Luke Fickell’s Wisconsin team is already running into a familiar modern headache: the Badgers are headed to Peacock in back-to-back games.
That’s one thing when it’s Eastern Michigan, a Power Four program facing a low-tier FBS opponent. Wisconsin knew that one would land on a subscription platform, and that choice at least makes sense on paper. The rougher news came when Penn State was also pushed to Peacock.
For Wisconsin, that’s the kind of scheduling call that stings. The Badgers are 1-1, and while that’s right where plenty of people expected them to be after two games, the mood around the program is still sour.
The second half against Notre Dame was ugly. The Western Illinois game, against an FCS opponent, didn’t do much to calm anybody down either.
The Penn State matchup was the one that mattered most before the season. It was supposed to be the real measuring stick for Fickell’s group, the game that could help show whether Wisconsin has actually turned a corner. Penn State has a new coach and a pretty new roster, but on paper the Nittany Lions still look a lot stronger than the Badgers.
Still, if Wisconsin had looked sharper through the first two weeks, NBC might have thought harder about keeping this one on the main broadcast side. An upset in the making can be great for TV. Instead, the network made its choice, and Wisconsin was not part of the bigger stage.
The Big Ten announced the Week 4 kick times and networks on September 14, 2026, and Wisconsin fans got the news they didn’t want. Oregon and USC got the network slot over Wisconsin and Penn State, while the Badgers were left on Peacock.
ESPN Analytics doesn’t exactly offer much comfort either. With the game at Beaver Stadium, Wisconsin is given just an 11.7% chance to pull off the upset.
So for now, Badger Nation may want to get used to Peacock. There’s at least a chance Wisconsin keeps getting pushed there as the season goes on, since NBC has Big Ten rights and can send more games to the subscription service.
That’s a real frustration for fans, especially older ones who don’t want another streaming bill just to watch their team. And with attendance already looking thin on Saturdays, it adds another layer of distance between the program and its supporters.
At this point, winning is the only thing that can change the mood. Beat Penn State at Beaver Stadium, and the whole conversation shifts.
In Other News...
Wisconsins Coaching Reset Is Back In Focus After Long-Awaited Comments
Nearly four years after Wisconsin changed course and moved on from Paul Chryst, the programs coaching reset is back in the conversation thanks to public reflections from both Chryst and Jim Leonhard. Chryst said he disagreed with the decision to fire him, but he also made clear he believed Leonhard was the right choice to take over the program at the time. It is a reminder of how abrupt that transition felt then, and how much lingering interest there still is in what came next.
Leonhards comments add another layer, since he said he had planned to stay at Wisconsin and was surprised when the job ultimately went to Luke Fickell instead. Since then, Leonhard has moved into NFL coaching and was recently hired as the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator, while Chryst has kept a much lower public profile. For Wisconsin fans, it is a look back at a defining fork in the road, with both men now far enough removed from the moment to speak more openly about it. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Defense Has An Early Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Through two games, Mike Tressels defense has already offered a little bit of everything, and not all of it reassuring. Wisconsin flashed real control in the first half against Notre Dame, then lost some of that edge after the break, and the same unit also had trouble settling in against a mobile Western Illinois quarterback. The overall picture is less about one bad stretch than an inconsistency the Badgers can feel early in the season.
What stands out most is the missing takeaway. After spending the offseason stressing turnovers, Wisconsin still has not come up with an interception or forced fumble, and coaches and players have openly pointed to the need for more physical play and more pressure up front. For a defense built to set the tone, the next step is less about surviving drives and more about changing them, which is where the real concern now lives. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Gets One More Tune-Up Before Penn State Arrives
Wisconsin gets one more chance to clean up the details before Big Ten play begins, and the final stop on the non-conference schedule comes Saturday morning against Eastern Michigan. After a 36-9 win over Western Illinois in Week 2, the Badgers have some good tape to build on, especially in the running game, but there were also enough offensive inconsistencies to keep the staffs attention focused on the finer points of execution.
The defense had its own uneven start against Western Illinois before settling in, so this matchup offers one last opportunity to sharpen things before Penn State arrives. Wisconsin and Eastern Michigan will kick at 11:00 a.m. CT on Peacock, and for the Badgers it feels less like a glamour spot than a needed final tune-up with the schedule about to tighten up in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]