The Badgers have one of the toughest schedules in the country.
By now, we’ve all seen the Wisconsin Badgers’ Murderer’s Row of a 2025 football schedule—a brutal conveyor belt of contests that slots in somewhere between ghastly and a violation of the Geneva Convention.
Roadies at Alabama, Oregon, Michigan, Indiana, and Minnesota. A home slate welcoming defending national champion Ohio State, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Washington, Miami (OH), and Middle Tennessee State.
I count seven games against likely ranked teams and at least three against elite ones. In a word, yikes.
But, in the end, nobody’s going to cry for Luke Fickell’s Badgers and their toughest schedule in the Big Ten. After all, it was not so long ago when Wisconsin might not find more than a few ranked teams on their agenda all season while snug in their Big Ten West nook with crossovers versus Maryland and Rutgers types interrupted with an occasional Buckeye or Wolverine biggie. We didn’t know how good we had it.
So, this all begs the question—how many wins in 2025 should be considered a successful season, regardless of the curve you’re grading on?
Of course, it will matter how Wisconsin looks and fights, but it’s not difficult to envision a five-win campaign where the team is far better and more competitive than the one that tasted victory five times in 2024.
There’s a bit of apples/oranges potential here, but I’m comfortable saying that five wins is the absolute floor to avoid a disaster season. It would be disappointing but not apocalyptic. Remember, Barry Alvarez went 5-6 in 1992 after a 5-6 1991. Does anyone recall how 1993 went?
Six wins (and a bowl game) would be a solid outcome, so let’s put this under a microscope. This presumes victories over Middle Tennessee State, Miami, Maryland, Washington, and then two more from the rest (let’s say Minnesota and Iowa) with losses to Oregon, Alabama, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio State.
That may seem suboptimal on the surface, but Iowa and Minnesota were teams that pushed Wisconsin around in 2024, and now they’ve beaten both. That’s not a positive step? Or maybe there’s an upset of Ohio State, but a stumble against Washington. Not ideal, but a jump forward.
A season with seven wins would look even better and would require no slip-ups in games Wisconsin is favored in, along with a few upsets. Not impossible, for sure, but very tricky.
Anyone who sees eight or more wins here—I want some of what you’re smoking. Going 8-4 with that schedule would be nothing short of miraculous.
Let’s hear your guesses in the comments.