Three reasons Wisconsin fans should be thrilled heading into bye week

This is the first time under Luke Fickell that the Wisconsin Badgers are gaining serious momentum as a program. Now that doesn’t mean that the Badgers are College Football Playoff-bound. They are far from it, but with back-to-back impressive wins against Penn State and Michigan State, it does put th

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What is the story about?

This is the first time under Luke Fickell that the Wisconsin Badgers are gaining serious momentum as a program.

Now that doesn’t mean that the Badgers are College Football Playoff-bound. They are far from it, but with back-to-back impressive wins against Penn State and Michigan State, it does put the Badgers’ record in a great place with seven games left to play.

Here are three reasons why it feels acceptable to be excited about this team during the bye week.

No. 1: Getting healthy

For Abu Sama III, this break could not have come at a better time. Sama missed the 31-7 win over Michigan State following an upper-body injury against Penn State. While Sama is publicly the biggest injury facing the team right now, there is no doubt that secretly many others are dealing with

minor injuries.

No. 2: UCLA’s reputation could get a massive jump in the rankings

While debates can be held over whether a certain team should or should not be ranked, the public generally knows which teams are legitimate and which aren’t. TheNo. 22 UCLA Bruins are certainly contenders. Through four games this season, Bob Chesney’s team remains undefeated and is staring down at No. 13 Oregon. If UCLA can pull off the upset, that would bring their stock as high as it has been in years, therefore adding an extra bit of anticipation into next weekend.

No. 3: Fine-tuning

The next three games will likely be the hardest the Badgers will face for the rest of the season. While it will be hard to imagine Fickell’s squad walking into a game against the Bruins, No. 17 USC, and No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes as favorites, these are games that will be decided by third downs, completing tackles, and complementary football. Something the Badgers have shown at a decent rate this season, but will be tested until Halloween.

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Three reasons Wisconsin fans should be thrilled heading into bye week