CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 Wisconsin

4–⁠8 (2–⁠7 Big Ten), coached by Luke Fickell.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2025, game by game: won vs. Miami (OH) 17–0; won vs. Middle Tennessee 42–10; lost at No. 19 Alabama 14–38; lost vs. Maryland 10–27; lost at No. 20 Michigan 10–24; lost vs. Iowa 0–37; lost vs. No. 1 Ohio State 0–34; lost at No. 6 Oregon 7–21; won vs. No. 24 Washington 13–10; lost at No. 2 Indiana 7–31; won vs. Illinois 27–10; lost at Minnesota 7–17+32−37Won 17–0 vs. Miami (OH)+17Miami (OH)Won 42–10 vs. Middle Tennessee+32Middle TennesseeLost 14–38 at No. 19 Alabama-24No. 19 AlabamaLost 10–27 vs. Maryland-17MarylandLost 10–24 at No. 20 Michigan-14No. 20 MichiganLost 0–37 vs. Iowa-37IowaLost 0–34 vs. No. 1 Ohio State-34No. 1 Ohio StateLost 7–21 at No. 6 Oregon-14No. 6 OregonWon 13–10 vs. No. 24 Washington+3No. 24 WashingtonLost 7–31 at No. 2 Indiana-24No. 2 IndianaWon 27–10 vs. Illinois+17IllinoisLost 7–17 at Minnesota-10Minnesota
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsMiami (OH)W 17–⁠046%
Sep 6vsMiddle TennesseeW 42–⁠1082%
Sep 13at19AlabamaL 14–⁠3831%
Sep 20vsMarylandL 10–⁠2758%
Oct 4at20MichiganL 10–⁠2422%
Oct 11vsIowaL 0–⁠3739%
Oct 18vs1Ohio StateL 0–⁠3413%
Oct 25at6OregonL 7–⁠2110%
Nov 8vs24WashingtonW 13–⁠1029%
Nov 15at2IndianaL 7–⁠3111%
Nov 22vsIllinoisW 27–⁠1034%
Nov 29atMinnesotaL 7–⁠1734%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Minnesota 17–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 14th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 100th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠7 tied for 14th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
154–⁠259
Coach
Luke Fickell
Elo
1474 −21 this season
SP+ rating
-4.4 No. 85 of 136; offense No. 122, defense No. 34, special teams No. 93
SRS
2.3 No. 62 of 136 in FBS
Returning
40% of last season’s EPA, No. 61 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 27 roster talent No. 28 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jeff Grimes
Defensive coordinator
Mike Tressel
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense129th of 136
  • Defense78th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted115th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted49th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0837%1.22129th of 136
Defense0.1245%1.1578th of 136
Opponent-adjusted-0.01 off
0.07 def		39% off
42% def		—115th off
49th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense42%6.6 yds13%3.1016%
Defense49%6.4 yds7%2.9019%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense2.3own 2818% allowed
Defense3.1own 2913% caused

CORE rating -6.8, 88th of 136 (offense -11.2, defense -4.4).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsHunter Simmons QB664 yds
Passing touchdownsDanny O’Neil QB5 TD
Rushing yardsDarrion Dupree RB363 yds
Rushing touchdownsDarrion Dupree RB2 TD
Receiving yardsLance Mason TE398 yds
Receiving touchdownsLance Mason TE4 TD
TacklesMason Posa LB57 tkl
SacksDarryl Peterson LB6.5 sacks
InterceptionsPreston Zachman DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Mason Posa LB★★★★No. 221
Nicolas Clayton DE★★★★No. 226
Jaylen Williams DL★★★★No. 264
Carter Smith QB★★★★No. 287
Hardy Watts OL★★★★No. 366
Logan Powell OL★★★★No. 391
Jai’mier Scott ATH★★★★No. 396

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.907
Receivers33.00.873
Offensive line53.40.887
Defensive line53.40.888
Linebackers23.50.896
Defensive backs33.00.865
Athletes and specialists33.30.886
Whole class223.30.884

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 116

The 2025 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 18

The 2025 portal
Jay’Viar Suggs DL★★★★from LSU
Tyreese Fearbry DE★★★★from Kentucky
Charles Perkins DL★★★from UT Martin
Mason Reiger DE★★★from Louisville
Michael Garner DE★★★from Grambling
Parker Peterson DL★★★from Tulane
Billy Edwards QB★★★from Maryland
Matthew Jung S★★★from Bethel
Dyoni Hill CB★★★from Miami
Danny O’Neil QB★★★from San Diego State
Davis Heinzen OL★★★from Central Michigan
Dekel Crowdus WR★★★from Hawai’i

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 33

Xavier Lucas CB★★★★to Miami
James Thompson Jr. DL★★★★to Illinois
Tanner Koziol TE★★★★to Houston
Mark Hamper WR★★★to California
Anelu Lafaele DE★★★to Michigan State
Leon Lowery DE★★★to Illinois
Derek Jensen OT★★★to Iowa State
Tawee Walker RB★★★to Cincinnati
C.J. Williams WR★★★to Stanford
Tyler Van Dyke QB★★★to SMU
Will Pauling WR★★★to Notre Dame
Braedyn Locke QB★★★to Arizona

And 21 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

1 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2025 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2025 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Indiana9–⁠016–⁠01
Ohio State9–⁠012–⁠25
Oregon8–⁠113–⁠24
Michigan7–⁠29–⁠421
USC7–⁠29–⁠420
Iowa6–⁠39–⁠417
Illinois5–⁠49–⁠4
Washington5–⁠49–⁠4
Minnesota5–⁠48–⁠5
Nebraska4–⁠57–⁠6
Northwestern4–⁠57–⁠6
Penn State3–⁠67–⁠6
UCLA3–⁠63–⁠9
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠7
Wisconsin2–⁠74–⁠8
Michigan State1–⁠84–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠84–⁠8
Purdue0–⁠92–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.