Wisconsin defender named Big Ten Player of the Week after a career performance

MADISON, Wis. - Following his three-sack performance in his final home game, Wisconsin outside linebacker Darryl Peterson was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, the Big Ten announced Monday.

Peterson had three of Wisconsin’s five sacks of Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer, as the Badgers held No.21 Illinois to 298 total yards in a 27-10 upset on Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium.

Interviewed on the field after the game by the Big Ten Network, Peterson, who also had six tackles, two pass deflections, two quarterback hurries, and a forced fumble, was surrounded by fans and students who stormed the field and chanted "MVP" as he spoke.

Darryl got defensive 😤

Wisconsin's Darryl Peterson is your Week 13 defensive player of the week.

📍 @ifs x #PlayerOfTheWeek pic.twitter.com/pSGV054Xgg
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 24, 2025

The performance continues what has been a late surge for Peterson. Having just one sack in the first nine games of the season, which came in the Aug. 28 opener against Miami (Ohio), Peterson had 2.5 sacks against Indiana.

He’s the first Badger to have multiple sacks in back-to-back games since Nick Herbig in 2022. The last time a UW defender finished with three sacks in one game was Herbig against Iowa on November 12, 2021.

"I was playing well but guys on the edge, they want sacks," Peterson said. "I took a deep dive, looked in the mirror, I'm like when it's going to happen. I only have three more games here."

With Wisconsin holding a 10-7 halftime lead, Peterson spoke to the team before retaking the field about the importance of not being complacent. The prior week, Wisconsin trailed No.2 Indiana, 10-7, at halftime but were outscored 21-0 in Bloomington.

Following Peterson's speech, the Badgers' defense held the Illini to three points and 14 rushing yards in the second half.

“I wanted us to keep that killer instinct,” Peterson said. “Let’s finish them and we got them where we want them. Let’s not be happy because we scored 10 points in the first half ... We had a pretty good first half and I wanted to play a complete game, a four-quarter game. I think we did that.”

The Badgers earned five sacks for the third consecutive game, all against ranked opponents. The last time Wisconsin finished with five or more sacks in a game versus a ranked foe was in 2021. The Badgers have not posted 5.0+ sacks in 3 straight games since at least 2005.

The victory over the Illini continues Wisconsin's late-season surge. Including the victory over No.23 Washington earlier this month, Wisconsin beat a pair of ranked teams at Camp Randall for the first time since the 2019 season. The Badgers defeated No. 11 Michigan and No. 18 Iowa that season.

"We've done a great job of playing together," Peterson said. "When you look back at some of the plays we didn't make, a lot of it has to do with execution. The last couple of weeks, execution has been at an all-time high."

Peterson joins senior safety Preston Zachman (Sept.1) and freshman linebacker Cooper Catalano (Nov. 10) as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honorees. Freshman linebacker Mason Posa was also previously named Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Nov.10).

Wisconsin will close the regular season with a road game at Minnesota on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium. The all-time series between the two school is tied at 63-63-8 after the Gophers' 24-7 win in Madison last season.

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