As the Wisconsin Badgers football team heads into their final three weeks of the 2024 season, they hope to get rid of any resemblance of the past two games against Penn State and Iowa.
The Badgers had much to look forward to at the start of the season, but top-ranked Alabama and Penn State tested their might, and No. 1 Oregon won’t be a cakewalk either.
While the expanded 18-team Big Ten conference brought excitement for new matchups this year, Wisconsin hasn’t made any big statements about the state of their football program even when given several chances to do so.
Several questions remain for the future of the Wisconsin football program. Here’s what we’ve learned about the team through nine games.
2025 could see another quarterback change
Bringing in a talent like Tyler Van Dyke through the transfer portal for the 2024 season seemed like a smart move from Wisconsin’s perspective. Van Dyke had his ups and downs during a three-year tenure as the starter at the University of Miami, but showed flashes of quarterback play that would greatly benefit head coach Luke Fickell’s offense.
Through his first two games at Wisconsin, Van Dyke played solid, but not amazing in non-conference games the Badgers were expected to win big. Van Dyke totaled two touchdowns, 406 passing yards and had a 60.3% completion percentage. Going into week three against top-ranked Alabama, the pressure was high for the Badgers to at least show their ability to keep up with the Tide.
Van Dyke didn’t make it out of the first quarter.
A brutal ACL tear put Van Dyke on the shelf for the rest of the season, thrusting redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke into the starting spot yet again. Locke started three games in the 2023 season after then-starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai went down with injury in the Badgers’ 15-6 loss against Iowa. Even with the disappointment of Van Dyke’s injury, Locke had some experience in the role that he could now build on.
Locke has started in six games this season, totaling nine touchdowns, eight interceptions, 1,293 passing yards and a 57.8% completion percentage. Locke seemed like he was maturing into the future starter role during the Badgers’ three-game stretch against Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern in October.
But then came subpar showings against then-ranked No. 3 Penn State and unranked Iowa that created serious doubt surrounding the legitimacy of another year with Locke as the starting quarterback.
Barring a spectacular final stretch from Locke, Fickell and his staff will almost surely keep their options open when deciding who will be their quarterback come 2025. Whether that’s giving freshman Mabrey Mettauer a shot, sticking with Locke or looking to the transfer portal once again remains to be seen.
Rushing attack can still be potent
Wisconsin football has historically relied on the run game for its success. You don’t get to 22 straight bowl games without having a successful game plan year in and year out.
Fickell’s hiring sought for the Badgers to adapt to an “air raid” offensive scheme that fit the modern style of college football. While it’s been a challenge trying to incorporate that this year, the rushing game has still proven to be a successful method of offensive attack for Wisconsin.
Senior running back Tawee Walker lands at eighth in the Big Ten rushing leaders list and third in Big Ten rushing touchdowns list. It’s safe to say that Walker’s addition to the team from the Oklahoma Sooners proved to be successful.
But Walker isn’t the only running back contributing to Wisconsin’s sixth most rushing yards in the Big Ten. Sophomore Cade Yacamelli and freshman Darrion Dupree combined for 480 yards on the ground. That number would surely be higher if Chez Mellusi didn't step away from the team in October.
Walker will leave Wisconsin after this season, but the emphasis on running the ball doesn’t have to. Any good offense requires a good balance of pass and rush, and it seems like Wisconsin still has glimpses of that running game that has carried them for decades.
This isn’t the same Big Ten
Long gone are the days of Wisconsin positioning for the top spot in the Big Ten West. Now, Wisconsin has to compete with every other team in the expanded 18-team conference for standings. These are some harsh reminders that we are in a mediocre period for Wisconsin Badgers football.
Their second half collapse against USC, the slow-burn defeat at home versus Penn State and the disaster of a game against Iowa all revealed the same message. Whether they are a founding member or joined the conference this year, every Big Ten team will throw their best shot at Wisconsin.
Their 3-3 conference record gets even more sour to digest when you consider the missed opportunities in the USC and Penn State games, moments Fickell and the Badgers could’ve used to catapult themselves toward the top of the Big Ten.
The Wisconsin Badgers will face the No. 1 ranked Oregon Ducks this Saturday. The Badgers will look to do everything they can to shock the nation. If they can’t? It'll be another conference loss that solidifies how much tougher it has become to compete in the Big Ten.
