Five takeaways from Wisconsin's 13-10 win over Washington at Camp Randall Stadium
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MADISON – The Wisconsin football team said goodbye and good riddance to its 11-game losing streak against power-conference foes on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Camp Randall Stadium.
The Badgers upset Washington, 13-10, on the strength of a shutdown effort for its defense and a solid debut from freshman quarterback Carter Smith. And when it was done, fans rushed the field to celebrate with the team.
The win came a couple days after Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh announced that head coach Luke Fickell would return for the 2026 season.
The loss likely bumped the Huskies out of any hope it had of making the College Football Playoffs. Washington (6-3, 3-3) entered play ranked No. 23 in the first CFP ranking and owned the No. 24 ranking in the US LBM coaches poll.
Wisconsin held the Huskies to 251 yards. The only touchdown for Washington came after the Huskies gained plum field position thanks to a blocked punt.
Smith, who came into the game after starter Danny O’Neil suffered an apparent leg injury in the first quarter, completed three of 12 passes for 8 yards but ran 15 times for 47 yards.
Running back Gideon Ituka led the Badgers with 73 yards in 19 carries. UW finished with 205 total yards.
Freshman linebacker Cooper Catalano finished with 19 tackles for Wisconsin.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
Wisconsin wins field position game
This was very much a game of field position and the Badgers controlled the affair in that regard.
The only drive the Huskies started in Wisconsin territory was the one they created with a blocked punt that resulted in a first and goal from the 1. That led to Washington’s first touchdown.
Otherwise, Washington’s best field position to start a drive was its 32-yard line, and that came on the second possession of the day.
In the second half Wisconsin forced Washington to start drives three times inside the 10-yard line.
Washington started its final drive at the UW 13 and gained 27 yards before Mason Posa sealed the win with a sack on fourth and 6 at the Washington 41.
Carter Smith ties it up for @BadgerFootball 🙌
📺: @BigTenNetworkpic.twitter.com/qb70PCbUBt
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 9, 2025
The offense needed help, the defense delivered
How do you help one of the worst offenses in the nation? One way is for the defense to create takeaways that lead to red-zone opportunities.
That is what freshman linebacker Mason Posa did with about 7 minutes left in the third quarter when he striped Washington QB Demond Williams Jr. and recovered the ball at the Huskies 7.
The play marked the Badgers’ first fumble recovery of the season and it provided the short field UW needed to get its first touchdown of the day.
Smith did the honors, running for 5 yards on first down before scoring on a 2-yard run.
Luke Fickell often talks about complimentary football. This was a good example of that.
Wisconsin plays it safe with Carter Smith
Smith entered the game after O’Neil left the game with what appeared to be a leg injury with about 7 minutes to go in the first quarter.
The UW offense with Smith under center relied heavily on tosses to the running back and runs by Smith between the tackles.
It you count his first possession which began with O’Neil getting the first snap, Wisconsin gained 88 yards in 27 plays, an average of 3.3 yards per play, in the first half with Smith running the offense. The Badgers, however, did not turn it over didn’t really put the ball in harm’s way.
That said, UW didn’t push the ball downfield, either.
Wisconsin implodes to end first half
The Badgers had seven possessions in the first half. Two started in Washington territory.
Wisconsin converted the first, which started on the Huskies 43, into a 42-yard field goal by Nathanial Vakos. The second, which started at the Washington 48, turned into a case of what might have been.
With UW needing to move the ball through the air, Hunter Simmons came on for his first action of the day. The redshirt senior connected on his first two throws, a 4-yard gain to Trech Kekahuna and a 12-yard gain on third-and-5 to redshirt junior Chris Brooks.
That play gave the Badgers a first down at the Washington 31.
That’s when Wisconsin unraveled. Redshirt freshman guard Colin Cubberly was called for being illegally downfield, a 5-yard penalty that pushed UW back to the 36. The next snap redshirt freshman Gideon Ituka was hit with unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that pushed the Badgers back to the their 49, and Wisconsin was unable to put any more points on the scoreboard before halftime.
Badgers come out aggressive
When you’ve scored only one touchdown in the past month, you do whatever you can to get into the end zone. Credit UW for that mindset with about 3 minutes to go in the first quarter.
It faced a fourth-and-2 at the Washington 6 in a scoreless game. Fickell opted to go for the first down. The play failed – Smith was held to 1 yard – but it was worth a shot.
And that drive didn’t completely go for naught. The Badgers defense forced a three and out started its next possession on the Washington 43. That drive ended with Vakos’ field goal, which gave UW its first lead since the first quarter at Michigan.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Five takeaways from Wisconsin’s 13-10 win over Washington
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