Wisconsin Badgers
Illinois
Baggot: Five things to know - Wisconsin hosts #21 Illinois for Senior Day
November 20, 2025 | Football
Badgers will honor seniors before kickoff on Saturday night
Thirty-one members of the Wisconsin football team have chosen to participate in Senior Day ceremonies Saturday when Illinois comes to Camp Randall Stadium for a Big Ten Conference duel at 6:30 p.m.
Sixteen of those players spent their entire careers with the Badgers: TE Jackson Acker, WR Vinny Anthony II, S Owen Arnett, DL Ben Barten, OL JP Benzschawel, RB Grover Bortolotti, S Austin Brown, OL Joe Brunner, OL John Clifford, CB Ricardo Hallman, S Charlie Jarvis, LT Riley Mahlman, OLB Darryl Peterson, TE JT Seagreaves, LB Garrison Solliday and OLB Aaron Witt.
Nine of those student-athletes were starters at some point in their careers: Acker, Anthony, Barten, Brown, Brunner, Hallman, Mahlman, Peterson and Witt.
Eleven players also are Wisconsin natives: Acker, Verona; Arnett, Delafield; Barten, Stratford; Benzschawel, Grafton; Bortolotti, Whitefish Bay; Brunner, Whitefish Bay; Clifford, Watertown; Davis Heinzen, Manitowoc; Jarvis and Joey Okla, Hartland; and Seagreaves, Monroe.
The remaining 13 expectant graduates include WR Jayden Ballard, WR Dekel Crowdus, CB D’Yoni Hill, DL Brandon Lane Jr., LS Nick Levy, TE Lance Mason, DL Parker Peterson, OLB Mason Reiger, OL Jake Renfro, QB Hunter Simmons, DL Jayviar Suggs, K Nathanial Vakos and OLB Corey Walker.
Over the last 20 Senior Day outings dating back to 2015, Wisconsin (3-7 overall, 1-6 in the Big Ten) is 13-7.
Here are five more things to know:
CARVING OUT A NICHE
Since becoming a starter three games ago, true freshman inside linebacker Mason Posa has done nothing but nudge his personal performance bar upward. He’s the first Power 4 player since 2020 to register 10-plus tackles, two-plus sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a game. Now, with three straight outings with at least 10 tackles – 13 vs. Oregon, 11 vs. Washington and 12 vs. Indiana – he’s already joined a UW club that includes first-team all-America linebackers in T.J. Edwards, Mike Taylor and Chris Borland. For future reference, Borland had a four-game run of consecutive double-figure tackles in 2011 and 2013.
IT SURE DOESN'T GET ANY EASIER
The No. 21 Illini (7-3, 4-3) represent the seventh Associated Press top-25 opponent to play UW this season, a first for the program record. The Badgers are also facing their fifth consecutive ranked opponent, another first. No wonder ESPN currently has Wisconsin owning the toughest schedule in the nation.
QUICK TURNAROUND
The Badgers went into their game opposite No. 2 Indiana last week ranked 50th among FBS schools with 21 sacks. After registering a season-high five vs. the Hoosiers, UW is ranked 19th with 26.
GETTING HIS KICKS
UW redshirt freshman Sean West averaged 51 yards per punt vs. Indiana, making him the only Big Ten punter to have five-plus punts for a 50-plus yard average in multiple games this season.
IT'S HAPPENED BEFORE
This marks the third time the Badgers have faced Illinois with a nighttime kickoff. In 2013, they came away with a 56-32 triumph at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. In 2020, UW hosted the Illini and rolled to a 45-7 victory.
