Coming off its first Big Ten win since September 2025, Maryland football has the opportunity to make it two wins on the trot. Beyond that, though, progress is being measured in other ways by those within the program — including the level of buy-in for a fresh start.
“They trusted those in the building who literally tried to turn a program completely backwards and just try some different things that we believed in, just to get guys going,” head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim said following the win over Purdue.
“We talked about this being our new season, and so now we’re 1-1, and we look forward to playing Wisconsin.”
The Badgers are the very team that Maryland beat 14 games ago before its losing streak started, although there has been significant roster turnover in Madison. Wisconsin has seen more success this year, making the task of repeating tall for the Terps as they return to SECU Stadium clinging to the last strands of hope for bowl eligibility.
The game between the Terps and the Badgers is set to kick off at noon ET and will air on FS1.
Wisconsin Badgers (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten)
2025 record: 4-8, 2-7 Big Ten
When Maryland and Wisconsin met last year, Mike Locksley and Badgers head coach Luke Fickell had two of the hottest seats in college football.
The first coach to get a Group of 5 team into the College Football Playoff, having guided Cincinnati there in 2021, Fickell was a hot commodity in the coaching market. But under his leadership, the team’s record dropped from 7-5 in 2023 to 5-7 in 2024, causing Wisconsin to miss a bowl game for the first time in 22 years, and another regression to a 4-8 record in 2025 did little to quell concerns.
In 2026, the coaches experienced wildly different trajectories. Locksley’s team continued to skid until he eventually left the program. Fickell, meanwhile, got Wisconsin moving. After a thumping by Notre Dame in the season opener, the Badgers rattled off four straight wins, matching their 2025 conference win total by Oct. 3.
Now, they have secured a bowl game berth with a quarter of the season to go, which has cooled the temperature of Fickell’s seat — but not extinguished the flames entirely. Wisconsin scored a combined seven points in road games against then-No. 12 UCLA and Iowa, leading some around the program to question how long the good times will last.
Players to watch
Ryan Hopkins, freshman quarterback, No. 10 — With Wisconsin’s offense faltering, Fickell sat senior Colton Joseph and rolled the true freshman Hopkins out for his first career start on Nov. 7 against Rutgers. Hopkins promptly earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award, going 18-of-24 for 241 yards and three touchdowns as a true pocket passer.
Sebastian Cheeks, fifth-year outside linebacker, No. 15 — The three-year Badger has seven sacks on the season, good for third in the Big Ten, and has forced two fumbles and deflected two passes. Cheeks has risen to the moment in conference play, recording 4.5 of those sacks over his last three games.
Cooper Catalano, sophomore linebacker, No. 44 — In the middle of the Badgers’ defense, Catalano soaks up a lot of action: his 90 tackles on the year are the most of any player in the Big Ten. The Wisconsin native also has five tackles for loss, a forced fumble, three pass breakups and three quarterback hits.
Strength
Pass defense. The Badgers do a good job at badgering opposing quarterbacks, allowing just 185 passing yards per game. Wisconsin grabbed seven interceptions and allowed just seven touchdowns, the second-lowest number in the conference.
Weakness
Rushing. Wisconsin ranks in the lower half of the Big Ten in the run game, with Joseph, the Badgers’ seemingly now-benched quarterback, their leading rusher on the season. Outside of him, the Badgers have just 858 rushing yards for five touchdowns. No single running back has more than 71 yards in a conference game — against Rutgers, the team totaled 138 rushing yards, with no single player clearing 40.
Three things to watch
1. Can Maryland’s offense stay on the field? Despite beating Purdue, the Terps were outdone in most raw statistical categories offensively. The most critical disparity was in the number of plays run — Maryland had just 45 plays on the game to the Boilermakers’ 80.
Part of that comes down to the efficiency of a few big-play scores, but in order for the defense to stay fresh and not falter as it did against the Boilermakers, Maryland will need to sustain possessions and gain more than 12 first downs.
2. What can the Terps do on third down? Maryland has converted just over 36% of its third downs on the season, which ranks outside the top 100 teams in FBS. However, in two games under increasingly influential offensive coordinator Clint Trickett, the Terps have completed 11 of 24 third-down attempts for a 46% success rate. Continued improvement there could be critical for a Maryland win.
3. Streaks are made to be broken. The Badgers have won just one of their last nine conference road games — a 24-20 victory over then-No. 13 Penn State in September. However, five of those nine games have come against ranked opponents. Maryland, meanwhile, hasn’t won a home Big Ten game in over two years.
