MADISON - The Wisconsin Badgers played their tenth game of the 2024 season on Saturday evening, losing to the No. 1 Oregon Ducks, 16-13.

Here are my three biggest takeaways from Wisconsin’s loss.

Even though nobody wants to hear about “moral victories” for a team that’s now back to .500, the defense deserves credit for the work they did to limit one of the best offenses in the country.

Oregon entered as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll, led by a Heisman candidate in quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and were held to its lowest point total of the season and second lowest total yardage mark (354).

The Ducks’ offense had scored a touchdown in every first quarter of the season up until this point. It took them until the fourth quarter to get their first of the day.

Gabriel finished with his second-lowest passing yardage mark of the year (218) and had his first game of the season without a passing touchdown. Credit is due to the defensive line for having their most disruptive game of the season, putting constant pressure on Gabriel all day and helping to eliminate big plays.

“They did a really good job. They did a great job of tackling, they did a great job of eliminating the big plays. And, give the guys a lot of credit because I think they mixed it up enough to where [Gabriel] was never truly comfortable. I thought that was one of the better games, where we created some edge pressure,” coach Luke Fickell said after the game.

“[There were] not a lot of sacks, but Dillon Gabriel is not going to be sacked a whole bunch. But, I thought that the guys on the edge did a really good job of creating pressure and keeping Dillon Gabriel off balance today.”

Most of all, the defense gave the offense plenty of opportunities to finish the job.

When the game was tied at 13 with eight minutes left, the Ducks had the ball at Wisconsin’s 43 and could’ve gotten in field goal range with just a few extra plays. But on 3rd-and-10, Gabriel was sacked by tackle Curt Neal and cornerback Xavier Lucas for a loss of 15, giving the ball back to the Badger offense. Yet they didn’t capitalize.

On their next drive, the Ducks had a short field after Atticus Bertrams could only punt it to Wisconsin’s 43. They slowly drove down the field with the help of a few runs, where they took it to the goal line. Yet on 3rd-and-goal, from the 6, defensive coordinator Mike Tressel sent pressure which led to an incomplete pass, forcing Oregon to settle with a field goal.

Even when the Ducks tried a fake field goal with less than two minutes left, the Badgers got a stop and gave the offense one last chance to score.

Cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean deserves recognition, not only for the interception in the first quarter, but also for providing tackles in key situations, especially in the first half.

As does sophomore linebacker Christian Alliegro, who filled in for the injured Jaheim Thomas once again and did a great job of limiting running back.

Despite the pain of the loss, there were plenty of positives to be taken away from the Badgers’ defensive performance.

Now, let’s talk about why the team ultimately came up short, despite everything their defense did.

he defense had such a good outing that the offense really didn’t need to do much at all. But, still, quarterback Braedyn Locke came up short once again and wasn’t able to make the necessary plays his team needed from him.

Once the offensive line began to create running lanes after a few unsuccessful drives to open, the field opened up for Locke. He was able to make a few important plays to put the Badgers in scoring distance, most notably the 43-yard bomb to receiver Vinny Anthony down the sideline, which led to their only touchdown of the day.

But, despite the few plays that Locke was able to make, there were far more opportunities that he left on the field.

The most egregious came early in the second quarter, when the Badgers had their first real chance of the day to put points on the board. Inside of Oregon’s 15-yard-line, Locke had running back Tawee Walker open on a wheel route in the endzone, which would’ve been a sure touchdown. Instead, Locke overthrew him, and the Badgers had to settle for a field goal.

Later on with about two minutes left, the Ducks were only up by a field goal and the Badger offense had a chance to tie the game or even take a lead. Instead, Locke completed a 6-yard pass to Anthony, before throwing three straight incompletions, including a fourth down pass that wasn’t even close to anybody.

To top it all off, the final nail in the coffin came on the final Wisconsin drive, when one of Locke’s passes was tipped at the line and caught by defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei, sealing the game.

Yes, the interception was tipped, and that’s not necessarily his fault, but he still failed to capitalize on the many chances the defense provided him.

“As a competitor, those are the moments you want, [to] put the ball in your hands with a chance to win. To not come out on top is a tough feeling,” Locke said after the game.

This wasn’t a game where the Badgers needed a quarterback to put the entire team on his back and drag them to a victory.

The defense was playing exceptionally well and gave Locke plenty of chances to capitalize. He just needed to make a few key plays. And he couldn’t.

They had the No. 1 team in the country at their mercy, who were begging to give that game away. The opportunity was in front of Locke, and once again, he couldn’t make the necessary plays.

Unsurprisingly, the offense had a challenging first quarter against one of the best and most athletic defensive fronts in the nation. Their first three drives were all three-and-outs, resulting in a total of -3 yards. Things were looking grim for the Badger offense.

But instead of panicking and immediately bailing on the run, like we saw the offense do against Iowa, play-caller Phil Longo stuck to his guns and kept running the ball, which was exactly what the offense needed.

On the fourth series of the game, we saw a resurgence from the offense. They carved out a 13-play, 56-yard drive that lasted five minutes and 52 seconds, ultimately resulting in a desperately needed field goal.

It gave them some footing and control, and showed a level of mental fortitude that the team has lacked in certain games this season.

Two drives later, after the line had begun to give Locke some confidence, he completed a 43-yarder to Anthony to open the game up, eventually leading to their first touchdown of the game.

However, the offensive line’s best drive of the game came during their first possession of the third quarter. It lasted 16 plays and 62 yards, burning an impressive eight minutes and 53 seconds off the clock. But, disappointingly, the drive only ended in a field goal.

All in all, Walker finished with 97 rushing yards on 20 carries, while the team rushed for 130 yards on 3.8 yards per carry.

These aren’t terribly impressive numbers, but against a defense of that caliber, the offensive line did a superb job of opening up rushing lanes and allowing the offense to gain a sense of control over a game that could’ve easily slipped out of their hands.

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