Wisconsin vs. Minnesota 2025 Recap: Badgers end disappointing season with 17-7 loss

The Axe will remain in Minneapolis after Wisconsin’s 17-7 loss to Minnesota Saturday afternoon. It’s a disappointing loss that caps off an underwhelming season for the Badgers, who finished 4-8 in 2025. What are the key takeaways from Saturday as the Badgers head into an extremely important offseason under Luke Fickell? Let’s talk about it in our 2025 Wisconsin vs. Minnesota postgame recap.

Wisconsin Badgers vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers 2025 Football Recap

Field Position Battle

Just looking at the box score of this game, one might come away scratching their head as to how the Badgers lost by 10 points. Time of possession was even, Wisconsin outgained Minnesota, had more passing yards, ran the same number of plays, and only had two fewer first downs than their opponent.

However, in snowy and sloppy conditions, Minnesota won the field position battle, which resulted in winning the overall game. Almost every single Gopher possession started in Wisconsin territory, while it felt the Badgers were having to drive 80+ yards on their possessions.

With 10:26 left in the second quarter, the Gophers got the ball at the Wisconsin 35-yard line after a short punt. After a 6-play drive, they kicked a 33-yard field goal. A few minutes later, Minnesota got the ball on their own 45-yard line. However, after a 3-play drive, they scored a touchdown on a 49-yard run by Darius Taylor. After a promising drive in the later stages of the third quarter by Wisconsin, quarterback Hunter Simmons threw an interception. The ball was returned to Wisconsin’s 16-yard line. And, after three plays, the Gophers were able to score another touchdown.

All three scoring drives for the Gophers started with great field position. They never had to drive the length of the field. In wet and snowy conditions, that’s what you want as a coach. The Badgers defense played great. And, if it wasn’t for a poor gap assignment by Mason Posa on the long touchdown run, the stats would look even better.

In games like Saturday, the little things matter, like field position and the turnovers (which will be covered in a second). It’s not always who has the better quarterback or more talent. A lot of the time, it’s who makes the least amount of mistakes and who wins those little critical areas like the field position game.

Only four Gopher possessions were highlighted. Yet, numerous other times, they started with great field position as well. Something as simple as that can sway and shift an entire game in favor of one team, and it did on Saturday.

Quarterback Controversy

True Freshman quarterback Carter Smith made his third-career start on Saturday. However, after not getting much going offensively with Smith behind center, Fickell turned to Hunter Simmons for the rest of the contest. That decision sparked a lot of controversy within the Wisconsin fan base.

Smith finished 5-of-8 for 20 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Simmons finished 12-of-19 for 162 yards and two interceptions.

Smith struggled to start the game, missing open receivers and making incorrect reads. Simmons was inserted for a two-minute drill situation at the end of the half, which Badger fans are used to, as Simmons is more of a pure passer. The latter quarterback connected with Vinny Anthony for a 68-yard pass with 2:08 left in the second quarter, which put the Badgers on the doorstep of the endzone. Smith was then inserted back into the game and threw a touchdown pass.

Simmons was thrown back out there to start the second half, and after a few completions on the Badgers’ opening drive, he threw an interception to John Nestor. On the Badgers’ next possession, Simmons was leading a nice drive down the field that reached the red zone. However, on a 3rd-and-7, Simmons threw another interception, which was picked off again by Nestor.

It’s Luke Fickell’s decision to make, and Badger fans are going to have to live with the decision. However, should Simmons have been left out there?

The decision to put Simmons out there for a 2-minute drive at the end of the half makes sense, and I’d even say starting him in the second half made sense as well. However, Simmons has had his chances this year, and it hasn’t worked out. In my opinion, Smith should have gone back out there after Simmons’ first interception.

Simmons can be an accurate passer, but whether he throws to a teammate or opposing player is up for debate on every attempt. He struggles to read defenses and get through progressions, and his second interception was inexcusable.

Wide receiver Trech Kekahuna ran an over route/drag across the field, and Simmons locked onto him the entire way. He never took his eyes off of Kekahuna, and the Gopher defender was blanketed on the receiver. Simmons had no business throwing that pass to Trech, as the defender was in his hip pocket and practically running the route himself. Simmons threw the pass anyway, and it was right to John Cortez. That interception set up the second Gopher touchdown, which was the nail in the coffin for the Badgers on Saturday.

Was Smith struggling? Yes, he was. But it’s also evident that the Badger staff did not trust Carter Smith to throw the ball. The thought process revolves around creating an entire game plan around Smith and his legs, and then completely abandoning it to start the second half. That puts Jeff Grimes in a bad spot and the entire offense.

The game was 10-7 at halftime, and Wisconsin was playing well on defense. The Badgers didn’t need to throw the ball around the yard, it was too early for that. Smith had won two of the past three games and Wisconsin had found an identity in the run game. Yet inexplicably, they abandoned it in the second half. Hindsight is 20-20, but it was clear the coaches did not feel Smith gave them a good chance to win on Saturday and felt they needed to pivot to Simmons. Was it the right decision? That’s up for debate, but it was a critical decision that Fickell thought would give the Badgers a better chance of winning on Saturday.

The Defense Stands Out (Again)

The defense played great again for the Badgers on Saturday. That’s a good defense in Madison, and it’s a little upsetting that they don’t have much to show for it this year due to poor offensive play. Besides the one long explosive touchdown play, the Gophers really didn’t do much of anything on offense.

The freshman linebackers in Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano led the way defensively with nine and 10 tackles, respectively. Austin Brown played great, finishing with eight tackles, and was a player that hasn’t gotten enough notoriety this year.

Drake Lindsey completed 18 passes and only ended up with 90 yards, which shows how quickly he was getting the ball out. The Badgers rallied to the ball and tackled well for the most part, yet again.

It was another inspiring performance by the defense. They’ve been the bright spot as the year wore on, and might be the biggest positive heading into 2026.

Final Thoughts and Looking Ahead

After not bringing the Axe back to Madison and a 4-8 season, Wisconsin will be entering an important offseason. There are holes on this team; however, they aren’t that far off from competing.

The Badgers have a good defensive foundation and may have some key pieces returning for next year. They’ll need to rebuild the fantastic defensive line, but they have already taken a step in the right direction in that department. Grand Valley State transfer Jibriel Conde committed on Saturday, and he’ll bring great size and length to the defensive line.

The need for a transfer quarterback is apparent, and who the Badgers are able to get will be very interesting to follow. How they’ll convince a top portal quarterback to transfer to Wisconsin is something I don’t have an answer to. It will have to start with Jeff Grimes and his pro-style offense. The right quarterback can excel in a Grimes offense and could potentially prepare them quite nicely for the next level.

The offensive line will need improvement, and especially depth, as we head into next year. It’s stating the obvious, but the pocketbook will need to open up. Coach Fickell needs to do his absolute best to keep key players on both sides of the ball. Next season is a make-or-break year for this Badgers program, and especially for Fickell.

Player health will also be a major key for next year. If Wisconsin on their fourth-string quarterback again next season, it will be another disastrous time for the program. It doesn’t matter who transfers to Madison if they aren’t healthy.

It’s going to be a long offseason filled with lots of moving pieces and parts. The Badgers open next year at Lambeau Field against a presumably top-10 team in Notre Dame. There will be no easing into next season, so it’s imperative that there isn’t much movement in 2026 fall camp and that the team is set in stone.

This was a long and, at times, a very disappointing season. However, the players continued to play hard under Fickell when they really didn’t need to. There was effort and fight until the end, and you have to give the players a lot of credit for that. They struggled with injuries and turmoil all year, but they stuck it out and gave it their all. As we head into the offseason and 2026, with a postgame quote from freshman linebacker Mason Posa.

“We’ve been pounding the rock the entire season. And, we are there. We’re there. Next year, I promise you, and I swear by it, we’re gonna change this program. It is going to be a winning program.”