The Wisconsin Badgers have an incredibly difficult Week 8 matchup against the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday. With quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. still dealing with a knee injury, it appears that Hunter Simmons is in line for another start.
Reports indicate that Simmons, who is a senior at Wisconsin, is expected to start for the Badgers for the third-straight contest, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. The quarterback situation for head coach Luke Fickell remains one of the most interesting situations in college football.
“Sources: Wisconsin is expected to start Hunter Simmons at quarterback against No. 1 Ohio State, which will be his third-straight start. In just 11 of the 31 games during Luke Fickell's [three] full seasons has the team's intended starter both played and stayed healthy for entire game.”
This will be Simmons' fifth game played for the Badgers this season. He's been a bit all over the place, though, as he has recorded 329 passing yards and just one touchdown while owning a 55.9% completion percentage. Hunter Simmons has also thrown three interceptions.
Wisconsin has had to rely on Simmons throughout the 2025-26 campaign, even though he began the regular season as the third quarterback on the depth chart. Thamel reports that Hunter Simmons was in direct competition with teammate Danny O'Neil in practice leading up to the game against Ohio State.
“Simmons began the season as Wisconsin's third-string quarterback after transferring from Southern Illinois, where he started three games over four years. Fickell noted that Simmons and back-up Danny O'Neil would compete for the starting job this week.”
In the end, Simmons wins the quarterback competition and will fill in for Edwards once again. It's unclear when Edwards will eventually return, as he initially suffered the knee injury in the Badgers' 17-0 Week 1 win over the Miami (OH) RedHawks. He did return for a short time in the 27-10 Week 4 loss to the Maryland Terrapins, but was forced to exit that contest early as well.
