Mason Posa didn’t wait around for the film session to tell the Wisconsin locker room what everyone already knew.
After the Badgers’ 30-0 loss to Iowa, Posa said he walked in and let his teammates have it.
“Right when I got into the locker room, I told them I was embarrassed,” Posa said. “This can never happen to us again. We should have never let this happen to us.”
That was the tone after a night Wisconsin would rather erase. The Badgers took their worst loss of the season, and once again Iowa had them looking flat in a rivalry game that never felt competitive. Wisconsin gave up control in every phase and never found a response.
The frustration inside the locker room was obvious. Posa was not the only one pointing to effort, either.
Sebastian Cheeks said he could see it in his teammates’ eyes. The bigger question now is what Wisconsin does with that anger.
Posa’s answer was simple: “So what, now what?”
That’s where the Badgers are headed next, with Rutgers coming to Camp Randall this weekend. Posa said Wisconsin is already focused on bouncing back.
“We are looking forward to this weekend,” Posa said. “[We are going to] capitalize and play a lot better.”
The matchup gives Wisconsin a chance to reset at home, and the Scarlet Knights are in a rough spot. But the larger issue for Luke Fickell’s team is bigger than one rebound opportunity. The Badgers can pile up wins, but losses to Iowa and Minnesota would leave a sour taste no matter what the record looks like.
That’s why the next stretch matters so much. Wisconsin needs to win the next three - Rutgers, Maryland and Purdue - but the real pressure point is the rivalry game ahead. Beating Minnesota and avoiding another embarrassment against a rival has to be near the top of the list for Fickell.
The formula for getting back on track is familiar. Wisconsin needs to do what it did against USC: slow down the run, win up front and fight for every yard on both sides of the ball.
But that alone won’t be enough if the offense can’t hold up its end. The Badgers have to sustain drives, put points on the board and avoid another night like the one Iowa handed them.
Being shut out made the loss sting even more. For Wisconsin, that part cannot happen again.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Has A Few Clear Bright Spots After This Iowa Disaster
The 30-0 loss to Iowa was ugly enough on its own, but for Wisconsin it also reopened an uncomfortable trend, with the Badgers being shut out by the Hawkeyes for the second straight season. Even in a game that never found much rhythm on either side, there were a few individual performances worth sorting through, and that matters for a team trying to find any sign of progress after a day like this.
Domingeaux stood out as one of the few positive notes, while Josephs passing remained uneven and Jungs work in coverage slipped backward. Those mixed results only sharpen the bigger concern for Wisconsin, which is that the offense still struggled to generate anything sustainable and the defense had too many breakdowns to keep the game from getting away. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Opener Exposed Two Early Concerns Fans Cant Ignore
Wisconsin opened the season with a 75-68 win over Denver, and the first night at home gave the Badgers a useful early read on what this roster can and cannot do right now. The starting group supplied most of the offense, with Owen Foxwell, Braeden Carrington, Nolan Winter, Austin Rapp and Eian Elmer all helping set the tone, while the team also showed it can win the glass and create enough scoring to survive a shaky stretch.
Even so, the opener also surfaced a couple of issues that will matter once the schedule stiffens. The second unit did not provide much margin, and Denvers Carson Johnson found enough room to make Wisconsin work defensively, a reminder that the Badgers still have some tightening up to do on that end. For a team trying to build early momentum, those are the kinds of concerns that can linger even after a win. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Opener Revealed A New Strength And One Lingering Concern
Wisconsins home opener offered an early look at what this team can lean on inside. In the 75-68 win over Denver, forwards Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp gave the Badgers a strong presence around the rim, while guard Braeden Carrington added 15 points to help steady the offense. The result was a solid first step at home, with enough balance to show why this group can be hard to handle when it gets the ball where it wants it.
Still, the shooting numbers left a familiar question hanging over the night. Wisconsin finished at 46.3 percent from the floor, but the Badgers went just 6-for-26 from three-point range, a reminder that the perimeter remains a work in progress even in a win. For a team that found real value inside, the next challenge is whether that interior strength can keep carrying the load if the outside shot stays inconsistent. [Read more 🡒]