MADISON, Wis. — Ryan Hopkins made his first collegiate start, delivering 241 passing yards and three touchdowns as Wisconsin controlled Rutgers 31-10 to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2023.

After Rutgers won the toss and deferred, the moment many Badger fans have waited for arrived. It was Hopkins who led the first-team offense onto the field, not Colton Joseph.

The initial excitement of the true freshman earning the starting nod was short-lived, however; Wisconsin went three-and-out. The drive started with a two-yard Abu Sama run, followed by an incompletion and a four-yard connection between Hopkins and Jacob Harris before Sean West punted it away.

When Hopkins returned to the field for the second offensive possession of the game, he showed exactly why he earned the start. On the drive, the freshman threw for 50-yards, helped create a pass interference call with a deep ball and hit Eugene Hilton Jr up the seam for a 21-yard touchdown. Hilton also had an 18-yard run that set up his touchdown reception.

On the ensuing drive, Rutgers drove 48 yards, setting up Jack Scullion for a 45-yard field goal to put the Scarlet Knights on the board, cutting the Badgers’ lead to 7-3.

Following Rutgers’ first scoring drive of the contest, Hopkins nearly made a back-breaking mistake that would’ve turned the game upside down. On third-and-long, under heavy duress, the freshman gunslinger threw a prayer into no-man’s land. The ball was picked at Wisconsin’s 25-yard line, but negated by a roughing the passer penalty. A freshman error or two was to be expected, but the Badgers avoided a game-changing disaster.

Wisconsin’s penultimate drive of the first half started on the Rutgers 47-yard line and began with a 13-yard rush from Bryan Jackson. But a three-yard loss on third-and-six prevented the drive from ending in six as Gavin Lahm hit a 51-yard field goal.

Rutgers once again responded with a score of its own, this time marching 75 yards in under five minutes. Against a Badgers’ defensive package that featured three safeties, AJ Surace still found an open Dyzier Carter in the back corner of the end zone for the 30-yard touchdown, knotting things up at 10.

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In his first end-of-half opportunity, Hopkins led a quality drive to put points on the board before the break. First, he hit Shamar Rigby for a 26-yard catch-and-run, then helped draw another pass interference looking for Jaylon Domingeaux in the end zone. On third down inside the Rutgers’ 10-yard line, Hopkins fired a dart to Tyrell Henry near the pylon, but Henry was unable to reel it in for a touchdown.

Wisconsin was forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal with 0:24 remaining, giving the Badgers a 13-10 halftime lead.

Hopkins’ first throw of the second half was his second near-disaster of the game as he threw wide to Hilton. Rutgers cornerback JJ Conyers saw it all the way and jumped the route, but had the ball go straight through his hands to Hilton who batted it up in the air before securing it and gaining 13 yards.

The Badgers capitalized on the big break, as Rigby and Domingeaux each hauled in 16-yard grabs, and Hilton added a 16-yard rush. Inside the Scarlet Knights’ 10-yard line, on third-and-goal, Hopkins left a fade to Jacob Harris a little low, forcing another field goal from Lahm, this time from 22 yards, extending the lead to 16-10.

Late in the third, Wisconsin finally stretched its lead to two scores on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Hopkins to a wide-open Ryan Schwendeman in the end zone. The score was preceded by the first big play of the night from a running back, as Sama gained 20 on the ground, then Rigby made another big play, reeling in a 22-yard play and absorbing a targeting hit at the end of the play. The call set the Badgers up on the Rutgers 11-yard line and Hopkins handled the rest.

Hilton was the recipient of a missile from Hopkins on the two-point conversion to give Wisconsin a two-touchdown lead at 24-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

Similar to what fans saw in Happy Valley back in September, Harris delivered the knockout punch about five minutes into the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-7 made a first-down grab, but shedded multiple tacklers after the catch, scoring from 67-yards out on another highlight touchdown pushing the lead to 31-10.

That score held through the final whistle as the Badgers got back on track, beginning an extremely manageable three-game stretch with a commanding victory. Up next is a trip to College Park to take on Maryland. This matchup was a nightmare for Luke Fickell's team in 2025, so next Saturday is an opportunity for revenge against a program led by an interim head coach.