One of the biggest topics surrounding the Wisconsin Badgers this offseason has been their grueling schedule for the 2025 season, with tough non-conference and Big Ten games on the slate.
Last week, we discussed some of the easier games on Wisconsin’s schedule, taking into account location, timing, and opponent (although many were still quite challenging).
Now, we’re to the second, and final, installment in this quick series. Let’s break down the toughest games on Wisconsin’s schedule in 2025.
No. 6: Week 10 @ Indiana
Although
Bucky’s last trip to Bloomington back in 2023 was disastrous, much has changed since then.
The brazen Curt Cignetti has injected instant success into a long-dormant Hoosiers program, even if his non-conference schedules remain a laughingstock. And grabbing the highly coveted quarterback Fernando Mendoza in the transfer portal to guide his offense was impressive.
But repeating success is not easy, and Indiana has a lot of doubters heading into 2025. I am not one of them. This should be a sound and talented team, and traveling to southern Indiana in November and leaving with a victory will be a stiff challenge for the Badgers.
They’ll almost certainly be an underdog, but it’s exactly the kind of game Wisconsin will need to steal to hit their ceiling.
No. 5: Week 11 vs. Illinois
Games against Bret Bielema’s Illini will always carry extra intrigue, especially if they’re in Madison (hide your beer and bratwurst, folks). This late-season matchup will be no exception.
The last time Bert visited Camp Randall, he knocked Paul Chryst clean out of the coaching ranks, and I’m sure he’s foaming at the mouth to inflict similar pain on Luke Fickell.
The crafty and talented Luke Altmyer returns at quarterback for the Illini and will be trying to avenge an improbable Wisconsin win in Champaign in 2023 that Bielema is still salty about.
This will be a no-holds-barred slugfest, and, similar to the Iowa game, will be won by the tougher, more disciplined team.
It’s possible that the Badgers will have had the fight wrung out of them by this late stage of the season, but if they’re still in the bowl mix (or better), expect an epic battle.
No. 4: Week 5 @ Michigan
It’s one thing to make jokes about a cheating and declining program in Michigan. It’s entirely another to go into Ann Arbor and beat them, and that’s exactly what Wisconsin will be tasked with.
This game starts the Badgers’ hellacious October (@ Michigan, vs. Iowa, vs. Ohio State, and @ Oregon), and you know the squad will be looking to start things off on a positive note.
An X-factor is the possibility of the NCAA handing down long-overdue sanctions against a program that was caught red-handed cheating, but to date, they’ve chosen to go harder against Nyzier Fourqurean than the Wolverines.
I’ll be bold enough to say that a win here and/or at Indiana will be necessary for the Badgers to be a bowl team in 2025.
No. 3: Week 8 @ Oregon
We’ve reached the elite titans portion of this countdown, and these next three teams could arguably take up any of the remaining three slots. I’ll put a roadie in Eugene here, based in part on how the Badgers matched up with them last season.
That was a very mediocre Wisconsin team in the middle of a horrific closing act, and they still should have beaten the Ducks. Dan Lanning is a good coach, but is almost as cringy and punchable as PJ Fleck, so a win here would mean a ton and is one of four on this slate that I’d label a “signature win” for Fickell.
But, Autzen is a uniquely tough place to play. Looking at the rosters on paper in July, there seems little reason to expect a Wisconsin win in this game, unless quarterback Dante Moore (or Austin Novosad) faceplants. I’m not holding my breath.
No. 2: Week 3 @ Alabama
When I’ve posed the question of which win would mean the most to Wisconsin, a lot of folks have said this one, for the national cache it would hold (beating a blue blood on the road). And I can totally see that.
The vibes of a dub in Tuscaloosa would be immaculate and would no doubt jump-start the “Wisconsin is Back” hype train. While I’m firmly of the position that a victory over conference rival Ohio State would be bigger (more on this in a moment), there’s no denying the value of vanquishing Bama.
The big question for Alabama now is who will be leading their offense? I’m not sure (it’s probably Ty Simpson), but a quarterback controversy early in the season would only help the Badgers.
No. 1: Week 7 vs Ohio State
Barack Obama wasn’t even halfway through his first term the last time Wisconsin managed to beat Ohio State. 15 years is a damn long time, and it’s not like there haven’t been chances.
But, at each turn and in every fashion, the Buckeyes have imposed their will on the Badgers: a Hail Mary, to an overtime gut punch, a nail biter that kept us out of the CFB Playoff, and, yes, embarrassing blowouts. It has been brutal.
But a win in Madison (likely under the lights) in October would exorcise those demons and hand Fickell and his team the signature win they’ve long been craving.
Beating a defending national champion, Ohio State, is not unprecedented for Wisconsin. But let’s be real—this will prove very difficult.
The talent gap is still wide between these teams. But if they manage to pull it off, it would be a program changer and unquestionably the biggest win for the Badgers since 2017, if not earlier.
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