Wisconsin snaps 10-game Big Ten losing streak with upset win over No. 23 Washington as punter leads team in passing

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Wisconsin finally has a Big Ten win. And all it took was for punter Sean West to lead the team in passing.

The Badgers took down No. 23 Washington 13-10 to snap a 10-game conference losing streak that dated back to Oct. 19, 2024. Wisconsin had lost its last five games of the 2024 season and opened 2025 with five consecutive conference losses.

The victory came days after athletic director Chris McIntosh said that coach Luke Fickell would return for the 2026 season. Fickell's future had been murky during the Badgers' conference losing streak, but McIntosh had publicly expressed his support for the coach in September. 

Wisconsin scored the final 10 points of the game as Carter Smith tied it at 10-10 in the third quarter and Nathanial Vakos kicked a go-ahead field goal with 1:58 remaining in the third.

Washington missed a field goal on its drive after Vakos’ kick and the final four drives of the game between the two teams were scoreless before Wisconsin kneeled out the clock netted 69 yards on 22 plays amid a cold rain and a few snowflakes.

By now, you probably want to know how West led the team in passing. He was one of four Wisconsin players to throw a pass Saturday afternoon and he connected for a 24-yard gain early in the third quarter to Jackson Acker on a fake punt.

That pass accounted for half of Wisconsin’s passing yardage as quarterbacks Hunter Simmons, Carter Smith and Danny O’Neil were a combined 5-of-17 passing for 24 yards.

O’Neil threw just two passes before he was carted off the field with what the school said was a lower body injury. O’Neil began the season as the team’s backup QB but became the starter after Billy Edwards suffered a knee injury in Week 1.

Simmons has also started for Wisconsin this season and was 2-of-3 passing for 16 yards near the end of the first half.

After O’Neil left the game in the first quarter, he was replaced by freshman Carter Smith. Smith played the entirety of the second half and was 3-of-12 for just 8 yards.

The Badgers won largely because of their defense. Wisconsin forced two turnovers and held an explosive Washington offense to just 251 yards. The Huskies’ only TD of the game came on a 1-yard drive after the Huskies blocked a punt and recovered it near the end zone.

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