Saturday night in Camp Randall Stadium could easily set the tone for the rest of the year for Wisconsin football.
A win would instantly erase the pain from Week 7 out in Los Angeles, as it would represent Wisconsin's first victory over a legitimately good opponent and give head coach Luke Fickell another top-20 upset on his resume for the 2026 season, which would go a long way in helping him prove he's the man for the job in Madison.
A loss, on the other hand, would even up the Badgers' Big Ten record at 2-2 and set them up with a must-win on Halloween in Iowa City, a situation nobody wants to be in.
As Wisconsin continues prep for the Trojans, here's three bold predictions for the Saturday night showdown:
Wisconsin shuts down star Trojans' tailback King Miller
All week long in the lead-up to UCLA, all we heard about was the Bruins' rugged ground game. A supposedly unstoppable force of nature, headlined by star ball-carrier Wayne Knight, was supposed to run rampant over the Badgers' front seven.
Instead, Wisconsin held the Bruins to 44 rushing yards through the first three quarters (120 after a fourth quarter of mostly clock control from UCLA) while Knight himself posted just 23 yards on 13 carries. All told, UCLA averaged just 3.2 yards per carry.
Surprisingly, that didn't matter because the Badgers couldn't contain Bruins' quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, who completed 67% of his passes while tossing for 264 yards. But Wisconsin made a point; even the best rushing attacks in college football should expect to struggle against the Cardinal and White.
USC has two very capable backs in King Miller (114 carries, 595 yards, four touchdowns) and Waymond Jordan (63 carries, 287 yards and two scores). However, the Trojans' ground game as a whole ranks just 77th nationally, one spot above the Badgers — both teams run for 152 yards per game.
While USC's backs are capable, this isn't the most impressive rushing attack and Wisconsin just proved that it can make even the best ground games in the country struggle mightily. Miller has yet to run for fewer than 45 yards this season; I foresee that happening Saturday night.
Colton Joseph takes care of the ball all night
After a rough three-interception outing in the upset win over then-No. 13 Penn State, Colton Joseph has taken care of the football, at least through the air. He's lost two fumbles, neither of which were recovered by the defense, but he's also gone two straight games without throwing an interception for the first time in his Badgers career.
Against USC, there's no reason why he can't make it three. The Trojans have only intercepted three passes this fall across seven games; there's only 11 FBS programs that've played as many games and picked off fewer passes. Their pass defense as a whole has left plenty to be desired; USC is allowing 239 passing yards per game, good for 110th nationally.
Joseph has also cut down on the "turnover-worthy plays," according to Pro Football Focus. After he combined for eight over the Badgers' first four games, he has just one over the last two games. The turnover battle is going to be huge in order to pull off an upset like this, but I think Joseph can keep it clean Saturday night.
Wisconsin benches PJ Wilkins
Given how he's played, this wouldn't be a bold prediction under normal circumstances. But the Badgers have insisted on trotting him out there with the starters, and that was painfully clear in Pasadena when they moved Stylz Blackmon to center in place of the injured starter Austin Kawecki, despite the fact that Kawecki's backup Ryan Cory played well in his stead, which also forced Wilkins to start at right guard.
At what point does Wisconsin give up on Wilkins as a starting-caliber offensive lineman this season? It's tried him at three spots — left tackle, right tackle and right guard — all of which have been problematic. He easily "leads" the team with 12 pressures, per Pro Football Focus, although having watched the all-22 tape I'd venture to say that's a generously low estimate. He just doesn't appear to have the quickness to hold up in pass protection.
“It’s been a little bit difficult. When guys get dinged up, in particular Kawecki and moving Stylz back in there, we just felt like that was our best five," Fickell said this week. "We gotta find a way to make sure we have our best five up front every week.”
Unfortunately, it's pretty clear the Badgers' "best five" doesn't include Wilkins at this point in time. With Kawecki probable as of the Wednesday injury report, he could return to center, meaning Blackmon could return to right guard.
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