Wisconsin had unexpected passing leader in upset win vs. Washington

Washington Huskies linebacker Anthony Ward (57) blocks the punt from Wisconsin Badgers kicker Sean West (91) during the second quarter. Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Wisconsin had unexpected passing leader in upset win against Washington

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Nov 8, 2025 9:16 PM ET

The Wisconsin Badgers announced this week that they are sticking with head coach Luke Fickell despite a very mediocre three-year run to open his tenure, and an especially bad start to the 2025 season. Fickell and the Badgers responded on Saturday with a surprising 13-10 upset win over No. 24 Washington.

It was far from a thing of beauty, but given that Wisconsin entered the day with zero Big Ten wins this season they are probably not going to apologize for the manner in which they won.

The most stunning part of the win — their leading passer in the game was a freshman punter.

No. Seriously. It was their freshman punter.

Unlikely passing leader for Wisconsin in win

Sean West, a freshman punter for the Badgers, finished the game 1-for-1 passing for 24 yards after he successfully completed a fake punt early in the third quarter to help swing the game in Wisconsin's favor.

Wisconsin pulls off the fake punt @BadgerFootball

: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/qy7REqPSZO
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 8, 2025

While fake punts are not necessarily common, they do happen and it is not unheard of to see a punter complete a pass.

What is unheard of is for that pass to end up being enough to lead a team in passing for the entire game.

That is exactly what happened on Saturday as West's 24 yards were enough to finish as the Badgers' leading passer.

Wisconsin ended up using three quarterbacks in the game, with Hunter Simmons, Carter Smith and Danny O'Neil combining complete only 5-of-17 passes for only 24 yards of their own.

Simmons' 16 yards were the next highest total for the Badgers, while Smith managed only eight yards on 12 attempts and only three completions.

It was not exactly a banner day for passing the football. Weather played a big role in that, but it was also just another rough day for a Wisconsin offense that has struggled to generate points this season, and especially in recent weeks.

They managed to scratch out just enough to earn their first victory over a ranked team since the 2021 season. They have their punter to thank for a lot of it.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

More must-reads: