Wisconsin, in the midst of a five-game losing streak, couldn’t have found a worse time to visit No. 6 Oregon.
The Badgers, held scoreless in blowout defeats the past two games, will oppose the Ducks on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.
Oregon (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) is coming off a blowout win at Rutgers, 56-10 in a game that had a 42-3 halftime score. The Ducks, riding the nation’s longest active road winning streak at 10 games, will look to start a new home winning streak after their run of 18 straight was ended by then-No. 7 Indiana on Oct. 11.
The Ducks rolled up 750 yards of total offense against Rutgers, 415 of those on the ground. Noah Whittington totaled three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) and ran for 125 yards in the Ducks’ 36th straight win over an unranked opponent.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning hopes his team can generate the type of explosive plays it did at Rutgers, where the Ducks averaged 12.3 yards per play.
“You’re not always going to have explosive runs against a team like (Wisconsin),” Lanning said on Monday. “So we’ve got to try to find out if we can find some of those, manipulate some of those opportunities, but take what the defense gives you as well, right? So if they’re heavy to the run, that may give you more opportunities to be able to throw the ball as well.”
While the Ducks are one of the top programs in the Big Ten, the Badgers (2-5, 0-4) not as formidable as their history has shown.
The Badgers have battled injuries and inconsistency all season, and they were crushed 37-0 by visiting Iowa on Oct. 11, and again at home last week, falling 34-0 to No. 1 Ohio State. That and a 10-game losing streak against Power 4 conference programs has led to questions whether coach Luke Fickell should remain at his job, but athletic director and former player Chris McIntosh released a statement on Monday supporting Fickell.
“While our coaches, staff and student athletes continue to demonstrate the work ethic and values that represent UW Football, the results simply are not where any of us want them to be,” McIntosh said in his statement. “Coach Fickell sees the potential in what this team can be, as do I, and he shares the same disappointment and frustration.”
Fickell was asked if he was given reassurances that he would be at the helm next season.
“I have not been told,” he said. “I’m not worried about that. I understand if we don’t meet expectations and we don’t do the things we need to do, anything can happen.
“… I know how everybody feels. I live it every single day of every minute. I know the guys in that locker room do the same thing. But we’ve got to find ways to continue to push ourselves forward and find ways to continue to get better.”
The Badgers look likely to stick with Hunter Simmons and Danny O’Neil at quarterback this week as Billy Edwards Jr. continues to deal with a knee sprain.
Oregon will be without running back Jayden Limar for the second week in a row due to an undisclosed injury. Limar has produced 249 yards and three touchdowns on a team-high 42 carries.
The Ducks and Badgers have squared off in some notable games. On its way to the Big Ten championship last season, Oregon edged Wisconsin 16-13 in Madison, Wis. The Ducks also defeated the Russell Wilson-led Badgers 45-38 in a back-and-forth slugfest in the 2012 Rose Bowl, and Justin Herbert guided Oregon to a comeback 28-27 win over Wisconsin in the 2020 Rose Bowl.
Oregon leads the all-time series 4-3.
