Wisconsin vs. Maryland 2025 Recap: Badgers Fall 27-10 to the Terrapins

The Badgers opened Big Ten play with a 27-10 loss at home to Maryland. The Terrapins outplayed the Badgers in every facet, and at times the game got a little ugly. Where did everything go wrong? We’ll recap the good and bad in this Wisconsin vs. Maryland 2025 game preview.

Wisconsin vs. Maryland 2025 Recap

Quarterback Play

The major storyline coming into this game was quarterback play. A true freshman on one side in Malik Washington against a former Terrapin in Billy Edwards Jr. Edwards got the start for Wisconsin after missing the last couple of weeks due to an injury, but never looked comfortable from the beginning of the game.

The Badgers opened the game with the ball, and Edwards connected with Trech Kekahuna for a 45-yard gain on his first pass attempt. After that, it was all downhill for Edwards. His second pass attempt was errant, and he never returned after his third pass attempt, which was a throwaway out of bounds, on the Badgers second possession. Edwards never looked comfortable and still seemed to be hobbled. He finished 1-of-3 for 45 yards.

With Edwards out, Danny O’Neil once again stepped in. After holding his own for the first couple of weeks, O’Neil struggled in Saturday’s matchup. He finished 14-of-22 with 120 yards and an interception.

Maryland was able to create pressure up the middle on a 3rd-and-16 play on the Badgers’ second drive of the game. O’Neil backpedaled and threw a fadeaway pass intended for Kekahuna up the sideline. The ball fluttered and was picked off by Jalen Husky, who returned it all the way down to the 4-yard line. The interception set up the Terrapins’ first score of the game, a 1-yard rush by Malik Washington.

O’Neil did settle down a little after that, but still seemed to be flustered the entire game. Some of it was due to the Badgers’ inability to protect him. However, some of it was his own accord. O’Neil missed more open receivers than in previous weeks and was unable to read the coverage as well.

With the Badgers’ inability to move the ball consistently on offense, O’Neil’s legs were a positive. He’s a lot more crafty and athletic than people give him credit for. At times, the Badgers’ best offense was when O’Neil scrambled out of the pocket or on designed runs.

O’Neil did leave the game late in the fourth quarter with a lower leg injury. Yet, despite the fact that he didn’t have his best game, he plays with grit, and everyone on the Badgers team really respects him for that.

On the other side of the ball, true freshman Malik Washington showed out. For his first road start, he handled himself nicely and remained poised and under control all game. He made the right reads and only once or twice really put the ball into harm’s way at all. His arm strength and athleticism were on display, and finished 18-of-34, with 265 yards, two passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. If it weren’t for at least six drops from his receivers and running backs, he could’ve been well over 300 yards passing.

Washington made quick decisions all day, and even felt comfortable enough changing the play at the line of scrimmage. The only time he had a little bit of trouble was when the Badgers started lining up Mason Posa on the center on third downs. Washington had trouble deciphering if he was going to blitz or drop into coverage at times, but besides that, the Maryland quarterback had a great game.

Difference Makers in Week 4

In our pregame article, we highlighted the key players for both teams. Maryland’s key players clearly outperformed those of the Badgers. However, Knotts, Wingate, Husky, and Stewart also all had great games for the Terrapins.

Knotts had three catches for 80 yards and two scores. Meanwhile, Wingate had seven tackles, a sack, and seemed to be in on every single tackle. Safety Jalen Husky had the interception of O’Neil and finished with nine tackles, while Stewart added three tackles and a sack off the edge. A player not mentioned in the pregame was receiver Octavian Smith Jr, who finished with 113 yards on six catches and seemed to be open every time he ran a route.

Every pregame player highlighted for the Terps was a difference maker. However, that cannot be said for the Badgers.

Jayden Ballard and Vinny Anthony combined for four catches for 55 yards. They weren’t given the opportunity to shine, due to quarterback and offensive line play.

Through four weeks of the season, it is obvious that the glaring holes in this team is the offensive line and the secondary. We highlighted that these groups would need to have big games, and would need to show some improvement for the Badgers to be successful this week. There was some slight improvement from both parties, but not nearly enough.

The offensive line still severely struggled in pass pro and missed assignments, which forced O’Neil to try to be a superhero. Players constantly ran free in the secondary, which shows with Smith and Knotts combining for an average of 22.8 yards per catch.

Maryland’s gameplan was to throw it around the yard and try not to run on the Badgers’ front seven. Almost all of the Terps’ 61 rushing yards came in garbage time, so they knew they had an advantage outside coming into the game. The secondary had multiple blown coverages where a corner was playing man and it was actually zone or vice versa. The leadership of Preston Zachman was missing in the backend, who was out due to injury, which may have led to some of the miscommunication.

Mason Reiger and Sebastian Cheeks did create more pressure, with Reiger securing a sack on Saturday. Reiger was relentless with his effort, and his sack showed that. He was double-teamed and was still able to get home after Washington held the ball for to long.

Mason Posa, a freshman, does deserve a shoutout, however. He was brought in on third downs and lined up over the center and either rushed or dropped back into coverage. Washington had a hard time figuring out what he was going to do, and Posa played the role perfectly. Expect this type of third-down defense to remain in place going forward, especially if the Badgers have continued success with it.

Slow Starts and the Little Things

Slow starts have been normal under head coach Luke Fickell, and Saturday was no different. The Badgers fell behind 14-0 early, and this offense is not structured to come from behind. Wisconsin needs to find a way to come out firing and get off to better starts going forward.

Also, the Badgers did not do the little things well on Saturday. Whether it was a missed field goal, blocked field goal or punt, missed assignments, bad snaps, or pre-snap penalties, the attention to detail was lacking.

The Badgers will only face better and better opponents as the year goes on. Better starts and attention to detail need to be a focal point for this team.

Final Thoughts and Looking Ahead

The Badgers get a chance to breathe and right the ship as they have a bye week coming up. Health and improvement are critical during this bye week. Billy Edwards, center Jake Renfro, and running back Dilin Jones should improve over the bye, and should all be full-go in Week 6 against Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Michigan squeaked out a close one against Nebraska on Saturday and will also have a bye week coming up.

There are a lot of things this Badger team needs to improve on, and the bye week should help. Fickell has reiterated staying focused, hungry, and positive. After back-to-back losses, it will be interesting to see what kind of fight and effort the team comes out with in Week 6. The season isn’t over, and one loss in Big Ten play doesn’t spell the end. However, if the effort and energy aren’t there against Michigan, it could get interesting quite quickly in Madison.