The Gators join Kansas, Providence and Wisconsin in the 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational.
Florida men’s basketball is set to participate in the 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego, Sports San Diego officials announced on Thursday.
The Gators will compete alongside the Kansas Jayhawks, Providence Friars and Wisconsin Badgers, with first round games held on Thanksgiving Day and the championship and third place games following on Friday.
Tip off times and matchups will be revealed later, with all games set to air nationally on FOX or FS1.
“Quite simply this is an amazing field,” said Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego. “It was our goal to bring top college basketball teams to our event and these teams fit that mold. We can’t wait for next year.”
Kansas is expected to be one of the headliners while Providence and Wisconsin bring strong traditions of success. For the Gators, this event offers an opportunity to measure themselves against elite competition early in the season.
With a national audience tuning in, the tournament could serve as a critical moment for the Gators to showcase their growth and build momentum for the season ahead.
The 2025 Rady Children’s Invitational is scheduled for Nov. 27-28, 2025. $5 from every ticket sold will be going to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
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Wisconsin’s 2012 running back room might be the best all-time
The Wisconsin Badgers’ 2012 running back room may go down as one of the greatest in college football history.
That season, the Badgers rostered Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball and James White. Both Ball (2012) and Gordon (2014) would go on to win a Doak Walker Award, an honor annually awarded to the nation’s top running back, while White left Wisconsin ranked No. 4 all-time in rushing yards.
When considering the best backfields ever, one typically envisions USC’s duo of Reggie Bush and LenDale White in 2005, Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy on the 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide, or even Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel on the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs.
While the debate surrounding the most prestigious college football backfield may be unanswered, the trio’s most dominant output in a single game is unrivaled.
In the Badgers’ 71-30 victory over Nebraska at the 2012 Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the three combined for 524 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
Gordon, who would become the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2014, tallied nine carries for a team-high 219 yards and one 56-yard touchdown.
Ball, who received the Doak Walker Award just five days after the blowout win, registered 21 touches for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Like Gordon, he also ripped off a 50-yard score.
White, Wisconsin’s all-purpose back, accounted for 119 rushing yards and four touchdowns with a long run of 68 yards in the third quarter.
All three would go on to play in the NFL, with White winning three Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots.
Now, Wisconsin deploys running back Tawee Walker, a veteran back with the sixth-most rushing yards in the Big Ten. Wisconsin running backs have a long history of dominance over the rival Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The Badgers need Walker to channel that form for the team to pull off a much-needed victory on Saturday.
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers: Series history, all-time record
The Wisconsin Badgers (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten) will travel to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. CT. It will be the 18th all-time meeting between the two programs.
The Badgers own a 13-4 overall advantage. They’ve won the last 10 matchups dating back to 2012 — that streak began with Wisconsin defeating Nebraska 70-31 in the Big Ten Championship game in December of 2012.
In that contest, the Badgers compiled 529 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground with their three-headed backfield attack. Montee Ball turned 21 carries into 202 yards and three touchdowns, James White had 109 yards and four scores on 15 carries, while Melvin Gordon added nine carries for 216 yards and a touchdown.
Wisconsin fell to No. 1 Oregon 16-13 in Week 12 and they were in a very similar position when they squared off with Nebraska last season, entering the game with a 5-5 overall record. The Badgers knocked off the Cornhuskers in overtime 24-17 at Camp Randall.
Nebraska enters Saturday’s matchup having lost four games in a row after a 5-1 start to the year, dropping their contest against USC 28-20 on the road last weekend.
Although the Badgers have a 13-4 advantage all-time, they are just 4-3 in games against the Cornhuskers on the road, leaving the door open for Nebraska to snap its extensive losing streak.
Williams instantly becomes the second-highest-rated commit in the Badgers’ class of 2025. He trails only four-star linebacker Mason Posa, 247Sports’ No. 163 player in the class.
The addition moves Luke Fickell’s 2025 group to 24 total commitments. His addition led to a sizable jump in the 247Sports national team rankings, rising from No. 29 up to No. 25.
That rise brought the class up to No. 9 in the new Big Ten, now trailing Ohio State (No. 2 overall), Oregon (No. 8), USC (No. 13), Michigan (No. 14), Penn State (No. 16), Washington (No. 18), Nebraska (No. 21) and Maryland (No. 24).
Importantly, Williams’ addition also brings Wisconsin’s Blue Chip Ratio (portion of four and five-star recruits in the overall class) to 29%.
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Badgers class of 2025 LB commit named Wisconsin’s top senior linebacker
Wisconsin class of 2025 linebacker commit Cooper Catalano was named the 2024 recipient of the John Anderson Award on Wednesday.
The honor annually recognizes the most outstanding senior linebacker in Wisconsin. Catalano, who committed to UW’s program nearly one year ago, was the obvious choice for the honor.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound game-wrecker registered 178 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, one fumble recovery, three forced fumbles and three interceptions for Germantown High School this season. On top of that, he became Wisconsin’s all-time career tackles leader in late September after he recorded tackle No. 463 with the program.
Since that point, he’s added over 100 more tackles to his total.
247Sports considers Catalano the No. 894 overall recruit, No. 92 linebacker and No. 7 recruit from the state of Wisconsin for the class of 2025. He earned offers from the likes of Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, and Michigan State before ultimately deciding to join the Badgers.
Outside Catalano, two other class of 2025 linebackers have committed to Wisconsin — four-star Mason Posa and three-star Samuel Lateju.
The award is named after John Anderson, a former Waukesha South star in the 1970s who became the Green Bay Packers’ all-time leader in tackles before his retirement in 1989.
Badgers class of 2025 commit earns Kevin Stemke Award for top Wisconsin specialist
Wisconsin class of 2025 commit Erik Schmidt was named the 2024 recipient of the Kevin Stemke Award on Wednesday.
The award is presented annually to the top Wisconsin high school senior specialist — kicker or punter. Schmidt joins fellow in-state 2025 recruit Cooper Catalano to receive an honor from the Wisconsin Sports Network Senior Football Awards — Catalano who notably set the state record for tackles at the high school level in September.
Schmidt is widely considered one of the nation’s best kickers in the class, and is ranked as a five-star by Kohl’s. The outlet has Schmidt as the No. 1 punter in the nation and No. 8 kicker, per the Wisconsin Sports Network.
This season, Schmidt has converted 9-of-12 field goals and all 57 extra-point attempts. He also averaged over 45 yards per punt. Most notably, the Marquette University High School attendee drilled a 55-yard field goal in the 2024 playoffs.
The 6-foot-1 prospect committed to Wisconsin in late June over walk-on opportunities at Notre Dame, Boston College and Michigan. He projects to join a specialist group currently headlined by kicker Nathanial Vakos and punter Atticus Bertrams.
Based off his recruiting profile, he won’t take long to contribute for Luke Fickell’s program.
Oregon was prepared to hear Jump Around and it REALLY paid off.
Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning has continued to embarrass his opponents this season, now adding Wisconsin as a new target.
During the latest episode of “Ducks vs Them” released on Tuesday, fans got an inside look at how Lanning was able to rally Oregon during a comeback road victory against the Badgers on Saturday.
One of the main strategies was to use the song “Jump Around” as a primary motivator. Camp Randall Stadium, where Wisconsin plays home football games, has that song play between the third and fourth quarter like how the Ducks have “Shout” at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
Lanning spoke to his players and said that “everybody know what time it is” when that “Jump Around” song comes on.
The video then took fans behind-the-scenes to practice on Monday, when Lanning walked into a team meeting blasting “Jump Around” by House of Pain.
Relating it back to Pavlov’s dog, while showing videos of Wisconsin fans dancing to the song, he said when when Wisconsin plays this song, it is meant to evoke a response from the opposing players. Lanning agreed, but he wanted to control what message it sent.
“In this game and throughout this week, you are going to hear this song. It’s going to release dopamine in your mind. It’s going to tell you that you’re hungry to go win. Whenever we hear this, I want our temperature to change. I want the temperature in the room to change. When we hear it at practice, it’s about to get serious. When that song comes on at practice, I want you to reset your mind for what you’re about to do.”
Fans then saw Oregon players dancing to “Jump Around” during practices before the game.
The coach wanted his players to “enjoy the moment” when it shows up and to “take advantage” of it. The video then cuts to the Ducks enjoying themselves on the field when “Jump Around” actually plays between the third and fourth quarter.
Not only did the players dance but The Duck mascot also jumped around on a pogo stick.
Oregon then went for it on fourth down as Dillon Gabriel competed a very difficult pass to tight end Terrance Ferguson.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Ducks, who looked like the far better team following this sudden tonal change. Oregon eventually secured a pick to win the game with a much-needed interception by Matayo Uiagalelei.
Back in the locker room, Lanning chose to “crank that song” and play “Jump Around” to celebrate the win.
Everything Oregon had to say tonight about… jumping around during "Jump Around":
Lanning: "Kind of like Pavlov's Dog, when you hear that song it means it's time to go."
Boettcher: "We played that every single practice. We knew going into the 4th quarter that was going to be a… pic.twitter.com/SlJ0Zirbln
During postgame press conferences, several from the Ducks (including Lanning) explained their reasoning for the “Jump Around” celebration.
This was incredibly clever maneuvering from Lanning, who has shown boldness and creativity during Oregon’s first season in a new conference.
Oregon remains undefeated with one game left in the regular season and has earned a berth in the Big Ten Football Championship Game before the next College Football Playoff.
John Tonje earns AP national player of the week nods
The Associated Press named Wisconsin Badgers’ wing John Tonje the National Player of the Week in men’s college basketball on Tuesday.
Four days removed from his historic 41-point barrage vs. No. 17 Arizona, Tonje pocketed the honor on Tuesday morning. This follows Tonje reeling in Big Ten Player of the Week honors on Monday, becoming the first UW player to receive the award since Johnny Davis in 2022.
Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn was named runner-up after dropping 29 points and eight rebounds vs. No. 8 Alabama. Ante Brzovic (College of Charleston), Kam Jones (Marquette) and Abdi Bashir Jr. (Monmouth) were included as honorable mentions.
Wisconsin's John Tonje is the AP national player of the week in men’s college hoops. He dropped 41 points vs. No. 17 Arizona, just 2 shy of the school record, and is averaging 23.5 points this season. https://t.co/DWcm3Wt2SPpic.twitter.com/qj1NdHzMgB
Through five games this season, Tonje is averaging 22.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1 steal per game. The graduate student is also shooting 56.3% from the field, 50.0% from beyond the arc and 95.9% from the free throw line.
Tonje has officially emerged as Wisconsin’s offensive replacement for transfer wing AJ Storr. The volume scorer averaged 16.8 points per game in 36 appearances for Wisconsin a season ago, but he shot just 43.4% from the field and 32.0% from distance.
Obviously, Tonje’s splits will dip as the season progresses. He does, however, possess unquestionable touch from the free throw line and poised shot selection. Some could make the argument that Tonje, who spent the 2023-24 season at Missouri, is a better fit than Storr ever was.
Regardless, the national distinction is worth celebrating. Wisconsin’s next game is on Nov. 22 against UCF at the Greenbrier Tip-Off in West Virginia.
Normally, that would be enough stakes alone. But how each team has reached this point is significant to note.
Wisconsin was 5-2 through seven games after a win over Northwestern capped an impressive three-game winning streak. The season has somewhat tanked since then, with demoralizing losses to Penn State, Iowa and Oregon, respectively.
The Badgers fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo after the latest loss, signaling the current state of affairs in year two of the Luke Fickell era. Overall, the program is far from where many expected it to be.
The Nebraska side is somehow even worse. The Cornhuskers were 5-1 to start the year, headlined by a big win over Colorado. They appeared to be at the start of a resurgence in year two under Matt Rhule.
Since that point: 56-7 loss to Indiana, 21-17 loss to Ohio State, 27-20 loss to UCLA and 28-20 loss to USC. Nebraska brings a four-game losing streak into Saturday’s matchup.
That four-game losing streak means a bit more to Nebraska than Wisconsin’s losing streak does to its program. Nebraska has not made a bowl game since 2016. It is now a whopping 0-9 in games with bowl eligibility on the line during that time, including now 0-8 under Rhule — 0-4 in 2023, 0-4 in 2024.
The FBS record for consecutive losses with bowl eligibility at stake is 10 (Mike MacIntyre and Colorado from 2017-18 and Lou Holtz at South Carolina from 2002-04). Another loss for Rhule would bring him within one defeat of the record. Losses to both Wisconsin and Iowa to close the season would bring him to that mark.
That’s what Wisconsin has to play for on Saturday, other than the famous Freedom Trophy — that Nebraska has yet to possess. With a win, the Badgers would put Nebraska in a record category of programs to lose 10 straight games with bowl eligibility at stake. With a loss, Wisconsin would forever be the team that ended that record bowl drought.
There are larger Fickell vs. Rhule implications after both were high-profile hires before the 2023 season. But that conversation can wait until postgame. Just note: coaches that lose nine or ten straight games with bowl eligibility on the line usually don’t stick around for very long.
Nebraska's record under Matt Rhule is now 0-8 when they've had a chance to clinch a bowl game.
Since 1936, only 11 other FBS coaches have a streak that long.
Wisconsin and Nebraska will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. CT from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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The Badgers struggled defensively for much of the contest, allowing the Vaqueros to shoot 49% from the floor and nearly 40% from 3. The team was somewhat on the ropes midway through the second half before John Blackwell and John Tonje led a scoring surge that tipped the scales, eventually leading to the three-point win.
One big stat that continues to matter: Wisconsin shot 84.4% (27-of-32) from the free-throw line in the victory. The team’s final 11 points came from the charity stripe. The Badgers are No. 2 in the nation in team free throw percentage at 88.6%; the stat has been a driving force behind the team’s 5-0 start.
That undefeated start led to national recognition, even before the win over UT Rio Grande. Wisconsin entered the AP Poll at No. 19 and USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll at No. 25 on Monday.
While the Badgers’ resume is building with each passing performance, their win on Monday didn’t impress some rating metrics. Wisconsin dropped 11 spots in KenPom from No. 29 to No. 40 after the win. Greg Gard’s team possesses the 18th-ranked offense and 83rd-ranked defense in the metric.
Allowing 84 points to a UT Rio Grande team that is No. 199 in KenPom assuredly led to the ratings downgrade, specifically defensively.
The Badgers also dropped from No. 22 in ESPN BPI to No. 30, reflecting the same general trend. BPI has the team’s projected final record at 19.6-10.4 and gives it an 8.2% chance to win the Big Ten.
Minus the needed defensive improvements, it’s hard to not be impressed by Wisconsin’s start to the season. This early season stage figured to see significant growing pains with new faces in the rotation. Instead, the Badgers are flashing top form and entering the conversation atop the Big Ten.
Wisconsin is back on the court on Friday against UCF at the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
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