Wisconsin made Saturday night feel like a turning point, and it did it with defense first. The Badgers knocked off No. 15 USC 24-7 at Camp Randall Stadium, a 17-point win that stood as one of their biggest results of the season and a brutal night for Trojans coach Lincoln Riley.
The score told the story, but the numbers behind it made the blowout even louder. Wisconsin held USC to seven points, the fewest ever scored by a Riley-coached team. The Badgers also buried the Trojans on the ground, limiting them to minus-17 rushing yards, while piling up five sacks and forcing two first-quarter interceptions.
That kind of pressure gave Wisconsin control early, even before the offense fully separated. The Badgers took a 10-7 lead into halftime, then kept adding to it after the break.
In the third quarter, Colton Joseph hit Chris Brooks Jr. for a touchdown on fourth down to stretch the margin to 17-7. Ryan Schwendeman put it away in the fourth with a rushing touchdown.
Joseph was sharp throughout, finishing 12-of-14 passing with a touchdown. Bryan Jackson II also scored on the ground, and the defense kept making USC pay for every mistake. Bryce West and Cairo Skanes each intercepted Jayden Maiava, helping turn the game into a long night for the Trojans.
The win lifted Wisconsin to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play, and it pushed the Badgers into the AP Top 25 for the first time in over three years. It also gave Wisconsin an immediate answer after last week’s 17-7 loss to UCLA.
For USC, the loss landed as a new offensive low under Riley. For Wisconsin, it was the kind of complete performance that can reshape a season in one night.
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Around the same time, two former Wisconsin defensive coordinators, Dave Doeren at NC State and Dave Aranda at Baylor, were fired from their head coaching jobs. Both have had mixed results in recent years and remain under contract with their schools, which only adds another layer to a complicated coaching tree that Wisconsin fans know well. [Read more 🡒]
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Sebastian Cheeks stood out in a disruptive defensive effort, piling up 2.5 sacks and six quarterback pressures, while Matthew Jung led the way with six tackles and three pass breakups. Chris Brooks Jr. also made his mark with a touchdown catch, and the broader ranking of 11 players reflected just how many different Badgers contributed to one of the teams more complete performances of the season. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Got Hit With An AP Poll Slide Fans Will Hate
The latest AP Poll shakeup had plenty of fans grumbling, and Wisconsin was part of the conversation as voters sorted through a messy weekend of close losses and narrow escapes across college football. The Badgers were mentioned alongside teams like Washington State, Texas Tech and Tennessee as examples of how inconsistent the rankings can feel when a teams performance on the field does not always match the size of the drop it takes in the poll.
For Wisconsin, the frustration is less about one specific slide and more about the broader message the rankings sent. Competitive losses and quality wins can look very different to voters depending on the week, and the Badgers found themselves in the same debate over fairness, perception and how much stock the AP is really putting into what teams actually do on Saturday. [Read more 🡒]