The Wisconsin Badgers (2-6, 0-5) lost their sixth consecutive game Saturday night, falling to the No. 6 Oregon Ducks (7-1, 4-1) 21-7 in Eugene On a rainy Oregon evening, Wisconsin’s defense gave it their all but were ultimately unable to stick with a more talented Ducks team.
From the jump, it was obvious Oregon was going to force Wisconsin to make plays. On the opening kickoff, they surprised the Badgers with an onside kick recovered by the Ducks at the 42-yard line.
Despite this bleak start for Wisconsin, the Badger defense valiantly held their ground, quickly stopping Oregon on 4th and 2.
This first drive was indicative of Wisconsin defense’s first half effort. Led by true freshman
linebacker Mason Posa, the Badgers were able to get stops on all but one of Oregon’s drives in the first half.
The Ducks didn’t get on the scoreboard until 1:07 left in the second quarter. Oregon running back Jordon Davison rushed for 2 yards into the endzone to cap a 16-play, 99-yard drive lasting 8:24 making it 7-0 Ducks.
Oregon’s second touchdown also came from Davison, who scored on a 20-yard scamper, extending the score to 14-0.
Oregon’s third and final touchdown of the game came early in the fourth quarter, when they were able to easily move the ball forward against a tired Wisconsin defense. Without starting quarterback Dante Moore, who left the game with a nose injury, backup QB Brock Thomas led a five play, 54-yard drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown pass from Thomas to offensive lineman Gernorris Wilson.
The Badgers were not able to end their losing streak but did manage to end their two game shutout streak with a strong 78-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
The highlight of the drive came when Wisconsin quarterback Hunter Simmons threw a 42-yard pass on 3rd and 14 to wide receiver Eugene Hilton Jr to put the ball on Oregon’s 1 yard-line. Two plays later, Simmons found tight end Lance Mason for a 2-yard touchdown to cut their deficit to 21-7. It was the Badgers’ first touchdown in 174 minutes and 46 seconds of game time — almost three full games
The drive was undoubtedly Simmons’ best of the game. Six of his seven completions came in this one scoring drive. He finished the game 7-21 for 86 yards, with a touchdown and interception.
The story of the night for Wisconsin was its defensive effort. Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator Mike Tressel stepped up his game with a visibly improved Badger defense, despite a long list of inactive and injured Badgers, including standout linebacker Christian Alliegro, Posa led both sides’ defensive stats with 13 total tackles and made his presence on the field prominent. Safety Matthew Jung recorded 10 total tackles while another true freshman linebacker Cooper Catalano finished with 8 total tackles. Defensive lineman Ben Barten had 8 total tackles, with a sack and tackle for loss.
While the defense held their own, head coach Luke Fickell must work with offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes to improve the offense.
Wisconsin will head back to Camp Randall to face the Washington Huskies on Nov. 8.
