(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – The Wisconsin football team (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) posted a 31-10 win over Rutgers (2-7, 1-5) on Saturday night inside Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, marking UW’s seventh-straight home win.
Wisconsin clinched bowl eligibility with the win. The Badgers last played in a bowl game at the conclusion of the 2024 season (ReliaQuest Bowl vs. LSU).
Wisconsin outscored Rutgers, 18-0, in the second half of QB Ryan Hopkins’ first career start to pull away with the win and extend their all-time win streak against Rutgers to 7-0. Hopkins ended the game 18 for 24, with 241 yards and three touchdown passes.
The Badgers struck first, setting themselves up at Rutgers’ 21-yard line midway through the first quarter. From there, true freshman Hopkins, who was making his first start as a Badger, delivered a strike to WR Eugene Hilton Jr. to connect for a 21-yard touchdown pass down the middle. The score was Hopkins’ first of his career.
Following a Rutgers field goal, OLB Sebastian Cheeks’ seventh sack of the season dragged Rutgers back six yards, ultimately forcing a punt that placed Wisconsin on the Knights’ 47-yard line. The Badgers capitalized on the position and pulled ahead, 10-3, on a 51-yard field goal by K Gavin Lahm. The kick tied Lahm’s career long; his previous 51-yarder came earlier this season against Western Illinois on Sep. 12.
After Rutgers tied the game with a 30-yard touchdown pass, Wisconsin retook the lead with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half by fighting their way back down the field. Lahm finished the drive with a 26-yard conversion to make the score 13-10 at the half.
Coming out of the break, Lahm was quickly given another opportunity to extend the Badgers’ lead. The senior kicked a 22-yard field goal to cap off UW’s opening drive. With his third successful kick, Lahm matched his career-high, also set against Western Illinois.
Up 16-10, Wisconsin pulled even further ahead on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Hopkins to TE Ryan Schwendeman. A successful 2-point conversion attempt put the Badgers up 24-10. The score maintained Wisconsin’s streak of scoring at least 24 points in every game they’ve played against the Scarlet Knights.
The Badgers delivered the final blow in the fourth quarter when TE Jacob Harris caught a short pass from Hopkins and made an explosive 66-yard run down the side to score.
The 31-10 score stood to the end when Rutgers was shut out of the half by UW’s defense. This season, Wisconsin has now outscored opponents 109-54 in the second half.
Hopkins’ 241 yards were the most for a Badger QB in their starting debut since Danny O’Neil against Middle Tennessee on Sep. 6, 2025 (283) and the most for a starting freshman since RS Graham Mertz vs. Illinois on Oct. 23, 2020 (248).
WR Shamar Rigby led the game in receiving yards with 71, followed closely by the 70 yards posted by Harris.
Defensively, LB Cooper Catalano led with 14 total stops. Cheeks has now tallied seven sacks on the season, which is amongst the top ten highest number of sacks by a Badger in a season in the last 10 years.
Up Next: Wisconsin will travel to Maryland to play the Terrapins on Saturday Nov. 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT, live on FS1. The Badgers will be back in Madison for the season finale against Minnesota on Friday, Nov. 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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