While this game has taken a back seat late this week to news of Luke Fickell’s return to the Wisconsin Badgers sideline in 2026, there’s still a contest to discuss against a surging Washington Huskies team. (The visitors from Seattle get custody of “UW” in football until further notice.)
While the 2025 season has been one “Worst Case” after another, this game has a few interesting subplots that might make it worth watching. If you’re in Madison and don’t mind being cold and soggy, scoring some 50-yard line seats for $20 is absolutely on the table.
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Best Case
Maybe the Oregon game being closer than expected in the rain has made me soft, but I’m willing to consider a tight game here.
Let’s presume the rain/snow/cold turns Saturday’s contest into a sloppy mess. That’s just the type of environment where a wounded team sick of being disrespected might be able to make a statement. The fact that Hunter Simmons won’t be starting also works in the Badgers’ favor.
In the biggest upset of the 2025 college football season, Wisconsin somehow finds a way to get it done and sends the Huskies home kicking themselves.
Prediction: Wisconsin 16-14.
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Worst Case
Injuries, turmoil, subpar coaching, ineffective play, and a tiny/quiet crowd all combine to sink the Badgers before the game even starts. Talented quarterback Demond Williams Jr. does terrible things to the Wisconsin defense, and the combination of Danny O’Neil and/or Carter Smith can’t move the ball against a tough team in miserable conditions.
McIntosh, appearing in an exclusive on the new podcast launched by a Wisconsin Football intern Saturday night, gives Fickell yet another endorsement, saying that “sometimes it’s not about wins, losses, being remotely competitive, or playing in front of a half-empty stadium.”
Prediction: Washington 41-0.
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Most Likely Case
While the sloppy weather conditions will probably lend the Badgers a hand, Jeff Fisch and his talented, well-prepared Huskies will simply be too much. Fickell will again be content to run it up the middle three times instead of seriously trying to score just so Wisconsin won’t get beaten by more.
Prediction: Washington 31-6.
