As the 2025 season nears for every collegiate program, the Wisconsin football staff will have to put in extra preparations for a tough schedule.
The Wisconsin Badgers currently have one of the toughest schedules on paper without truly knowing what every team is going to look like. Wisconsin will play away games against Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, Indiana, and Minnesota. The Badgers will also host Miami (OH), Middle Tennessee State, Maryland, Iowa, Ohio State, Washington, and Illinois.
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Wisconsin offensive line coach AJ Blazek is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Predicting the exact results of the upcoming season is a difficult task, but each year major sports books and Las Vegas-based casinos must do so. With a brutal stretch of opponents on paper, the Badgers have not been positively viewed heading into the upcoming season despite putting together a strong transfer class.
Current Big Ten regular season over/under win totals via @CIrcaSports
Ohio State 10½
Oregon 10½
Penn State 10½
Indiana 8½
Michigan 8½
Illinois 7½
Iowa 7½
Nebraska 7½
USC 7½
Washington 7½
Minnesota 6½
Michigan State 5½
Rutgers 5½
UCLA 5½
Wisconsin 5½
Maryland 4½
Northwestern 4…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 7, 2025
Circa Sports, an extension of Circa Las Vegas, revealed over/under win lines for the upcoming football season. Within the Big Ten Conference, Wisconsin is expected to win five games during the upcoming season which places the program in the same territory as Rutgers, UCLA, and Michigan State. Five wins would also place the Badgers outside of bowl territory for a second year in a row, which would be a disastrous result to the season for coach Luke Fickell.
How Can the Wisconsin Football Team Push Beyond Five Projected Wins?
Wisconsin football
Wisconsin offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is shown during spring football practice Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
For the Wisconsin football staff, navigating the upcoming season is going to be difficult, but securing a potential bowl game is something the team has set sights upon. In order to accomplish such a goal the Badgers will need a combination of good football, perseverance, and pure luck.
Previously the Wisconsin football team struggled with putting together a full four quarters of quality, mistake free football. Wisconsin had a turnover ratio of -6 last season with eight fumbles lost and ten interceptions on offense. The Badgers cannot risk making the same mistakes moving forward against very strong competition, and shades of what mistakes can do to the team were seen in the Alabama loss a season ago.
While Wisconsin can put together cleaner performances each game moving forward, the Badgers will also have to ensure that backups are prepared for the worst cases. Previously, the Badgers were caught off-guard with injuries to quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, Ricardo Hallman, and Chez Mellusi at various points in the season. Wisconsin had added a great deal of talent to the roster and even saw some players hit the door early, which was a sign of changes being implemented and standards being raised.
Every coach and player would love to chalk up a great season to proper preparation and great performances, but often luck is a factor as well. For the Wisconsin football team, all that can be done is preparing to the maximum degree. On the field, the team needs to hope that the work that is put in has been enough to counter the strength of some of the more elite teams on the schedule.
Wisconsin football
Oct 26, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; General view of a Wisconsin Badgers helmet on the sidelines during the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
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