Coming off a 17-7 loss to the No. 12 UCLA Bruins on the road, the Wisconsin Badgers will have to turn around and bounce back quickly, as they’ve got the No. 16 USC Trojans traveling to Camp Randall Stadium for another primetime game on Saturday.
Wisconsin had a huge opportunity against UCLA this past weekend. They were facing an undefeated top-15 team on the road as a slight 1.5-point underdog, and were going up against a backup quarterback. The Badgers had plenty of opportunities in the loss, but
they turned in a disappointing performance, scoring just seven points in the game.
However, even as they’re facing a lower-ranked team, this weekend’s game is just as big as, or potentially even bigger than, last weekend’s for the Badgers. Why?
Well, at 4-2, Wisconsin still has a ton of room to turn in an impressive season. Their losses are to the No. 1 and No. 9 teams in the country, and they’re getting the No. 16 team, USC, now this weekend.
If the Badgers beat USC, there isn’t any asterisk with that win, whereas there would’ve been questions due to the fact that Wisconsin beat a UCLA team playing a backup quarterback, even though the Bruins are a very good team.
But that’s not all. This is the biggest two-week stretch for the Badgers all season because USC and Iowa dictate what kind of team Wisconsin is this season. The Trojans are 6-1 with only a loss to Oregon. They’ve got a high-octane offense and a struggling defense, while Wisconsin has an elite defense and a porous offense.
Plus, a lot of things are still in the picture for Wisconsin. Coming up after USC and Iowa are Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, and Minnesota. Rutgers, Maryland, and Minnesota have had some bad losses this season. Purdue has looked improved, but also seems very beatable. There’s a chance Wisconsin can run the table.
And that’s why these next two games are the most important on Wisconsin’s schedule. Despite the struggles and disappointing outcomes, Wisconsin can still end with a 10-2 or 9-3 record with a marquee win on its resume. They could’ve had that with UCLA, but these two games were still going to define their resume even with a win.
With how this season has transpired, a 10-2 record with Wisconsin’s schedule is probably still good enough to warrant playoff consideration. But a 9-3 record is something most would absolutely take after the two disappointing 4-8 campaigns under Luke Fickell.
This two-game stretch is also a litmus test for 2027. Under the 24-team playoff, there should be no excuses for a Badgers team with their new resources to be missing the postseason. If Wisconsin can win a marquee game like one of the next two, that shows Fickell is leading the program in the right direction, and there are some improvements happening.
But if they don’t, even if the final record ends up 8-4, there will be some real questions to be had in the offseason.
