team offense and went three-and-out, though he put a good ball on receiver Bryson Green that he dropped with cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean in coverage. Van Dyke’s first series with the second-team offense also ended in a three-and-out when redshirt freshman cornerback Jace Arnold delivered a nice tackle on tailback Cade Yacamelli on a swing pass.
Locke’s biggest mistake came after he helped lead the second-team offense down the field and into the red zone. With the offense at the 11-yard line, he targeted receiver Haakon Anderson in the front-right corner of the end zone but didn’t see redshirt freshman cornerback Amare Snowden standing in front of Anderson. Locke’s pass went right to Snowden for an interception.
Once the drives began at the 25-yard line, Locke had more success. He took a sack on first down when defensive lineman James Thompson Jr. tagged him after what appeared to be a poor read in the RPO game. But on third-and-18, Locke stepped up and completed a pass to receiver C.J. Williams for 15 yards, which set up a fourth-and-3 run that running back Tawee Walker converted. Walker finished the drive on the next play with an 8-yard touchdown run.
Locke’s final drive with the first-team offense also resulted in a touchdown. He completed a 22-yard pass to running back Jackson Acker down to the 3. Two plays later, he tossed a 3-yard touchdown to receiver Trech Kekahuna.
Van Dyke, like Locke, had moments he likely wanted back. On third-and-6 from the defense’s 10-yard line, he missed running back Darrion Dupree open in the left flat and instead threw incomplete over the middle to Vinny Anthony with safety Preston Zachman in coverage. Then, on fourth down, defensive lineman Elijah Hills batted down Van Dyke’s pass in the backfield for a turnover on downs.
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But Van Dyke responded with a pair of touchdowns on his final two drives. He sold a play fake to Dupree well and completed a 14-yard pass to receiver Tyrell Henry. On third-and-goal from the 6, he found Henry again across the middle for a touchdown.
Wisconsin’s third-team offense also scored a touchdown. Freshman running back Gideon Ituka ran around the left side for a 23-yard gain, and Mettauer completed a 1-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Rob Booker II.
Fickell waved off penalties that officials called on the offense three times to help the unit gain momentum. Van Dyke completed a 13-yard pass on third down to Kekahuna at midfield, and Fickell waved off an illegal procedure penalty. That drive ended with kicker Nathanial Vakos making a 38-yard field goal.
2. Could Walker, an Oklahoma transfer, contend for the starting running back spot? Based on how he has performed thus far, it certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility. With projected starter Chez Mellusi held out of contact drills Saturday, Walker was the first running back up with the top group and looked like a man on a mission.
During one drive with Van Dyke at quarterback, Walker produced consecutive 9-yard runs, first pushing the pile forward up the middle and then rushing around the left side and knocking a couple of would-be tacklers backward. His best sequence came a series later with Locke at the helm of the first-team offense.
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On a fourth-and-3 from the defense’s 18-yard line, Walker unloaded on a defender right at the first-down marker and kept going for a 10-yard run. Then, on first-and-goal from the 8, he slipped past diving safety Austin Brown, shed a tackle attempt from inside linebacker Tackett Curtis and dragged safety Hunter Wohler across the goal line for a touchdown.
Walker has consistently stood out since spring practices for his power and burst in a 5-foot-9, 218-pound package. But his talent was even more evident when defenders attempted to wrap him up. Mellusi, who has sustained injuries in each of the past three seasons, figures to form a one-two tandem in some capacity with Walker. But the Badgers landed a big addition in Walker, who has one year of eligibility remaining.
3. The other running back standout Saturday was a player who hasn’t garnered many headlines at the position this offseason: Acker. Without Mellusi, Acker earned first-team reps and took advantage of them. He showed great blocking ability by picking up outside linebacker Leon Lowery on a blitz. He later ran up the middle, gained 9 yards and subsequently lowered his pads to hit the hole for a short first down.
Acker helped lead the first-team offense to a touchdown during a three-play sequence with Van Dyke. Wisconsin began the series at the defense’s 25-yard line. Acker caught a pass over the middle for 9 yards, broke through multiple defenders on the ground for a 15-yard run down to the 1, then scored on a touchdown up the middle. Wisconsin was flagged for holding, but Fickell waved off the penalty. Acker later caught a 22-yard pass over the middle from Locke down to the 3-yard line on a third-and-10 from the defense’s 25.
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Fickell said it remains to be seen what Acker’s role could be this season. He has the potential to serve in a de facto fullback role as the lead blocker for another tailback. He also has solid running and pass-catching abilities. But with as much talent as Wisconsin appears to possess at running back, particularly with Dupree and Dilin Jones, the staff has a lot to determine.
4. Running backs coach Devon Spalding has begun to give Dupree and Jones more looks with the second-team offense, ahead of Ituka, who has worked with the third-team offense. Dupree earned three consecutive carries during a sequence with the second-team unit and Locke at quarterback. He turned nothing into something on another series with Locke when he made a spin move at the line of scrimmage for 4 yards. Jones had a couple of good runs as well, including a 12-yarder around the left side.
5. Kicker Nathanial Vakos had an uneven day. During a pre-scrimmage session, he made 2 of 4 attempts, misfiring from 37 and 42 yards before drilling a 48-yarder. Portland State transfer Gianni Smith took the second reps and made 1 of 2 attempts. Vakos made a 38-yarder during the scrimmage, Smith connected from 28 yards and Gavin Lahm made one from 33 yards.
(Photo of Tawee Walker courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics)
Wisconsin football’s recruiting performance is far better than the current on-field product, to say the least.
Luke Fickell’s team has now lost four straight games after Saturday’s 44-25 defeat at Nebraska. It is just 5-6 on the season and 3-5 in Big Ten play, desperately needing a season-closing victory over Minnesota to clinch bowl eligibility.
There is more context behind that on-field performance, including the recent firing of offensive coordinator Phil Longo and historic blowout losses to rivals Iowa and Nebraska sandwiching hard-fought losses to top-ranked teams. That context doesn’t help the general trend of poor play.
But for those still optimistic about the Badgers’ future under Luke Fickell, the biggest calling card is his recruiting performance.
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Wisconsin made headlines on Sunday when it landed a commitment from four-star class of 2025 quarterback Carter Smith. Smith is ranked as 247Sports’ No. 15 quarterback in the class and No. 164 overall player. Beating Florida State for his commitment was a statement for Fickell and his staff — even doing so after firing Longo just seven days earlier.
The addition of Smith brings Wisconsin’s class of 2025 to 25 total commitments — eight of which coming from blue-chip players. Notably, it rose the group four spots up to No. 21 in 247Sports’ national rankings.
The Badgers now boast the eighth-highest-rated class in the Big Ten, trailing just Ohio State (No. 2 overall), Oregon (No. 8), Michigan (No. 9), USC (No. 11), Penn State (No. 15), Washington (No. 18) and Nebraska (No. 20). The No. 21 ranking is an impressive follow-up after Luke Fickell finished the 2024 class with 247Sports’ No. 25 overall class and a Blue-Chip Ratio of 50%.
Smith’s addition continues a growing debate about how to weigh Wisconsin’s on-field struggles with its recruiting success. In reality, the 2025 football season will be somewhat defined by the performance of the 2024 recruiting class and another crop of transfers. If that strong recruiting doesn’t lead to improved on-field play, the clock may start ticking on his tenure.
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WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – The news was positive every time Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard got the analytical report from video coordinator A.J. Van Handel, even though the results on the court were not. Despite some early flaws guarding back cuts and allowing dribble penetration, the Badgers were holding Pittsburgh under a point per possession. He just needed Wisconsin to take and make some better shots.
That, and John Tonje hoisting the Badgers on his back and carrying them over the finish line.
The resilience, toughness, and guts of the No.19 Wisconsin was on full display in front of a packed Colonial Hall at the Greenbrier Resort, as the Badgers got 33 points from Tonje and sound offensive execution in the second half to erase a 14-pint deficit in an 81-75 victory over Pittsburgh.
It’s the third November championship for Wisconsin (7-0) in the past four seasons and a victory that could serve as a springboard in the coming weeks, not to mention a nice thing to show the selection committee in four months.
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Here are my takeaways from the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains.
Tonje Led The Second Half Charge
Tonje said that he hopes to live in Madison when he’s retired from playing basketball. At the rate he’s going, he might have to come back anyway for his jersey retirement.
Tonje was the hero again for Wisconsin and treated as such, going into the crowd to celebrate with the vocal fan base that made the trip and mobbed by his teammates while waiting to do his postgame television interview. It was the only time anybody got the better of him after halftime.
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Shaking off a 2-for-8 start, Tonje was 9-for-11 in the second half. He was 6-for-6 from the line, relentlessly going inside and getting rewarded because Pittsburgh kept reaching. Knowing the primary defenders on him were starting to rack up fouls, and that the Panthers haven’t shown to be a particularly deep team to this point, Tonje kept his head down and kept attacking.
“I was trying to be aggressive from the start,” said Tonje, who made all nine of his two-point shots in the second half, most coming at the rim or in the paint. “I didn’t shoot the ball well early, but I just kept with it. My coaches and teammates believed in me. I stayed with it and did everything I can in my power to get the win.”
After falling into the trap of taking quick shots or long-range jumpers, a problem that plagued the Badgers last season, Wisconsin found the gaps in Pittsburgh defense. UW scored 54 points in the second half, registered points on 83.3 percent of its possessions, and averaged a robust 1.8 points per possession.
“I don’t think we started the second half with the type of force that’s necessary,” Pittsburgh coach Jeff Capel said. “We allowed them to climb back into the game and really get into a great rhythm offensively, and then they just became really tough to guard … Their physicality wore us down.”
Tonje scored 25 of the second-half points but he had help. Kamari McGee scored eight of his 10 points in the last half and hit all three of his shots, including a pair of clutch three-pointers that were timely in the final six-plus minutes, one giving UW the lead and another extended it to four with 2:54 to go.
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“We kept at it,” said John Blackwell (14 points). “We kept getting to the rim (and) stayed aggressive. Obviously, our shots weren’t falling in the first half, but we didn’t quit. We told ourselves at halftime just keep going. The shots are going to fall. We trusted each other.
“JT did his thing by getting to the rim, doing what he do best.”
Named the tournament’s most valuable player, Tonje averaged 24.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game over UW’s two wins.
“He just drives and throws his body around,” Capel said of Tonje, one of only six players nationally to have two 30-point games this season. “We weren’t able to sustain the discipline required to guard someone like that. You can’t reach. He does a really good job of getting his body into yours. He’s really strong with the ball. He exposes it. You think you can swipe, and he gets a great whistle, and he’s earned that because it’s consistent.”
Wisconsin Is Handling Top Guard Play
McGee said Friday that the close call against UTRGV Monday was not a wake-up call for the Badgers, only that it emphasized the need to be better polished in defensive areas. Call it what you want, but the Badgers’ defense took a major step in slowing down guard play in West Virginia.
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Pittsburgh’s backcourt of Ishmael Leggett and Jaland Lowe averaged 33.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 4.5 steals per game. They combined for 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and eight steals in Friday’s win over LSU. They managed 33 points on 32 shots.
“I just tried to match his energy,” Blackwell said of guarding Leggett, who finished 6-for-15 and 0-for-4 from three. “I know he picked up some quick fouls and he sat. All I can do is try to match his energy, because he’s a great player.”
The Badgers also took away Lowe’s ability to cleanly pass the ball. He finished with five assists but committed four turnovers.
“If we can guard ball screens as much as possible two on two and not have to send quite as much help, we knew we were going to have to plug the paint,” Gard said of the plan for Lowe.“Try to force him into some mid-range stuff. I didn’t think we were good at it early. He got loose on us, pinched us off, and got a couple lobs to Corhen, but I thought we got better with the back side of bumping the roller and plugging the lane. We forced him into some tougher shots.”
Wisconsin caught a break when Damian Dunn (13.0 ppg, .526 3FG) rolled his ankle and injured his hand two minutes into the game and didn’t return. Freshman guard Brandin Cummings replaced him and managed only two points.
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With how poorly Wisconsin’s offense was in the first half (36.7 percent, .794 points per possession), the Badgers leaning into their defense was critical.
“We have to give all credit to the coaches,” Blackwell said. “They prepared us well to know what their tendencies are, what they like to do. We just trust each other. Our bigs got our back if they get past us with good wall ups. We just trust our technique.”
Frustrating opposing guards has become a common theme.Arizona preseason All-American Caleb Love generated more technical fouls than made three-pointers against UW’s guards. He finished 2-for-13 from the floor and scored six points before fouling out
In Friday’s semifinals against UCF, which possessed a guard trio of Jordan Ivy-Curry, Keyshawn Hall, and Darius Johnson that scored 62.4 percent of its points, the Badgers’ ability to challenge them with movement and spacing held the group to 9-for-36 from the floor.
Wisconsin Showed Growth vs Physical Rebounders
The Panthers have proven to be one of the better rebounding teams in the country in the season’s first month. Having won the rebounding battle in five of its first six games, Pitt wasaveraging 41.2 rebounds per game, was 21st nationally in defensive rebounds (30.83) and had four players averaging at least 6.0 rebounds per game.
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They took the Badgers to task in the first half. Finishing the first half plus-four on the glass, Pitt’s first 11 points were all on actions toward the rim, mostly on back cuts behind UW’s defense, dribble actions where a Pitt player hit the cutter, or a guard attacking the paint to hit an open pull-up jumper.
Even after reserve forward Zack Austin switched things up with a three-pointer, Pittsburgh went right back to the post with an alley-oop and multiple driving layups. The 6-10 Cameron Corhen was the biggest benefactor of UW’s lapse defense, as the 68.0 percent FG shooter had 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the opening half.
Wisconsin 2-for-10 to start and was largely absent in the glass when shots went up. UW started 0-for-5 from the perimeter and most attempts didn’t have a red jersey close to the rim. UW’s first offensive rebound came at the 10:54 mark, but the possession ended with Blackwell airballing a three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire, a possession that didn’t include a post touch.
Wisconsin was averaging .533 points on its first 15 possessions. UW raised it modestly at halftime because Blackwell, McGee, Tonje, and Nolan Winter (11 points) started getting to the rim and converting.
The inability to match a team’s frontcourt physicality has been an underlining theme when the Badgers have faced Power-Four schools. Arizona outrebounded UW, 52-28, including 24-2 on the offensive glass, and gave up 13 boards to forward Tobe Awaka.
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UCF wasn’t nearly as big as Arizona, but the Knights still outrebounded Wisconsin, 41-39, with all 11 players getting at least one offensive rebound.
Things flipped in the second half. Senior Steven Crowl (6 points, season-high 9 rebounds, 3 assists) helped draw two quick fouls on Corhen, sending him to the bench for five-and-a-half minutes of the second half. He attempted only two shots in the final 12:51 after he returned.
With Corhen out and Guillermo Diaz Graham at the five, Wisconsin’s low-post offense ran more efficiently by creatingmore lanes for Tonje to attack and more space to attack the glass. After getting only two offensive rebounds in the first half, the Badgers had nine in the second half that led to 11 second-chance points.
“Once we got rolling in the second half we went to him quite a bit,” Gard said on Crowl. “I liked his physicality on Corhen. That’s one thing I felt Steve’s advantage was on Corhen on both ends of the floor was he could be physical. Corhen is a really good player but a little lighter than Steve. To be able to keep a big body on Corhen, and when we got him in foul trouble, we were able to go at the rim a little bit more with everybody else.”
Lengthy Delays
The championship game was scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. eastern, roughly 30 minutes following the conclusion of the third-place game between LSU and UCF. The Knights’ collapse made the evening a waiting game.
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UCF led by 20 in the first half, 18 with 12:57 left, and 14 with 8:31 to go, but ended up losing, 106-102, in triple overtime.
When the teams finally took the court, went through introductions, and were ready to start, one of the electronic game-and-shot clocks above the basket shorted out. Unable to restart the system, or find a long enough extension cord, officials agreed to shut off the working shot clock to even the playing field.
Throw in the jump ball needing to be done twice after a Pitt player jumped the gun, the game didn’t officially start until 6:43 local time, an hour, 13 minutes late.
That delayed doesn’t account for the two brief stoppages in play in the second half when the bank of lights that illuminated center court kept flickering on and off.
“I thought we handled all the adversity well,” Capel said. “What we didn’t handle was Tonje.”
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By The Numbers
6 – Wisconsin turned the ball over just six times, including only two in the second half. Averaging 9.4 turnovers per game, Wisconsin has had fewer than 10 turnovers in four games.
17.5 – The Badgers held Pittsburgh to 5-for-23 (21.7) from three-point range and held their two Power-Four Conference opponents to 7-for-40 (17.5) on threes.
30 – After scoring just eight points in the first 10 minutes, the Badgers scored 73 in the final 30 minutes.
60 – Tonje has made 60 free throws this season to lead all Division 1 players. His 63 attempts are tops in the Big Ten and tied for fourth nationally. He’s the first UW player since Brad Davison (2017-18) to have made at least 10 free throws in three games.
300 – Gard coached his 300th game on Sunday, the fourth-most games of any coach in Wisconsin history. He improved his record to 193-107 (.643) overall and 72-22 (.766) in regular season nonconference games.
The Nebraska football team got their sixth win on Saturday night, clinching bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016. They did so by beating Wisconsin for the first time since 2012. The jubilation, relief, and joy could be felt far and wide across the windswept plains. The win resets the entire narrative of year 2 under Matt Rhule, and gives the Huskers a chance at their first winning record in eight years.
We cover it all in the topline takeaways.
CHEERS TO THAT
FINALLY!!! They finally did it. Finally beat Wisconsin. Finally clinched a bowl game. Finally got over the hump, after so much heartbreak and so many close losses over the last eight years. You could feel the collective sigh of relief across the entire fan base, combined with the elation that came with the moment. It felt like we were exorcizing so many demons from the last decade of Nebraska football. Fans stormed the field. Social media went nuts. Friends and family members shared in the moment as if the Berlin wall had just come down. I’m not exaggerating or lying when I say, I actually cried.
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It’s a sign of how low the program has fallen that simply getting to bowl eligibility elicited such a response from the fan base, but that’s where we are. I’m glad Matt Rhule addressed that point in the post game press conference. I loved how he made the point that the Huskers are building something bigger, and this will be the only time they celebrate six wins. But they had to get this done first. Before you can win the conference, before you can get to the college football playoff, before you can dream bigger dreams, you have to get back to a bowl game. Mission accomplished.
Dana Holgorsen’s Offense. I don’t care that this is not your traditional, stifling Wisconsin defense. The Badgers held #1 Oregon to 16 points just one week ago. And the Nebraska offense had their way with that defense, all game long. Dylan Raiola looked like the five star quarterback we’ve been waiting for. Emmett Johnson ran like a bat out of hell, leading the team in both rushing yards (113) and receiving yards (85). Jacorey Barney did what he’s been doing all season long, making plays and making defenders miss. Dante Dowdell ran like the Big Ten bruiser we saw earlier in the season. The offensive line had arguably their best game of this decade.
Huge props to Rhule for making the bold decision to bring Holgorsen in as the offensive coordinator with just three games to go. Some panned the decision as desperate, and there was no guarantee it would work. He’s had a clear and immediate impact on this offense. Now Nebraska needs to do whatever is necessary to keep him in Lincoln for next season (and hopefully, beyond).
Husker Nation. Hats off to you, fellow Common Fans. Hats off to all of us. Nebraska has had one winning season and two bowl games since 2015. The team has suffered through too many painful, inexplicable, gut punch losses to count. Our team, still in the top ten in all-time wins, has had one of the worst stretches of football in its long, glorious history. And we never left. We kept showing up, kept filling up that beautiful stadium, kept believing things would turn around. Nebraska football truly has the greatest fan base in all of sports. Hopefully, this is just the beginning.
DIDN’T LIKE THAT
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Defensive Struggles. I contemplated not having anything in this category this week, because this is a time of celebration for all Husker fans. But it’s a bit concerning as we head into Iowa week that the Husker defense hasn’t been as dominant as we’re used to seeing over the last two weeks. USC scored 28 points on the Blackshirts, and Wisconsin scored 25. Both teams had missed or blocked field goals that would have made those totals even higher. Both teams put up over 400 yards. The defensive backfield in particular has been a concern, with opposing receivers seemingly wide open way too often. And there have been way too many missed tackles in recent games.
Hopefully, the Huskers can clean up the defensive issues for the Iowa game. The Hawkeyes are a run-heavy team, having completed only 10 out 14 passes for 76 yards in their game against Maryland this weekend. That should play to Nebraska’s strengths, but it’s Iowa, so we should assume the Blackshirts will need their absolute best possible performance in order for the Huskers to come out of there with a win.
FINAL THOUGHT
Happy Thanksgiving week, Common Fans. I’m thankful for each of you who read these columns, as well as those who listen to the Common Fan Podcast. It’s such a joy to play some small part in helping fans enjoy and engage with this thing we all love so much. I wish each of you a wonderful holiday filled with family and friends. Enjoy it, celebrate the big win over Wisconsin, and then get ready to strap in and take the fight to the Hawkeyes on Friday.
As always, GBR for LIFE.
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MORE: Iowa Football Opens as Home Favorite Over Nebraska in Black Friday Matchup
MORE: Five Big Ten Teams Remain in Associated Press, Coaches Top 25 Polls
MORE: Husker Doc Talk: Nebraska Football Is Going Bowling!
MORE: LOOK: Photos From Nebraska Football’s Badger Beatdown
MORE: Holgorsen Helps Huskers Bash the Beleaguered Badgers and Become Bowl-Bound
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
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