The Oregon Ducks bounced back in a big way following their first loss of the season in Week 7, getting a dominant, 56-10 blowout win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday night. Every unit was clicking in the victory, with the offense putting up 750 yards, and the defense forcing three turnovers while competely shutting down Athan Kaliakmanis.
Now, Oregon will look to continue that dominance back at home in Week 9, and looking at the opponent — the Wisconsin Badgers — it seems like they’ve got a pretty good shot at doing so.
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With their tie-dye uniforms on and the Grateful Dead playing in the background, Oregon is going to once again try and prove that it can be a dominant force against the visiting Badgers. But what can we expect to see from this Luke Fickell team, and in particular, what type of challenges will they present? Let’s dive in.
What do the Wisconsin Badgers do well on offense?
Well…
The simple answer to this question is “not much,” but if you want to really dive into it and try to see the tendencies that Wisconsin has, then we can do that. This is a team that definitely tries to run the ball as much as possible, leaning on guys like Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree. After starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. got injured early in the season, it has been on backup Danny O’Neil to shoulder the load, and he has struggled thus far.
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If we want to be honest about things, then I will state that Wisconsin is a bad offensive football team. They average just 13.3 points per game, which ranks No. 133 out of 136 teams in the FBS, and have been shut out by both the Ohio State Buckeyes and Iowa Hawkeyes in consecutive weeks. Their passing offense ranks No. 125 in the nation, their rushing offense ranks No. 111 in the nation, and they have scored two more points (44) in the last five weeks than the Ducks did in the first half last week against Rutgers (42).
Who are the top players to know about?
QB Danny O’Neil
Stepping in for an injured Billy Edwards Jr., O’Neil has tried to make the offense click in Camp Randall, but to little success. He has completed 61-of-88 passes thus far, throwing five touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s willing to use his legs, but has not had much success on the ground thus far, rushing 47 times for 28 yards and a touchdown.
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RB Dilin Jones
Jones is arguably the best player on this offense, and one of the lone bright spots. He has rushed 76 times for 300 yards and two touchdowns thus far, while also catching nine balls for 21 yards.
WR Vinny Anthony
Vinny Anthony is the leading receiver on this team, with 25 catches for 279 yards and a touchdown so far this year. He’s coming off of a career season in 2024 where he had over 600 yards and four touchdowns, but he’s struggled to produce similar numbers with the Badgers’ anemic offense this year.
TE Lance Mason
Unsurprisingly, Wisconsin has a pretty good tight end making this offense go in Lance Mason. He is the second leading receiver on the team, with 20 catches for 267 yards and two touchdowns. At 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, Mason is a big body who can find some success in mismatches over the middle.
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Are the Oregon Ducks built to stop Wisconsin?
Once again, the very simple answer is “yes.”
When facing elite defenses over the past two weeks in Ohio State and Iowa, Wisconsin has scored a total of zero points. They had just 144 yards of total offense vs. the Buckeyes, and 209 yards against Iowa. With as well as Oregon has defended the pass, it feels safe to say that the Ducks will have very little trouble giving O’Neil a tough time throughout the day. If the Badgers want to lean on the ground game and try to limit posessions, that’s fine, but they will likely find themselves behind the chains early and often.
What should we expect on Saturday?
I expect a blowout. I think there’s a very good chance that Wisconsin gets shut out for the third consecutive week, and that Luke Fickell gets fired after this game. Wisconsin has not shown any sense of an ability to move the ball or score points against even average defenses, and when you consider that the Ducks have one of the best defenses statistically in the nation, this doesn’t feel like a fair fight.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: What the Oregon Ducks should expect from Wisconsin’s offense
