It’s a bit hard to believe that the Wisconsin Badgers’ season opener is mere weeks away, so it’s a good time to peek ahead at this blistering schedule to guess how each game might stack up relative to the others as far as difficulty.
As most of you reading this already know, the slate is uniquely—perhaps historically—punishing, so this won’t be an easy exercise. But we’ll forge ahead just the same.
No. 12: Week 2 vs. Middle Tennessee
It sounds strange, but this is probably the only true gimme in terms of a game where a blowout should
be expected. That’s just insane. 2024 was rough for the Conference USA cellar dwellers, and there’s little reason to believe they will be more than a speed bump for Luck Fickell’s gang.
Coach Derek Mason is thinking big, and fans who had gotten used to bowl games in the recent past seem to believe that the Blue Raiders will be better in 2025.
But they almost certainly won’t be good enough to seriously challenge Wisconsin in Camp Randall.
No. 11: Week 1 vs. Miami (OH)
Yes, it’s a MAC squad, but the Redhawks should put up a decent fight in Wisconsin’s season opener.
Miami was 9-5 a season ago, falling to Ohio in the MAC title game, and returns a reasonably talented team picked by ESPN numbers guru Bill Connolly to finish fourth in the conference this fall. So, they should be a bowl team.
Wisconsin’s superior size/speed along the lines and talent at skill positions should be enough for a solid win—say two touchdowns—as long as they don’t get caught looking ahead to an upcoming trip to Tuscaloosa.
If the Badgers steamroll Miami, it will bode well for Fick’s guys going forward, and the offseason exodus of star Redhawks’ cornerback Raion Strader to Auburn should free up more space for Vinny Anthony and Jayden Ballard.
No. 10: Maryland
This should be Wisconsin’s easiest Big Ten game of the season, and there is no scenario where losing it will be okay.
Maryland was a disaster in 2024, and there isn’t much reason to believe they’ll be dramatically better in 2025, especially since one of their top players, Billy Edwards Jr., will be helming the Badgers’ offense this fall.
Most prognosticators have the Terps in the bottom four of the conference, and I can’t find any reason to break from this.
I can’t decide if Edwards’s stint with Maryland helps or hurts Wisconsin, but I’m not sure it really matters.
No. 9: Week 11 vs. Washington
It’s more than a little unsettling that a contest vs the Huskies, who are almost a consensus bowl team and popular sleeper under Coach Jedd Fisch, is so low on this list.
It’s a testament to the utter brutality of the Badgers’ schedule that a team as solid as Washington is one of Wisconsin’s “easiest” matchups, but that’s where we are.
That said, if the Badgers have made the jump that many are expecting on both sides of the ball, this should absolutely be a win for Bucky. If you’re counting, that gets us to four likely wins and counting so far on this list.
No. 8: Week 14 @ Minnesota
As much crap as I give PJ Fleck, the Big Ten’s Most Oakyest Football Coach, it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t built a solid, serviceable program in Minneapolis.
Yes, the expectations are far different there than in Madison, but the recently-extended Fleck has consistently made (and won) minor bowl games and is rarely embarrassed on the field beyond his own cringey behavior.
And then there’s the fact that the Gophers have taken the Axe in three of the last four seasons. There’s zero reason to believe that this game will be anything but tough for the Badgers, who will simply have to out-physical Minnesota, something they’ve mostly failed to do recently in Axe Games.
Calling this a must-win is a bit overdramatic, but if Wisconsin wants to hit its ceiling, it’s one they simply need to take.
No. 7: Week 7 vs. Iowa
I flip-flopped a bit here between Iowa at Camp Randall and Indiana on the road, and finally settled on this one because it’s a home game. Let’s get it out there right away—this game will be a slugfest won along the lines.
In those types of games, Iowa has owned Wisconsin in recent years. The Badgers will simply need to be tougher and play with more heart than the Hawkeyes to get the win, and this is a robust ask of Fick’s lads.
While the overall talent in Iowa City may be down a tad from 2024, it’s very possible their quarterback play will make a jump thanks to skilled FCS transfer Mark Gronkowski. That’s a scary thought, folks, because everyone knows their defense will be stout yet again.
That all said, this is the kind of smash-mouth Big Ten contest that the Badgers will need to win in order to go bowling in 2025. Jeff Grimes’s offense must cook and cook effectively, because 15 points won’t win this game anymore.
Coming Soon: No. 6 through No. 1.
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