Wisconsin heads to College Park with a simple task in front of it: keep building on a 6-3 season and give Luke Fickell a shot at matching last year’s seven-win total. To get there in Week 11 against Maryland, the Badgers need three things to break their way.
First, the ground game has to be more balanced. Fans are eager to see what Ryan Hopkins can do after his promising debut last week against Rutgers, but he’s still a freshman with plenty of room to grow in every area.
Wisconsin’s rushing attack has been stuck at 100th nationally, averaging just 124.5 yards per game, while Maryland is giving up 168 rushing yards a night. That opens the door for Abu Sama III, who has not yet made a huge impact this season, to put together a breakout performance.
The other major piece is keeping Malik Washington from taking over. Washington looked like one of the nation’s best young passers as a true freshman last season, and in year two he has already posted five games with more than 250 passing yards. Against a Wisconsin offense that has been described as ice-cold, the Badgers can’t afford to let Washington turn this into a shootout or a major upset.
And then there’s Hopkins himself. He handled his first start at Camp Randall against a team whose season was already over before kickoff, but this week is a different kind of test: a road game against a similar-stature opponent.
Nobody is asking him to light up the scoreboard. What Wisconsin needs is calm, steady play from a quarterback who should have a chance to settle in against a two-win Maryland team.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Just Sent Another Big Message On In-State Recruiting
Wisconsins in-state recruiting push picked up another important win with the official signing of Jalen Brown, a 6-5 guard from Milwaukee who is now part of the Badgers 2027 basketball class. Brown had already committed in June 2025, but putting pen to paper gives Wisconsin another highly regarded local talent after he chose the Badgers over several power-conference offers.
Greg Gard has made no secret of how much he values Browns fit in the program, pointing to his scoring ability and work ethic as key reasons Wisconsin pursued him so aggressively. For a staff that wants to keep top Wisconsin prospects close to home, landing a consensus four-star guard from Milwaukee is the kind of move that resonates well beyond one recruiting cycle. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Finally Has Hope Up Front With Three Games Left
Freshman quarterback Ryan Hopkins gave Wisconsin a much-needed jolt in his first career start, and the timing could hardly have been better. The Badgers 31-10 win over Rutgers pushed them to 6-3, made them bowl eligible and offered a glimpse of what the offense can look like when the line holds together long enough to let a young passer settle in.
For much of the season, Wisconsin has been piecing together an offensive front because of injuries, and that instability has made every snap feel like a test. Against Rutgers, the protection looked noticeably cleaner, which matters now with Maryland, Purdue and Minnesota still ahead on the regular-season schedule and the chance to turn one encouraging afternoon into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin May Have A First Round Pass Rusher Emerging
Sebastian Cheeks has turned this season into a real calling card for Wisconsins pass rush, stacking up 34 tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles while drawing attention well beyond the Big Ten. The edge rushers production has started to show up in the early draft conversation, with analysts such as Newt Westen and Ian Cummings placing him near the top of their 2027 edge rankings.
Not everyone is ready to put him in that tier yet, which is part of what makes the buzz around Cheeks interesting. Some evaluators, including Mel Kiper, still have not slotted him onto their big boards, even as CBS Sports Mike Renner has gone so far as to project him as a potential first-rounder for the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 26 overall. For Wisconsin, the bigger question now is whether this is the start of a short-lived surge or the beginning of a much bigger rise. [Read more 🡒]