Wisconsin football has gone from a team people were wondering about to one that national voices are openly putting in the College Football Playoff conversation.
That kind of turnaround can feel sudden, but that’s where Luke Fickell’s Badgers are right now. The talk around Madison has shifted fast, and the question is no longer whether the job is under pressure. After Wisconsin’s win over USC, the new discussion is whether this team can actually be a CFP sleeper.
David Pollack and Takeo Spikes were the latest to jump in. Pollack didn’t hold back on what he saw from the Badgers in the trenches: "Physically stuffed USC in a locker," Pollack said.
"Look at the line of scrimmage getting owned by Wisconsin... Wisconsin is in the mix."
The reaction matters because it reflects how quickly the national perception has changed. After the USC game, people started looking at Wisconsin a little differently. The defense in particular turned heads, especially against a USC offense that had been getting credit as the best in the Big Ten before running into the Badgers.
The attention isn’t limited to Pollack and Spikes, either. Jake Butt is on board with the idea that Wisconsin could keep building something real, and he pointed directly to the defense and the schedule ahead: "They will be in every game because of this defense," Butt said. "All you can ask for is a chance late in the game to win a game."
That came up on Big Ten Today, where the discussion centered on whether Wisconsin could keep climbing into the College Football Playoff picture.
The schedule is part of why the conversation has legs. After Iowa, Wisconsin will face Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, and Minnesota. It’s a stretch that looks manageable, and that has people looking at the possibility of a strong finish.
There is still a long way to go, of course. The standard warning applies: focus on Iowa, handle the next game, don’t get ahead of yourself.
That’s fair enough. But fans are allowed to dream a little when the noise around their team changes this fast.
For now, Wisconsin still has work to do, and it starts with Saturday. The Badgers are not even bowl-eligible yet, so before anyone starts circling 10 wins, they have to beat Iowa, reclaim the Heartland Trophy, and then keep moving. But the larger picture is hard to ignore: the national conversation around Wisconsin football is changing, and it’s changing quickly.
In Other News...
Wisconsins Rotation Is Taking Shape Around One Growing Concern
Wisconsins exhibition slate offered enough to feel encouraged and enough to keep the staff measuring the depth chart with caution. The Badgers finished 3-0, capped by a win over Oklahoma State, and Owen Foxwell looked like the guard most ready to steady things early. He brought efficient scoring and a clear presence in the backcourt, the kind of start that can settle a team while the rest of the rotation sorts itself out.
The bigger question now is what happens in the minutes around him. Other players have flashed, but nobody has yet locked down a dependable scoring role, which leaves the Badgers with a real sense of possibility and a lingering concern as the season approaches. Wisconsin has a workable foundation, but the way those non-Foxwell possessions are filled in may end up shaping how quickly this group finds its rhythm once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Badgers Showed Real Promise But One Issue Still Stands Out
The Badgers closed the preseason with a convincing 82-65 win over Oklahoma State, a performance that offered a cleaner snapshot of what this group can be when the offense is clicking. Owen Foxwell led the way with 19 points and three assists, and he was especially sharp from deep, going 3-for-3 from three-point range as Wisconsin shot 43.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Even with the strong shooting night and a defense that held the Cowboys to 65 points, there was still a familiar issue sitting in the background. Wisconsin turned the ball over 15 times, and while that did not spoil the result in an exhibition setting, it remains the kind of detail that can undercut a promising night once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces Two Iowa Unknowns That Could Decide The Heartland Trophy
Wisconsin heads to Iowa this week with the kind of game that can turn on small details, and the matchup already has a little extra uncertainty baked in. The Badgers, now No. 25, are facing an Iowa team that slipped out of the AP Poll after its loss to Minnesota, but the bigger question is what the Hawkeyes will look like on offense with the quarterback situation still unsettled and Hank Brown set to start.
There is another layer of unpredictability around Iowas backfield, too, with star running back Kamari Moulton out for the season and the workload shifting elsewhere. For Wisconsin, that means preparing for a rivalry game in which the usual scouting report may not hold up for long, and the Heartland Trophy could come down to which side adapts fastest once the ball is kicked off. [Read more 🡒]