The Wisconsin Badgers finished the 2024 college football season with a 5-7 record. Wisconsin missed a chance for a bowl game under head coach Luke Fickell.
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Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is shown during spring football practice Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Entering the 2025 college football season, the Badgers will have major question marks in his third season. The BIG10 conference is one of the toughest conferences in the entire college football landscape. The Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes have won the national title from the BIG10 for the last two seasons. How good will Wisconsin be during the 2025 college football season?
Wisconsin Badgers Ranked 14th In BIG10 Conference According to CBS College Football Analyst
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Wisconsin head football coach Luke Fickell is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Tom Fornelli of cbssports.com wrote about the rankings in the BIG10 for the upcoming 2025 college football season. Wisconsin used to be near the top of the rankings in the conference, but it has been different with this program for the last couple of seasons.
Fornelli ranked the Badgers 14th in the conference out of 18 teams. He said,
“The vibe just seems off. There were sweeping changes made to the coaching staff and roster, which is the kind of thing that happens when the coach who was supposed to lead you to greatness is off to a 12-13 start after two seasons. The problem the Badgers face in 2025 is that while I expect the football team to be better, they face a schedule that could lead to a similar 5-7 record in 2025, or perhaps one that’s even worse. (+21000)”
Wisconsin has one of the most difficult schedules in 2025. If the Badgers do not show signs of improvement, there is a good chance that they will fire head coach Fickell at the end of the season. The only four teams that they were ranked ahead of them were the Michigan State Spartans, the Northwestern Wildcats, the Maryland Terrapins, and the Purdue Boilermakers.
The Badgers are not close to being at the level of the Ohio State Buckeyes or the Penn State Nittany Lions. Wisconsin had one of the worst offenses in the BIG10 during the 2024 college football season. There must be a change with that in 2025. Being ranked this low should not be surprising because they are not ready to compete with the big dogs in the conference.
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