Wisconsin football fell to 2-6 (0-5 Big Ten) on the 2025 season with a 21-17 loss to No. 6 Oregon on Saturday night.
The Badgers, who entered the game as more than a 30-point underdog, did well to compete with the top-ranked Ducks. Luke Fickell’s defense held Oregon’s high-powered offense to just 335 total yards; nearly 200 yards below their previous season average. As a result, Wisconsin trailed by only seven points at halftime and 14 at the end of the third quarter.
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Freshman linebacker Mason Posa was a big part of that defensive effort, finishing with a game-high 13 tackles. Defensive lineman Ben Barten and linebacker Cooper Catalano also delivered strong performances, each finishing with eight tackles. The defensive unit as a whole tallied four sacks and an impressive seven tackles for loss.
The reason for the defeat, to no surprise, was an offensive unit that struggles to remain competitive. The team tallied 196 total yards of offense on the evening, only 86 of which came through the air. Its late-fourth-quarter touchdown was its first since the opening drive of the Michigan game back on Oct. 4.
After recent blowout losses to Iowa and Ohio State by a combined margin of 71-0, Saturday’s effort felt like significant progress for Wisconsin. That noted, the team has now lost 11 consecutive games to Power Four opponents, dating back to last season, with 10 of those losses being by multiple scores. With context, this stretch of Wisconsin football has an argument for the worst in program history.
The Badgers are idle in Week 10 before a home game against a 6-2 Washington team on Nov. 8.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Recapping Wisconsin football’s loss to Oregon
