Wisconsin Badgers coach Luke Fickell takes the blame for the loss to the Oregon Ducks

The last time the Oregon Ducks and Wisconsin Badgers played each other was in the 2020 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which ended in the hands of now-Los Angeles Chargers Justin Herbert, 28-27.

Flash forward to now, tt was another tiebreaker between the two programs, this time in Madison at Camp Randall Stadium in a cold, Midwest Big Ten Conference matchup.

“There was no doubt in the eyes of the locker room, and I really mean that,” Fickell said after the 16-13 loss. “But, I think where it’s not always seen or always felt, there’s something that’s building and something that’s coming. Just, unfortunately, it hasn’t been able to rear its head in games like this. I put it on me.”

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel (218 passing yards and zero touchdowns on 22-for-31 completions) had trouble executing and finishing in the red zone in the first half against the Badgers. He threw an interception at the 5:25 mark of the second quarter to Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourquerean (plus seven tackles and a pass deflection), who was all over the field the entire game.

The second half was a different story for Gabriel — his clutch eight-yard run for a first down on third down and four yards with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter. That quarterback shuffle out of the pocket by Gabriel then led to a 24-yard field goal by Oregon kicker Atticus Sappington to give the Ducks the 16-13 lead and the final score.

This was the definition of a true Big Ten road game. Fortunately, Oregon is familiar with coming from behind and being in late-game situations like this throughout this season. Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell pointed out postgame that his defense threw everything they had at the Heisman candidate.

“They did a great job of tackling, they did a great job of eliminating the big plays. Give the guys credit if they mixed it up with Dillon Gabriel, he was never really comfortable. I thought it was a of the better games where we created edge pressure.”

– Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell

“Not a lot of sacks, but Dillon Gabriel isn’t going to get sacked a whole bunch,” Fickell continued. “But I thought the guys on the edge did a really good job of creating pressure and keeping Dillon Gabriel off balance today.”

On the other side of the ball, Fickell is having trouble in the fourth quarter and finding ways for his program to pull out wins. The inexcusable delay of the game by Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke and his offensive line was the dagger in the heart of the Badgers.

“It’s crushing.. We just haven’t been able to find a way to finish. The games have come down to the fourth quarter, the most critical times.. We have yet to get over the hump and find a way to pull it out… It’s an emotional shot that we need to be able to get over quickly.”

– Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell

Defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei was all over the field against the Badgers, but put the win in the books with his game-sealing interception off a tipped pass by Oregon’s defensive line. He also improved on his team-high 8.5 sacks on the season. The sophomore is catching the eye of NFL scouts and should move up in the 2026 draft with his continuous effort.

“We knew this was going to be like an NFL program. There were going to be shots after shots, and what that means is you have to have the maturity and the discipline and the depth as well.”

– Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell

Wisconsin scored a single touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first half. Badgers receiver Will Pauling caught a two-yard pass from quarterback Braedyn Locke to give the Badgers a 10-6 halftime lead.

“I didn’t feel like field goals were going to win this football game, especially on our end,” Fickell said. “And unfortunately we got a penalty or we took a sack and we end up in a position where we can’t even be in a fourth and five or six line to go for it. So we had to take that field But we know you’re not going to knock off the country’s number one kicking goals.”

The confident duo of Oregon coach Dan Lanning and Gabriel never seemed to panic through their gutsy calls. The Ducks remain perfect with an 11-0 overall record, just the second time in program history (first in 2010). A berth to both the Big Ten Conference Championship and the College Football Playoff is well within reach now.