The Wisconsin Badgers had their first big test of the season, and it was a major disappointment on Saturday, as they lost 38-14 to the No. 19 Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Wisconsin was shut out in the first half and struggled throughout the afternoon defensively, giving up five straight touchdown drives and six consecutive scores overall. Overall, they conjured up just 209 yards of offense, and now fall to 2-1 on the season with conference play coming up next week.

Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 38-14 loss to Alabama.

The Badgers constantly shot themselves in the foot early in Saturday’s game, starting from the opening drive.

Wisconsin went three-and-out to start the game, as an offensive pass interference penalty on third down wiped out a potential conversion, forcing the Badgers to punt after a third & long instead.

Getting great field position on the ensuing drive, Wisconsin immediately turned it over on a poor decision from quarterback Danny O’Neil. Targeting Vinny Anthony on a curl route, O’Neil just didn’t see safety Bray Hubbard in the flat in zone coverage, throwing the ball right at him for an interception.

Back-to-back sacks on second and third down killed their next drive, while a 15-yard penalty by left guard Joe Brunner near midfield killed Wisconsin’s following drive.

It seemed that Wisconsin would have a mental error, execution issue, or a combination of both, drive after drive, for the first half, leading to a scoreless 30 minutes.

Down 21-0 and in need of a serious spark, the Badgers had an opportunity for a two-minute drill with 45 seconds left in the half. It made sense to be aggressive, given how all the momentum had shifted to Alabama’s side and given that the Crimson Tide would start the second half with the ball. But, Wisconsin just ran the clock out, and was killed by a touchdown on the first play coming out of the half defensively.

In the second half, the Badgers finally got on the board with a Vinny Anthony kick return for a touchdown. And, they nearly reached the red zone on their first offensive drive with an 11-play drive. But, on 2nd & 6 at the Alabama 21-yard line, quarterback Danny O’Neil threw his second interception to safety Bray Hubbard. O’Neil was targeting tight end Lance Mason, who was jammed by Hubbard at the top of his stem and never got open. But, the quarterback threw the pass anyway, staring his tight end down and throwing his second pick of the day.

It was a rough day for the Badgers offense. There’s no way to put it. Some of the creativity and the vision were there, but Wisconsin just didn’t run the ball well enough, and never got the chance to commit to the run.

After recording 17 rushing yards in the first half last weekend against Middle Tennessee, Wisconsin had 15 rushing yards in the first half on Saturday. On designed runs (not including sacks/scrambles), the Badgers rushed for just 26 yards on eight carries.

Wisconsin is going to need to find some consistency on the ground if it’s going to be a successful offense in 2025. That starts with the offensive line, which is a clear work-in-progress at the moment with the youth and shuffling in the group.

At the moment, it’s also clear that the Badgers can’t run the full scope of their offense with O’Neil under center, especially their play-action stuff. The quarterback is still working on improving his processing speed and getting rid of the ball quickly. But, he’s also struggling to play behind a leaky offensive line that allows too much pressure.

Hopefully, the Badgers will get Billy Edwards back next week against the Maryland Terrapins. But, they’re going to need to improve the run game and get more consistency up front at the line of scrimmage.

It was a day to forget for the Badgers defense. After a 4th & 2 stop on their opening drive, Alabama scored on six straight drives, including five consecutive touchdowns.

The Crimson Tide especially had their way in the air, where Ty Simpson was automatic, throwing for 382 yards on 24/29 passing. If the Badgers were in man coverage, they couldn’t get much pressure on the quarterback, and receivers were consistently beating Wisconsin cornerbacks.

If the Badgers went to zone, Simpson took advantage of Wisconsin’s linebackers and soft zones, making throws between windows, in the intermediate part of the field, and at the sticks to move the chains.

Ultimately, Wisconsin was manhandled at the line of scrimmage. They couldn’t generate much push rushing the passer, and Alabama even had quality success running the ball. But, the Badgers just couldn’t adjust at all.

As I mentioned in this week’s preview, Wisconsin’s defense has required quite a lot from its secondary to hold up in coverage this season. They couldn’t keep up on Saturday, and it didn’t help that Simpson had clean pockets for much of the afternoon.

As the second half went along, Wisconsin’s defense was clearly tired and the effort level diminished, which led to even more explosive plays for the Crimson Tide.

Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel is going to need to figure things out with this group and find a way to make in-game adjustments. Because Saturday’s game was embarrassing on all fronts defensively.

Wisconsin has had an issue with slow starts under Luke Fickell.

After the head coach stressed the importance of playing better in the first half last Saturday, the Badgers struggled to start fast yet again.

Now, it wasn’t all bad for the Badgers. They had a fourth-down stop and fought hard on their second defensive drive, albeit still giving up a touchdown.

But, Wisconsin continued to make mental errors that you absolutely cannot make against an opponent of Alabama’s caliber. They had a (controversial?) offensive pass interference that killed their first drive. Danny O’Neil had a poor interception that killed their second drive. And sacks and penalties hurt their chances for the rest of the first half.

After that first drive defensively, Wisconsin proceeded to give up five straight touchdown drives, including three in the first half.

Whether it’s an execution issue, a preparation issue, an effort issue, or a combination of certain factors, Wisconsin continues to dig itself into holes early in games, making it tougher for them to be competitive, especially against tougher opponents.