Wisconsin Badgers ranked as high as No. 17 in AP Poll entering Week 9

The Wisconsin Badgers are looking to have finally turned things around underLuke Fickell.

While the 2026 season hasn’t been perfect, this is a team that is off to a 5-2 start with almost all of the season’s most challenging games out of the way. 

While the Badgers remain on the outskirts of theUS LBM Coaches Poll, the Associated Press cemented the Badgers at No. 25 this past week. Officially, this marked the first time since 2023 that Wisconsin has been ranked.

Thanks to Ironfootball, all 70 of the AP voters’ rankings of teams are listed each week. This week showed that there were 23 ballots that left the Badgers unranked, meaning 47 total voters included Fickell’s squad. 

13 voters listed Wisconsin No. 25, 16 voters ranked the Badgers No. 24, seven

voters listed the Big Ten team No. 23, four voters had Wisconsin No. 22, four at No. 21, two at No. 19, and one at No. 17.

Wisconsin’s final few games pit them against Iowa, Maryland, and Purdue away from home, with home matchups against Rutgers and Minnesota. 

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Badgers ranked as high as No. 17 in AP Poll entering Week 9