The University of Wisconsin football program needed a response after last week’s disappointing loss to UCLA. What Luke Fickell’s team delivered Saturday night against No. 16 USC was arguably its most complete performance of the season.
Wisconsin knocked off the Trojans 24-7 at Camp Randall Stadium, improving to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play. The Badgers leaned on a dominant defensive effort, established their running game, and controlled the second half to secure another ranked victory.
For Fickell, it was another indication that his team is making progress, even if the process hasn’t always been pretty. Wisconsin held Lincoln Riley’s high-powered offense to its lowest point total under his leadership (7), with USC failing to produce a single play longer than 15 yards.
“Man, we are growing, and we are getting better,” Fickell said during his postgame press conference. “There are still things we’ve got to do a hell of a lot better. We know that. But this team believes. They understand what grinding things out looks like. I think they’ve taken a lot of pride in it.”
Here are three takeaways from Fickell’s comments following Wisconsin’s upset win.
Wisconsin’s defense delivered its most convincing performance yet
A week after UCLA exposed Wisconsin’s inability to get off the field on third down, defensive coordinator Mike Tressel’s unit responded by making life miserable for USC quarterback Jayden Maiava.
The Badgers held USC to 241 total yards, including minus-17 rushing yards, the second-best single-game mark in program history, while recording five sacks and two interceptions. Maiava completed 31-of-50 passes for 258 yards, but Wisconsin consistently pressured him and prevented the Trojans from finding much offensive rhythm.
Sebastian Cheeks led the pass rush with six pressures and 2.5 sacks, while Mason Posa added three pressures, 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Cooper Catalano finished with a team-high 10 tackles.
“That defense, Coach Tress and those guys on the defensive side of the ball, man, they played an incredible game,” Fickell said. “And they kept the pressure on. Those guys played relentless, they played physical.”
Wisconsin also intercepted Maiava twice in the first quarter, with Bryce West and Cairo Skanes creating opportunities that the offense couldn’t fully capitalize on.
What stood out was the staff’s willingness to bring pressure, trusting a secondary that had to rotate personnel throughout the night. Despite those moving pieces, Wisconsin surrendered only one touchdown.
“You gotta have faith, you gotta have confidence in the guys on the back end,” Fickell said. “You gotta have faith and confidence in the guys up front because you are hanging a lot of things out, and you’ve got an incredible expectation that things are gonna happen really fast.”
The performance was another reminder of how far this defense has come. Wisconsin has held four opponents to 10 points or fewer this season, and its ability to dictate games defensively gives the Badgers a foundation to lean on.
Wisconsin found a better balance in its running game
After Colton Joseph carried the ball 18 times against UCLA while Wisconsin’s running backs combined for just 12 attempts, Fickell made it clear during the week that the offense needed better balance.
Against USC, the Badgers followed through.
Wisconsin ran the ball 43 times for 142 yards, with Abu Sama III leading the way with 71 yards on 17 carries. Bryan Jackson, facing his former team, added 38 yards on seven attempts and scored his first touchdown as a Badger.
Joseph contributed another 32 rushing yards, but the offense didn’t need him to shoulder nearly as much of the workload.
“We had been pretty heavy with Colton running the football,” Fickell said. “And I just think that if we’re going to grow, if we’re going to be who we want to be, if you’re going to win in this league, at this place, if our tailbacks can’t shoulder the load and can’t be the horses that we need them to be... if we can’t rely on those guys, it’s going to be a long year.”
The results weren’t particularly explosive, but Wisconsin sustained three touchdown drives of at least 59 yards, including possessions of 75 yards apiece that consumed nearly eight and six minutes.
Jackson’s emergence was especially meaningful with Darrion Dupree dealing with a hamstring injury that nearly prevented him from playing.
“Sometimes you just got to give guys greater opportunities to see what they really have when the game’s on the line,” Fickell said. “And he [Jackson] showed us something tonight that we thought maybe he had.”
Wisconsin finished with just 200 total yards, including 58 through the air. That’s hardly a sustainable formula against every opponent, but Saturday showed what this offense can accomplish when its running backs help control possession, and the defense consistently provides opportunities.
Fickell’s aggressive fourth-down decision reflected a different mentality
One of the biggest criticisms of Fickell’s coaching against UCLA centered on his conservative and borderline irresponsible fourth-down decisions, particularly punting while trailing by 10 points late in the fourth quarter.
Against USC, he made a different choice.
Leading 10-7 in the third quarter, Wisconsin faced fourth-and-2 at the USC 16-yard line. Rather than settling for a short field goal, Fickell kept his offense on the field.
Wisconsin came out in 13 personnel with three tight ends, then shifted them out wide to block for Chris Brooks Jr. Joseph delivered a quick screen, and Brooks followed his blockers into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown that extended Wisconsin’s lead to 17-7.
Fickell explained that the decision reflected a desire to attack rather than simply protecting a narrow advantage.
“Yes, the defense is playing well, but the truth of the matter is, I don’t think field goals are going to win these ballgames,” Fickell said. “These guys, we keep preaching about being aggressive. It’s about being smart, too.”
That willingness to trust the offense was particularly notable considering Wisconsin’s limitations in the passing game.
“We had to put ourselves in a position where, like, look, man, let’s try to win this thing instead of holding on and trying not to lose,” Fickell said. “And so I think there’s a completely different mentality.”
Wisconsin needs that kind of aggressive decision-making more consistently from its head coach. Saturday wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, and the offense still has plenty to prove. But the Badgers found a way to play to their strengths, controlled the game physically, and made enough winning decisions to beat a ranked opponent at home.
After the disappointment at UCLA, that’s meaningful progress. Wisconsin will look to build on that momentum next week when it travels to face Iowa (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten), which is coming off a 13-10 loss to Minnesota.
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