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Biggest questions facing Wisconsin Badgers after 38-14 loss to Alabama

The Badgers' loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide left them with more questions than answers, but Wisconsin will need to figure them out quickly to turn the season around.
Lorin Cox|
Sep 13, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back AK Dear (0) tries to outrun Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Ricardo Hallman (2) during the second half at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Sep 13, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back AK Dear (0) tries to outrun Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Ricardo Hallman (2) during the second half at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. | David Leong-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are trying to pick up the pieces after a 38-14 thumping by the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.

So many things went wrong for UW that need to be cleaned up as Big Ten play starts next week, and the team left Tuscaloosa with more questions than answers.

Here are four of the biggest questions they need to figure out, moving forward:

Will this loss linger and cascade?

Luke Fickell can't allow the let down of an ugly loss to the Crimson Tide follow them into Week 4 against Maryland.

It would be natural for an individual player to be down on themselves and lose some confidence from a performance like that, but the Badgers have to put it behind them quickly and move on.

That doesn't mean ignoring everything that went wrong against Alabama, but it's about acknowledging that how they played on Saturday isn't how they're going to play every week.

With Maryland coming to town on Saturday, the Terrapins see Wisconsin as vulnerable coming off of the loss.

Fickell can't let that be the case.

Who's going to play center?

Three different centers snapped the ball for Wisconsin against Alabama. It's anyone's guess as to who will start the next game.

When healthy, sixth-year senior Jake Renfro is the unquestioned starter, but his availability has been a major question mark the last two weeks.

He sat out Week 2 against Middle Tennessee State and was a gametime decision against the Crimson Tide.

He started on Saturday but then left with an injury in the second quarter before later returning. He didn't look 100 percent for the rest of the game.

His immediate backup, Kerry Kodanko, played one snap before he was replaced by redshirt freshman Ryan Cory.

Fickell indicated Kodanko's departure was injury related, too, so this week of practice will be key to determine who is healthy enough to start and how that will impact the depth chart.

Do Badgers have a secondary problem?

The back end of the Wisconsin defense was exposed against Alabama, creating a ton of questions about how good that unit actually is.

The cornerbacks and safeties had played well against Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee State, but the first time they faced a quality opponent, they were embarassed.

It's easy to chalk that up to facing a five-star quarterback and five-star receivers, but the Badgers front seven held up well in run defense despite the talent gap they were facing.

According to PFF, Ricardo Hallman, Geimere Lattimere and Preston Zachman each gave up over 45 passing yards and allowed at least three catches.

Redshirt freshman Omillio Agard also had a missed tackle on the play where he allowed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Germie Bernard.

They have plenty of blame to go around, which also means, it's harder to correct. They need to figure something out quickly, because the schedule doesn't get much easier from here.

Will Billy Edwards Jr. return for a revenge game?

Danny O'Neil started to look like a backup quarterback again in Tuscaloosa. It might not be a fair game to judge him by, but quieted any talks of a quarterback controversy as the Badgers await the return of their starter.

Week 4 against Maryland would be the perfect game for Billy Edwards Jr. to return against his former team.

QB1 seemed to be making progress as he traveled with the team for the road game and did some warmups on the field, but Fickell hasn't provided any concrete updates on Edwards' timeline.

Wisconsin has a bye week after this next game, so it could be tempting to give the starter one more extra week off to get as close to 100 percent as he can before tougher matchups with Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon on the horizon.

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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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