The Wisconsin Badgers take on the sixth-ranked Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium this Saturday. Kickoff is at 6:00 P.M. CT on Fox Sports 1, and the Ducks are 31.5-point favorites.
For the second straight home game, the Wisconsin Badgers were shut out by a Big Ten Conference foe. The Badgers’ 34-0 loss to No. 1 Ohio State was Wisconsin’s ninth straight loss in conference games dating back to last year. After the game, Chris McIntosh released a letter to the fanbase in support of Luke Fickell and plans
to increase the football budget.
That letter, by the way, was mocked by Stewart Mandel of The Athletic as “a two-page masterclass in gaslighting.”
So with all of that out of the way, what should Badgers fans know about the Oregon Ducks?
Opponent Preview
Dan Lanning and the Ducks were rolling. Oregon was coming off a bye week after going into Happy Valley and defeating then-no. 3 Penn State 30-24 in double overtime. The Ducks were favored to beat seventh-ranked Indiana at home on October 11th, but the Hoosiers had other plans, handing Oregon its first Big Ten Conference regular-season loss, 30-20.
How did Oregon respond to that disappointing loss? By obliterating Rutgers in Piscataway, 56-10.
Quarterback Dante Moore is considered a top-10 draft prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft. The junior signal caller has thrown for 1,686 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. Moore bounced back from his only multi-interception game of the season against Indiana with four touchdown passes at Rutgers last Saturday.
The Ducks are among the nation’s best in total offense, averaging 505.1 yards per game, thanks in part to a running game that ranks ninth in the country. Four running backs have over 200 total rushing yards, with Noah Whittington leading the team with 336 rushing yards. Whittington is coming off his best game of the season last Saturday with 11 carries for 125 yards.
Coming into this season, the Ducks wondered who would step up at the wide receiver position. Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden are now in the NFL, and Evan Stewart suffered a torn patellar tendon before the season. True freshman wideout Dakorien Moore leads Oregon with 398 receiving yards, but tight end Kenyon Sadiq is considered the top target in the passing game. Sadiq leads the Ducks with five receiving touchdowns.
Tosh Lupoi’s defense comes into this game allowing 245.6 yards per game, good for sixth in the country, and leads the Big Ten with 35 pass deflections. Fourth-year linebacker Bryce Boettcher leads them with 57 total tackles, while Matayo Uiangalalei leads Oregon with four sacks. One name to keep in mind is true freshman cornerback Brandon Finney Jr.
From James Crepea of The Oregonian/OregonLive:
“Finney has 13 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception return for touchdown through the first half of the season. His 11.8 passer rating when targeted leads all FBS corners with at least 100 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.”
Score Prediction
This one is going to get ugly.
Prediction: 45-3 Oregon
