2025 Maryland football opponent preview: Wisconsin Badgers

Ahmed Ghafir
8 hours ago
3 min read

Date: Sept. 20

Venue: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI

2024 record: 5-7

Series history: Wisconsin leads 4-0

Coaching staff: Luke Fickell (13-13, 4^th season)

Who to know: QB Billy Edwards Jr., RB Dilin Jones, LB Christian Alliegro, CB Ricardo Hallman

Offense

The day will eventually come when Maryland lines up against a familiar face, and the first one of the season will come on Sept. 20 when QB Billy Edwards lines up opposite of the Terps as he settles in as the Badgers’ expected starting quarterback. With former Kansas assistant Jeff Grimes taking over as OC in 2025, the run game is expected to be a big focus for the Badgers with a pair of young backs looking to take over the unit. Edwards won’t be the only familiar name for Maryland fans with former Good Counsel RB – and Maryland target – Dilin Jones leading the Badgers’ rushing attack alongside freshman Darrion Dupree. In the passing game, Edwards will have a restocked unit with Ohio State WR transfer Jayden Ballard among the five offseason additions at the position, but the big name returning is 6-foot senior receiver Vinny Anthony, who led the team in receiving yards in 2024 and led the Big Ten in yards per target in man coverage. But in traditional fashion, the Badgers will enter the season with one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten with a trio of starters back and five upperclassmen leading the way with junior RT Riley Mahlman drawing preseason All-Big Ten honors.

Defense

The Badgers were untraditionally bad stopping the run in 2024, finishing only ahead of Purdue. To fix that, defensive coordinator Jeff Grimes added plenty of Power Four experience to the trenches. Though they lost edge James Thompson within the conference, the Badgers loaded up through the portal along the defensive line with Tyreese Fearbry (Kentucky), Jay'viar Suggs (LSU), Mason Reiger (Louisville), Parker Petersen (Tulane) and Michael Garner (Georgia) among others headed to Madison.

Juniors Parker Peterson and Ben Barten Jr. are also back to add to a veteran defensive line under assistant EJ Whitlow, while Christian Alliegro returns to anchor the Badgers' linebacker unit. Sixth-year strong safety Preston Zachman is back after posting a career-high 58 tackles in 2024 along with a pair of interceptions, while junior CB Ricardo Hallman Jr. gives the Badgers their top cornerback back after posting eight interceptions in through two seasons. They’re among four returning starters to what could be a strong backline for the Badgers after finishing with the fifth fewest passing yards allowed per game in 2024. Coupled with the added size in the trenches, they’ll pose a challenge to Maryland to close out September.

Matchup to watch: battle in the trenches

This will be the first game of the season where Maryland’s revamped offensive and defensive lines will truly be tested. Looking for their first win against the Badgers, Wisconsin’s OL boasts 86 combined career starts heading into 2025 with 56 of those from the two expected starting tackles - redshirt senior Riley Mahlman and Central Michigan transfer Davis Heinzen. There’s quiet optimism around a young, unproven yet athletic pass rush in College Park and they’ll get a chance to see whether that comes to fruition in an effort to force the Badgers into a one-dimensional game.

Wisconsin’s defense took a dip in 2024 but with eight returning starters and the portal boosting the trenches, they’ll serve as a big test for a Maryland offense looking to maintain momentum at the start of Big Ten play. Maryland has addressed the offensive line through the transfer portal with LT Rahtrel Perry and OL Carlos Moore expected to upgrade the unit, but how they stack up will be tested against a deep Badger front.

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