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Wisconsin Badgers' top opponents still figuring out quarterback battles at fall camp

Three of the Wisconsin Badgers' most daunting opponents on the football schedule are only just now starting to figure out their quarterback situations.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is shown during the first quarter of their game against Alabama Saturday, September 14, 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is shown during the first quarter of their game against Alabama Saturday, September 14, 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers' football schedule has gotten no shortage of attention for how difficult it looks on paper.

Yet, three of the most daunting opponents on the schedule are only just now starting to figure out their quarterback situations.

The Alabama Crimson Tide announced Monday that redshirt junior Ty Simpson will be their starter under center. He was competing with Austin Mack, who had followed head coach Kalen DeBoer from Washington.

Simpson now gets a late start toward solidifying his role as a leader in their offense and strengthening his chemistry with the starting receivers.

It's the same dynamic Tyler Van Dyke dealt with last year in the Badgers' quarterback battle with Braedyn Locke.

Luke Fickell was intentional about avoiding that this time around with Billy Edwards Jr., naming the transfer quarterback as starter from the get-go.

Later on the Badgers' schedule, Ohio State and Michigan still have yet to name their starting quarterbacks for the regular season.

Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore said Tuesday he won't announce a starter until just before the season opener.

The team is widely expected to start five-star true freshman Bryce Underwood, but it's harder for a young quarterback like him to lead his veteran teammates without that explicit endorsement from his head coach.

For the Buckeyes, Ryan Day recently said his QB competition will go "right down to the wire" and is currently too close to call.

The head coach is painting the situation as both Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz looking impressive and making it difficult on the coaching staff, but John Madden is credited with once pointing out "If you have two quarterbacks, you have none."

In all likelihood, delayed decisions on starting quarterbacks won't derail Alabama, Michigan or Ohio State this season. But if they have any doubts or slow starts under center, that could make Wisconsin's matchups just a little bit easier than they initially appear on paper.

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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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