The Wisconsin Badgers travel to SEC country for their first road game of the season, taking on the No. 19 Alabama Crimson Tide, who are riding an 85-game winning streak at home against unranked opponents. Kickoff is at 11:00 A.M. CT on ABC, with the Badgers being 21.5-point underdogs.
Last Saturday, the Badgers woke up in the second half to dominate the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 42-10 at Camp Randall Stadium. Danny O’Neil completed 23-of-27 passes for 283 yards, setting a school record for most
yards in a Wisconsin quarterback’s first start.
What should Badgers fans know about the Alabama Crimson Tide?
Opponent Preview
Alabama took care of business in a big way by rolling over Louisiana-Monroe 73-0 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. It was a much-needed response for Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide, who suffered a disastrous upset loss to unranked Florida State 31-17 in Week 1, in which their effort on defense was questioned. That loss led to a players-only meeting, which DeBoer dropped in on, to address the lack of energy apparent in the Tide’s loss in Tallahassee.
Junior Ty Simpson is the Crimson Tide’s new starting quarterback. The former Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year has thrown for 480 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Against ULM, Simpson completed 17 passes out of 17 attempts for 226 yards.
Jam Miller, Alabama’s second-leading rusher from last season, will be a game-time decision after missing the first two games with a collarbone injury. Stepping up in Miller’s place is redshirt freshman Kevin Riley. Riley leads the Crimson Tide with 100 total rushing yards. Last Saturday, Riley rushed for 69 yards on 11 carries and even caught six passes for 45 yards.
Senior Germie Bernard is the Crimson Tide’s current leader with 213 receiving yards. Against Florida State, Bernard was one of the lone bright spots for Alabama, as he caught eight passes for 146 yards. Ryan Williams, a superstar freshman from 2024 and preseason All-American, is expected to play after missing last week’s game with a concussion.
Alabama should feature another solid offensive line, but there are significant question marks. Star left tackle Kayden Proctor has been off to a rough start.
In the transfer portal, the Tide added former Texas A&M Aggie Kam Dewberry, who has started the first two games at left guard. Center Parker Brailsford was one of three Tide offensive linemen given SEC Preseason honors. Another SEC-preseason honoree, Jaeden Roberts, has split time with former Michigan State Spartan Geno VanDeMark at right guard. At right tackle is Wilkin Formby, but he is now in a competition with five-star freshman Michael Carroll.
Defensively, the Crimson Tide endured injuries to starting defensive lineman Tim Keenan III and Jeremiah Beaman, who DeBoer expects to be out for the year. Keenan III is a game-time decision.
Senior linebacker Deontae Lawson, who was second on Alabama’s defense with 76 total tackles behind 2025 first-round draft pick Jihaad Campbell, leads the Crimson Tide with 10 tackles in 2025.
Score Prediction
The good news for Luke Fickell’s squad is that this Crimson Tide team has failed to live up to the Alabama standard this year, showing some signs of vulnerability. The bad news is that this game is in Tuscaloosa against an Alabama team with renewed energy and focus.
Last season, the Crimson Tide delivered the Badgers the first of many embarrassing defeats in 2024. Wisconsin, with revenge on their mind, should keep this game close in the first half, but the Badgers do not have the offense to go toe-to-toe with the Crimson Tide for four quarters.
Prediction: 38-17 Alabama
