Indiana football: Three things to know about Wisconsin
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No. 2 Indiana (10-0, 7-0) plays host to Wisconsin (3-6, 1-5) in for the Hoosiers last home game of the year in a meeting of two teams on opposite trajectories this season.
Ahead of last week’s home triumph over No. 23 Washington, the Badgers had not won a game in Big Ten play this year, prompting the school to release a statement on head coach Luke Fickell’s future.
His employer promised that they were standing by him through this season, but you don’t generally want to be in a position where the school has to make that statement in the first place. Especially when you consider that Wisconsin simply may not want to enter what should be one of the most competitive coaching markets in the last decade or so.
Whatever the reason behind keeping Fickell, the team seemed to respond well to the lack of noise surrounding the program and comes to Bloomington with a little bit of momentum.
Here’s what to know about the matchup:
The Record
I’m sorry Coach Fickell, but beating Washington at home by a field goal does not mean we aren’t going to discuss what a disaster Wisconsin’s season has been so far.
Indiana and Wisconsin have three opponents in common this year, all of whom Curt Cignetti and company beat, though not without some trouble. The Badgers fell 21-7 against Oregon, 37-0 against Iowa, and 27-10 against Maryland – the same Terps team that Indiana got all of its backups in against for an entire quarter.
Last week’s win against Washington was actually Fickell’s first win against a Power Four opponent all season, so Indiana is catching a Wisconsin team that is as hot as it’s been in 2025. Ironically, that win isn’t unlike Tom Allen’s win over the Badgers back in 2023.
The Offense
Behind a very shaky offensive line (Wisconsin didn’t retain a guy named Bob Bostad) the Badgers have the fewest yards per game in the entire 18-team Big Ten. Even in the win against Washington, Wisconsin was outgained in total yards, had fewer first downs, and a worse third-down conversion rate against the Huskies.
Both the running and passing games are struggling this season, ahead of only Iowa through the air and Minnesota on the ground in terms of yards per game.
The four quarterbacks who have taken snaps for Wisconsin have been sacked a combined 19 times on the year, with Danny O’Neil as the only passer of the group to have a touchdown/interception ratio of 1:1 or better. The running game, usually a Wisconsin staple, has had similar struggles, with the lead back averaging fewer than four yards per carry.
Run Defense
Basically the only category where Wisconsin is above-average or better within the Big Ten is its run-defense, which is seventh in the conference, allowing just over 111 yards per game. Indiana’s run offense, meanwhile, is second in the conference with 231 yards per contest on the ground.
As a whole, Wisconsin’s defense is just behind Penn State in yards allowed per game, but the Badgers probably won’t have the athletes to cover Indiana’s receivers downfield like the Nittany Lions did. Especially if Indiana has Elijah Sarratt back from injury.
Wisconsin’s defense doesn’t jump off the page in the way that you’d think Mike Shanahan has to gameplan around, but this will be another opportunity for the offensive line to prove itself without Drew Evans, something it’s done with mixed results so far this season.
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