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4 things we learned in Wisconsin Badgers 38-14 loss to Alabama Crimson Tide

The Wisconsin Badgers weren't supposed to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in their Week 3 matchup, but they were supposed to keep it a little closer.
Lorin Cox|
Sep 13, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Germie Bernard (5) avoids a tackle by Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Ricardo Hallman (2) during the second quarter at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Sep 13, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Germie Bernard (5) avoids a tackle by Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Ricardo Hallman (2) during the second quarter at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. | David Leong-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers weren't supposed to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in their Week 3 matchup, but they were supposed to keep it a little closer.

Saturday's 38-14 loss wasn't quite as embarrassing as last year's 42-10 loss, but it didn't represent as much progress as Luke Fickell was hoping to see.

It taught us a lot about this Wisconsin team and how much work they still have cut out for them.

Talent gap too big

The Badgers' roster is improved from where they were a year ago, but they still don't have the sheer overall talent to stack up with a team like Alabama.

The Crimson Tide's four- and five-star receivers were too much for Wisconsin's secondary, and the size and strength of the Alabama defensive line helped them control the line of scrimmage.

Even when Danny O'Neil would start to get some offensive momentum, the Crimson Tide defense always seemed to have an answer.

Add in some of the self-inflicted wounds like penalties and turnovers, and it was too much for the Badgers to overcome.

Secondary not as strong as we thought

Wisconsin fans were feeling good about the defense coming into this matchup, with two senior safeties and a senior cornerback playing well to start the season.

The secondary was completely exposed against Alabama.

Ty Simpson had one of the most dominant quarterback performances you'll see all season, completing over 80 percent of his passes for nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns.

Wide receiver Ryan Williams re-entered the national spotlight with five catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

It wasn't the Crimson Tide just picking on a redshirt freshman cornerback like Omillio Agard. The Badgers secondary was full of missed tackles, bad angles and a lack of speed to make up for their mistakes.

Not every offense they face will have the firepower of Alabama, but this Wisconsin secondary was humbled on Saturday.

Run defense is as good as advertised

For as much as the back end of the defense struggled, Wisconsin's front seven was much more stout.

The pass rush wasn't as productive as it had been in recent weeks, but the Badgers took away Alabama's ground game and made them one dimensional.

It turned out that one remaining dimension was dominant, but that doesn't detract from the quality run defense that will be especially important with Big Ten play about to start.

The Crimson Tide's leading rusher was their quarterback with 25 yards. On handoffs, Alabama ball-carriers averaged fewer than three yards per carry.

Against a ranked opponent, that's a win for the Badgers defense, even if it's only a small consolation prize.

Offensive line problems aren't going away

The Badgers can't count on their offensive line problems to be solved this season. The emphasis should be on how they work to overcome the issues that aren't going to go away.

Center Jake Renfro did not look 100 percent as he went in and out of the game with an injury, and Wisconsin doesn't have a reliable option available behind him.

The coaching staff quickly went to third-string center Ryan Cory before Renfro returned.

On the right side of the line, redshirt freshmen guard Colin Cubberly and tackle Emerson Mandell continue to experience the growing pains of young linemen that you hope improve over time but will require patience.

A matchup against Alabama might not be the fairest evaluation for the group, but the schedule doesn't get much easier for the Badgers, and the offense will struggle to get going without competent blocking in the trenches.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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