Wisconsin Badgers working through QB 'competition' to determine starter vs Ohio State

Luke Fickell doesn't have a concrete timeline for injured Wisconsin Badgers QB Billy Edwards Jr. to return, and it's up in the air whether backup Danny O'Neil or third-stringer Hunter Simmons will take his place.

Oct 11, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Hunter Simmons (15) drops back to pass in the first quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. | Ross Harried-Imagn Images

A lack of clarity at the quarterback position is never a good place to be. That issue is magnified for the Wisconsin Badgers, with the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes coming to town.

Luke Fickell doesn't have a concrete timeline for injured starter Billy Edwards Jr. to return, and it's up in the air whether backup Danny O'Neil or third-stringer Hunter Simmons will take his place.

During his Monday press conference, the head coach indicated it will be an ongoing battle to see how starts Saturday for the Badgers.

Related: Luke Fickell sets the record straight on QB Billy Edwards' injury recovery, timeline

“There'll be some version of ‘Hey, let's see what we've got,’” Fickell said. ”There's a little bit of a competition that's always got to be able to go on.”

Simmons started the last two games against Michigan and Iowa, but he threw three interceptions without a touchdown and completed just over 50 percent of his passes.

He had replaced O'Neil as the starter after Edwards went down, with Wisconsin looking for a spark under center.

Wisconsin quarterback Hunter Simmons had a QBR of 0.8 last week.

Lining up every play and throwing the ball into the dirt 20 times in a row would yield a 0.0 QBR as a point of reference.

— Ian Kenyon (@ikenyonFB) October 14, 2025

O'Neil had a strong showing in Week 2 against Middle Tennessee State, but he struggled against Alabama and Maryland, leading to the switch to Simmons.

Playing against ranked opponents like Alabama and Michigan might not be fair evaluations of each quarterback, but neither played well against unranked Big Teams in Maryland and Iowa.

Now, they have a week of practice to determine who the best option will be to face a Buckeyes team expected to dominate whoever lines up under center for the Badgers.

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