The Wisconsin Badgers made a statement on Saturday night, dominating the No. 16 USC Trojans at Camp Randall Stadium 24-7 in a huge victory for Luke Fickell’s team.
Wisconsin dominated this one from the start defensively, and that unit never let up, keeping the Trojans scoreless in the second half, leading to fans storming the field after the win.
The Badgers defense set the tone from the jump, forcing an early three-and-out, with Sebastian Cheeks making a key stop on a 3rd & 1 run to force an early USC punt.
Wisconsin’s offense had some momentum early, thanks to a pass interference on 3rd & 12 by the Trojans. However, after another first down, the drive stalled out, as Colton Joseph mishandled a snap on 1st down, leading to a loss, and got sacked on third down, holding the ball too long rather than dumping it down to his checkdown.
Wisconsin’s defense quickly, answered, though, forcing the Trojans into 3rd & Long after a great stop from Tyreese Fearbry on a second-down run to the edge. Then, on third and 10, Jayden Maiava tested Javan Robinson on a deep ball for Kayden-Dixon Wyatt. Robinson broke up the pass, and Bryce West caught the tip, returning the interception 23 yards to set up 1st & 10 at the USC 17-yard line.
Wisconsin’s offense couldn’t do anything with the opportunity, though, as they had an incompletion on first down, two-yard run on second down, and an incompletion on third down. The final play was a killer, though, as Joseph made the wrong read on a good playcall, locking on Jacob Harris, rather than hitting the open Chris Brooks on the dig behind him for a touchdown. Instead, the Badgers settled for a field goal.
The Badgers continued to stuff the run, but USC was able to pick up a pair of first downs on their next drive, getting the ball into Wisconsin territory for a 3rd & 5 at the Wisconsin 42-yard line. This time, a hurried Maiava was thrown off schedule, and he forced a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Cairo Skanes, who took it back 27 yards to the USC 35-yard line.
Unfortunately, the offense went backwards on 1st down and couldn’t recover, setting up a 51-yard field goal for Gavin Lahm, who didn’t come close on the attempt.
Just like that, the Badgers had forced two turnovers and set up drives twice in USC territory, but ended up with just three points combined.
The defense seemed to be clicking again on the next drive, with Sebastian Cheeks sacking Maiava on 2nd & 10 for a loss of eight. However, a rare sideline interference penalty was called, resulting in a 15-yard penalty and a first down. The Trojans continued to see success, and penalties continued to hurt the Badgers. On a 2nd & 2 run stuff, Charles Perkins was called for a face mask, although replay showed that Perkins hadn’t grabbed the area.
Then, after the Badgers forced another 3rd down and got a stop at the goal line on 3rd & Goal at the 2, Jai’mier Scott was called for a face mask in coverage on a threw that was well uncatchable. Three plays later, after Wisconsin stuffed the first two goal line rushes, the Trojans got on the board with a touchdown pass from Maiava to Taniela Tupou.
Just like that, it was 7-3 Trojans in the second quarter.
On the following drive, the Badgers fully abandoned the pass and went hard on the run game with Abu Sama. Of the first 10 plays on the drive, nine were runs. Then a holding penalty in the red zone on a rush attempt sent the Badgers back to 1st & 20, and it looked like they were set for another field goal. However, on 2nd & 19, the Trojans were flagged for pass interference, giving Wisconsin 1st & Goal at the 5, and Bryan Jackson punched it in for the touchdown.
10-7 ended up being the halftime score for Wisconsin, who started the second half with the ball. After establishing the run on the last drive, the Badgers threw on three straight first downs to start the second half, and were able to move the ball once again primarily through the ground game.
Ultimately, after a drive that consisted of six runs and three passes (all on first down), the Badgers faced 4th & 2 at the USC 16 in a pivotal moment in the game. Up three, it made sense to go for it, and that’s what Luke Fickell did. And it paid off big, as Colton Joseph hit Chris Brooks for a 16-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 17-7.
With the run game not working, the Trojans went to the pass, and converted a huge 3rd & 10, with a screen to Tanook Hines working out for a first down. The Trojans continued to move the ball in the air on this drive with gains of 13, 13, 14, and 11, as they threw on eight of the first 10 plays of the drive.
USC seemed bound for a touchdown, but ran on 1st & 10 at the Wisconsin 13, gaining just one. A Jayden Maiava incompletion on 2nd down set up a 3rd & Long, and Mason Posa got home on a blitz for a sack, with Maiava committing intentional grounding as well.
That moved the Trojans back to the Wisconsin 27-yard line, and Caden Chittenden was blocked on a 44-yard field goal, leaving USC empty handed after a 14-play, 48-yard drive.
Wisconsin couldn’t make much work offensively, though, as they quickly went three-and-out, giving the ball back to the Trojans. And, just as they did on the previous drive, USC went pass-heavy again and found themselves in another crucial late-down situation. On 4th & 3 at their own 46, the Trojans went for it, and Maiava was able to convert, extending the drive.
After another first down, the Trojans sat at 1st & 10 on the Wisconsin 33 to open the fourth quarter. But Maiava was incomplete on first down, and Mason Posa and Sebastian Cheeks got home on 2nd down for a sack. On 3rd & 20, the Trojans were able to recoup eight yards to set up a 51-yard field goal, but a delay of game moved them back even deeper.
That proved to be costly, as the Trojans still kicked and Chittenden missed again, this time from 58.
With 13:14 left at their own 41, the Badgers needed a big drive here that chipped off a ton of time off the clock. After throwing on 1st and 2nd down, the Badgers went run-heavy again, and it worked against USC’s struggling defense. Wisconsin didn’t break off many big plays, but they churned out four first downs on the drive, and Ryan Schwendeman punched it in as the fullback on 3rd & Goal from the 1-yard line to give Wisconsin a 24-7 lead.
That drive went 13 plays for 59 yards, eating up a whopping 8:12 of clock, with the Badgers running 10 times versus three passes.
USC was drawing dead with under five minutes left, and the Badgers offense swarmed them again. After getting a first down, the Badgers forced the Trojans into 3rd & 5 at the USC 38, and once again, Sebastain Cheeks got home for the sack. Maiava had an intentional grounding penalty here as well, and the Trojans could not convert on 4th & 18 at their own 25.
The Badgers would give the ball back to USC, going for it on 4th & 11 at the USC 26. But it didn’t matter, as USC turned it over on downs inside the red zone, sealing the deal.
With the win, the Badgers improved to 5-2, knocking off their second ranked opponent of the season, while the Trojans fell to 6-2. Things are now looking far different for both teams. Wisconsin suddenly has a huge opportunity this season, with Iowa, Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, and Minnesota remaining, while USC has to face Ohio State, Indiana, and UCLA still.
It’s a huge win for Luke Fickell, whose squad was able to bounce back in a big way, and a sign that things are trending in the right direction for the Badgers.