“Predictably unpredictable”. That may not make much sense, but neither does the 2025 Wisconsin Badger Football season.
Amidst season-ending surgeries and injuries, lopsided losses and speculation on the status of Head Coach Luke Fickell, most, if not all, the anguish can be wiped away if Wisconsin can bring back Paul Bunyan’s Axe from Minneapolis Saturday night.
Some of that pain has been eased following back-to-back home wins against then-ranked teams in Washington and Illinois, and a victory in the Twin Cities would give Wisconsin five wins in 2025, which would be quite the accomplishment considering all the adversity Bucky has faced this year.
We begin this week’s visit with Manitowoc Lincoln alum and Badger’s starting center Davis Heinzen, who says last week’s convincing win over the Fighting Illini ranks among the highlights of his collegiate career.
” Yes, considering the whole story behind the game and how this season has unfolded. I’d have to say it’s in the top two or three for sure.”
Wisconsin ran for 209 yards against Illinois, 84 of which came on a touchdown run by running back Darrion DuPree in the second quarter. Heinzen describes the feeling of Du Pree taking it to the house.
” We hardly had any of those (big plays) this season, so it was a fantastic feeling, something I’ve not felt in a while. It was awesome, and I ran my tail off to get down there and celebrate with him (DuPree) in the endzone.”
Former Badger and Green Bay Packer offensive lineman Mark Tauscher is the analyst of Badger football radio broadcasts.
He lavished praise on the offensive line and made it a point to single out Heinzen for persevering through “tons of adversity”, including moving from left tackle to center, to help Wisconsin enjoy some late-season success. Heinzen tells Seehafernews.com—
“It’s been a long season at times for me personally and the team in general. It was not an easy thing to switch positions, but I was more than willing to do whatever it took to help this football team win. It’s worked out, and it appears to have been the right decision to make.”
The Badgers’ center says they’ll need to be at their best against a Minnesota team, which is 6- 5 and bowl eligible. Heinzen says it seems like yesterday he was at home in Manitowoc, cheering for Bucky against the Gophers.
” It’s one of the biggest rivalries in college football, especially for me growing up rooting for the Badgers to beat Minnesota. We wrapped up the Illinois film quickly so we could start getting ready for the Gophers. It’s important to respect your rivals, but this one is personal, and we’ll be ready to play on Saturday.”
This is the most-played rivalry in college football (134 times), with each team winning 63 times and eight ties.
Heinzen on what it’d be like to win and (figuratively) chop down the goal posts in Minneapolis.
” Yes, I’d love to, that’ll be pretty cool.”
Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday on WOMT.
