The Wisconsin Badger football team plays their first road game of 2025 Saturday as they visit the Crimson Tide of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
The Badgers are 2 and 0, but they haven’t played a complete game yet this season. They’ve scored a grand total of 17 points in the first half, while outscoring Miami of Ohio and Middle Tennessee by a combined score of 56 to 10 in the second half.
Offensive tackle and Manitowoc native Davis Heinzen spoke to seehafernews.com, telling us this must change quickly.
“I think we haven’t been as physical as we need to be to start games,” he admitted. “Leaders spoke up at halftime, and we all took their words to heart. We need to bring the intensity and physicality for a full 60 minutes.”
Quarterback Billy Edwards Junior, who’s out with a knee injury, was one of those leaders to speak up, as did backup signal caller Danny O’Brien.
O’Brien is a redshirt freshman who transferred in from San Diego State.
He started last week for the injured Edwards, completing 23 of 27 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns.
Heinzen says O’Brien has more than held his own.
“It feels as if the offense hasn’t skipped a beat,” he said. “There are some things Billy is better at than Danny and vice versa. Danny brings the energy necessary for us to exude confidence on the field.”
O’Brien will make his second consecutive start Saturday at Alabama.
The Crimson Tide is 1 and 1 and ranked 18th in the AP Poll and 19th in the coaches’ poll.
They began the season losing to Florida State and bounced back, putting up 73 points in a victory last week over Louisiana-Monroe.
Heinzen says they can ill afford a slow start.
“We need to start the game fast and not let the game get out of our hands,” the former Shipbuilder said. “We need to wear them down and hopefully make it a great game from start to finish.”
As silly as it sounds, one of the keys to victory, says Heinzen, is getting the snap count correct.
“It’s going to be loud. We have some silent cadences that will help us when we can’t hear much,” he admitted. “We have some things we must clean up to help us out, especially on third down when we need to convert and move the chains. They have the advantage of being at home, but we’re ready to play and give them our best shot.”
Not many give Wisconsin a chance to win as they are listed as 21-and-a-half point underdogs to the Crimson Tide.
We asked Davis what it would mean if Bucky could shock the world.
“It would boost confidence for both the team and Badger nation,” he said. “It would also make the Big Ten take notice that we beat Alabama and are off to a 3 and 0 start.”
Heinzen has been battling quad and ankle injuries, but says he’s ready to go.
This is Wisconsin’s first true road game at an SEC opponent since 1972.
Coverage begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning at 1240 WOMT.
