For the first time since the 2023 season, the Wisconsin Badgers are in the AP Top 25, marking a huge milestone for head coach Luke Fickell and his team after the team’s struggles over the last two years.
Following their 24-7 win over the No. 16 USC Trojans on Saturday, the Badgers found themselves at No. 25 in the latest AP Top 25, which was released on Sunday. It marks the first time since Week 2 of the 2023 season that the Badgers are in the rankings.
Wisconsin had a big win in primetime on Saturday
night, as they dominated the Trojans defensively, while controlling the game on the ground to pull off the upset and win big. The Badgers forced two turnovers and held USC to seven points, as they got after Jayden Maiava with five sacks. Offensively, while Colton Joseph had just 58 passing yards, the Badgers ran the ball over 40 times, with Abu Sama going for 71 yards on the ground.
As a result, the Badgers, who weren’t even given a vote last week, jumped up to No. 25, while USC slid out of the rankings altogether.
Wisconsin has flirted with the rankings a few times this season. After upsetting Penn State on the road back in Week 3, the Badgers jumped up to the top team receiving votes. However, after their 31-3 blowout of Michigan State the week after, they actually fell a few spots among teams receiving votes.
Then, the Badgers went on their bye week, which actually propelled them back to the top team receiving votes, but they lost last week on the road in a disappointing 17-7 game to the then-No. 12 UCLA Bruins. So, it was great to see Wisconsin bounce back and find a way to dominate on Saturday night, and they were rewarded for their performance.
USC wasn’t the only Big Ten team that dropped out of the AP Top 25. Iowa, which lost 13-10 to Minnesota, fell from No. 15 to out of the rankings to the top team receiving votes. That’s big because the Badgers are facing the Hawkeyes this weekend in Iowa City on Big Noon Kickoff.
With Wisconsin in, the Big Ten has five ranked teams this week: Ohio State (No. 2), Indiana (No. 4), UCLA (No. 7), Northwestern (No. 20), and Wisconsin (No. 25). The Badgers don’t face a ranked team the rest of the way.
