Wisconsin vs. Michigan 2025 Recap: Badgers Fall to Wolverines in 24-10 Loss

The Wisconsin Badgers lost its third-straight game and second-straight in conference play Saturday afternoon. The Badgers kept it close for most of the game but ran out of steam and fell 24-10 to the Michigan Wolverines. The Badgers are still playing poorly in key facets of the game, but they showed extreme fight and effort on the road. With that in mind, let’s break it down in our 2025 Wisconsin vs. Michigan recap.

Wisconsin vs. Michigan 2025 Recap

Great First Drive; Stagnant Offense After

Wisconsin opened the game with the ball and drove right down the field for a 75-yard touchdown drive. The drive consisted of nine runs and three passes, and the Badgers moved the offense with confidence and ease. The offensive line had its best drive of the year, and consistently moved Michigan’s front seven off the line of scrimmage.

One could argue that the Badgers’ first drive during Saturday’s game was Wisconsin’s best offensive possession under Luke Fickell. It felt like the Wisconsin of old. Dilin Jones was running hard, and Hunter Simmons, in his first meaningful drive as a Badger, completed three passes for 36 yards. It was an inspiring drive to open the game on the road in front of a sold-out Michigan crowd.

However, after the opening possession, not much went right for the Badgers offensively. Wisconsin finished with 252 total yards, with 177 coming through the air and 75 on the ground. The Badgers were only able to muster a total of 177 yards after their first drive. Michigan loaded the box and was daring Wisconsin to beat them over the top, but the Badgers wouldn’t take the bait. The offensive line struggled severely after the first drive and left no rushing lanes for Dilin Jones, who finished with 3.7 yards per carry on 17 attempts.

Michigan didn’t record a sack until the Badgers’ last drive of the game, but Simmons got the ball out quickly all game long. The Badgers’ line registered a PFF grade of 24.2 on passing plays, their lowest of the year. The line continues to struggle to give any sort of rushing lanes or a clean pocket for whoever is under center for Wisconsin.

On a positive note, Vinny Anthony continues to show how great of a player he is. Anthony finished with nine receptions on 11 targets for 97 yards. He’s a weapon on the outside, and there needs to be more emphasis on getting him the ball downfield.

Hunter Simmons

Hunter Simmons, a transfer from Southern Illinois, came into the season as the Badgers’ third-string quarterback. On Saturday, he found himself under center in front of 108,000 fans. In a mop-up duty against Maryland a few weeks ago, Simmons led a touchdown drive after Danny O’Neil suffered an injury. After that drive, many Badger fans called for Simmons to remain the quarterback going forward, as starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. is still nursing an injury.

In Week 6, Badger fans got their wish. And with all things considered, Simmons handled himself about as well as you could. Simmons finished 18-of-29 for 177 yards with one interception. Simmons showed great poise and had a couple of great throws across the field. His 6-foot-3 frame and arm strength were evident after there were concerns with O’Neil’s arm strength and height so far this year.

Simmons’ one blemish was the interception with 2:38 left in the third quarter. The quarterback threw a ball into triple coverage downfield, and the pass was intercepted by safety Rod Moore. It wasn’t the best idea to throw the ball into triple coverage; however, there was a blatant pass interference that wasn’t called, which would have negated the interception.

In this contest, it seemed like the coaching staff tried to protect Simmons a little bit with their play calling. He was playing well and making good decisions. Because of that, many fans felt the play calling was a little conservative and pedestrian. Simmons had earned the right to throw the ball downfield but wasn’t given the opportunity. Going forward, Simmons should be the Badgers QB1, even when Edwards is healthy.

Defensive Play

The one mainstay for this Badgers team so far this year is their front seven. While every other position group has struggled this year, the front seven has not. The unit was facing the hardest test of the year against a very good Michigan run attack, and they handled themselves quite nicely.

Yes, the Badgers did give up 175 yards on the ground. And, Justice Haynes averaged 6.2 yards per carry. However, it goes deeper than that. Similar to Wisconsin’s first drive, Michigan went right down the field and scored. Haynes had a huge 43-yard run on their opening possession, and it seemed like he would run rampant all game long. However, that wasn’t the case.

After the Wolverines’ first drive, the Badgers’ defense bowed up and kept Wisconsin in the game. While Wisconsin was unable to muster anything on offense, the Badgers’ defense consistently got off the field on third down.

Michigan isn’t built on the outside like Alabama or Maryland talent-wise. However, the Badger secondary, which has struggled all year, played much better on Saturday. There were few, if any, blown assignments, and they tackled much better in open space until later in the game.

The entire Badgers defense did get worn out towards the end of the game, which is to be expected. It did feel like every time you looked up, they were on the field. It’s hard to sustain success on defense when your offense can’t sustain any success on offense. Yet, there were some standout players.

Christian Alliegro continued to show out, totaling eight tackles. He and Tackett Curtis (four tackles) continued to be all over the field and are one of the best linebacker duos in the Big Ten. Backup safety Matt Jung led the team with nine tackles and played well in coverage for the most part. The Badgers’ most explosive pass rusher, Mason Reiger, was in the backfield all game long. He finished with five tackles, one of which was a tackle for loss.

Wisconsin has had a position battle at the corner all year between D’Yoni Hill and Omilio Agard. After the bye week, Hill assumed almost all the reps at corner opposite of Ricardo Hallman. Hill played extremely well and totaled five tackles.

Wisconsin continues to play well up front, and they passed the test against a good Michigan rushing attack. If the secondary can continue to improve, it will bode well for the Badgers going forward. It has become quite evident that the Badgers’ defense will need to keep them in games while the offense struggles to figure things out.

Wisconsin vs Michigan Recap: Other Notes

Play Calling

After a bye week, Wisconsin came out firing, and its first drive was flawless. Opening drives of games are usually 100-percent scripted, and everyone is on the same page. However, after the opening drive, the play calling seemed to fall off and was very conservative.

Wisconsin had no answer for Michigan’s defense, which dared them to throw and put 8-9 in the box at times. It’s understandable that the Badgers have a hard time protecting the passer and that Simmons is essentially your third-string quarterback. However, there was only one downfield pass all game. Other than that, everything was short, quick throws.

Vinny Anthony is a difference maker on the outside, and Jayden Ballard also brings great speed as a former track star. Ballard, a talented receiver, was nonexistent and had zero catches on Saturday. Wisconsin needs to figure out ways to dial up some downfield passing. It would loosen up the defense and help get the run game going. Even if the passes aren’t completed, it puts it in the back of the defense’s mind that those plays are on the table.

Hunter Simmons, or whoever is behind center for the Badgers, needs to be trusted and needs to be allowed to throw the ball downfield. Which sort of brings us into the next point.

Urgency

A sense of urgency and play-calling sort of go hand-in-hand for this Wisconsin team. At times, it feels like they are playing not to lose instead of playing to win. The lack of downfield play calling falls under the sense of urgency umbrella, and so does the ending of Saturday’s game.

Wisconsin kicked a field goal with 2:47 left in the game and cut the lead to 14 points. Michigan proceeded to run the ball to take time off the clock. The Badgers had timeouts remaining and the two-minute warning. Instead of taking the timeouts to try to get the ball back, as it was only a two-possession game, Wisconsin sat on its timeouts.

The team fought and played hard all day, and a lack of urgency to get the ball back at the end was somewhat concerning. The Badgers could have gotten the ball back before the two-minute warning and had a chance to fight until the end. That’s not to say Wisconsin waved the white flag, or that they could have scored a touchdown and then recovered an onside kick and scored again. All of that is highly unlikely. However, crazier things have happened. And with the way the season is going and Luke Fickell receiving some backlash and fire, it would have been nice to see them at least try to pull off a comeback at the end.

Dilin Jones

Last thing of note was Dilin Jones receiving almost all the carries for the Badgers. Coming into the season, Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree were sort of 1A and 1B for the Badgers. Up until Saturday, Jones was receiving more of the carries, but it was more of a 50-50 split. On Saturday, Jones had 17 carries to Dupree’s six.

Jones was running hard and was having a good game, which may have had something to do with it. However, it was interesting to see that there wasn’t much of a rotation and that Jones seemed like the clear-cut No. 1 running back. It’s something to keep an eye on going forward.

What’s Next for Wisconsin

Wisconsin showed some signs of life against a ranked Michigan team on the road on Saturday. Looking ahead, Wisconsin will welcome Iowa to Camp Randall next week, in another ground-and-pound low low-scoring affair.

Wisconsin opened as 3.5-point underdogs at home against a 3-2 Iowa Hawkeyes team.

Iowa is a good matchup for Wisconsin as they’re a run-first style team. Wisconsin’s front seven should be able to keep them in it, and the offense will need to do more for them to win.

Luke Fickell keeps preaching belief and staying the course, and next Saturday is another opportunity for this Wisconsin team to show their belief and how much they are willing to fight for Fickell and this program.