Wisconsin’s brief return to the AP Top 25 didn’t last long.
A week after climbing back into the rankings at No. 25 following a win over USC, the Badgers were knocked right back out after a blowout loss to Iowa. The Week 9 AP Poll left Wisconsin completely unranked, and the Badgers didn’t even show up in the “received votes” section.
That’s a harsh turn for a team that had just started to build some momentum. Wisconsin entered the Iowa game at 5-2, carrying its best record in what feels like forever and looking like a program that might finally be turning a corner. The national media had noticed, too, putting the Badgers in the AP Top 25 for the first time since Week 2 of the 2023 season.
But Iowa once again had the upper hand. The Hawkeyes have now won the last four meetings in the series, and they’ve done it handily.
For Luke Fickell, the matchup was a chance to show that Wisconsin was really moving forward. Instead, the Badgers took another blowout loss to a rival and lost the ranking they had just earned.
The good news for Wisconsin is that the path back into the poll still looks manageable.
Rutgers comes to Madison next week, and the Scarlet Knights are 2-6. They haven’t been especially competitive for much of the season, though they did push Michigan in a 28-21 loss.
After that, Wisconsin goes on the road to face Maryland, also 2-6, and Purdue, which is 3-5. Maryland recently fired Mike Locksley, whose last conference win came last season against the Badgers at Camp Randall.
Purdue’s record is losing, but the Boilermakers have beaten Illinois and Minnesota and have dropped three straight.
The regular season ends at home against Minnesota. The Gophers were beaten 41-13 by Purdue, then bounced back with a win over Iowa and took No. 4 Indiana to overtime in Bloomington.
If Wisconsin handles the next three games the way it should, the Badgers would finish 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten. That, at least in this view, would be enough to get them back into the top 25 before the Minnesota game.
In Other News...
Wisconsin Just Reached A Quarterback Decision Point Fans Saw Coming
After a lopsided loss to Iowa, Wisconsin reached the kind of quarterback crossroads fans had been bracing for. Colton Joseph was benched after a rough outing, and true freshman Ryan Hopkins took over, finishing 8 of 13 for 93 yards with an interception as the Badgers tried to steady things in the second half.
Hopkins now looms as the most likely answer for the next stretch, which gives Wisconsin a different kind of conversation than it was having a week ago. The question is no longer whether the Badgers need a change under center, but how quickly they want to lean into it and what that means for the rest of the season and beyond. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Has An Early Problem To Clean Up Before Delaware
Wisconsin got the win in its season opener against Denver, but the performance came with enough rough edges to keep Greg Gard and his staff busy before the next tip. The second half was the issue, and Gard was blunt afterward in saying the game fell below the programs standard while the coaches continue sorting through the rotation and trying to find the right mix early in the year.
Delaware now arrives as the next test, and it will be the first-ever meeting between the programs. Wisconsins projected starting group is expected to look much like it did in the opener, even as a few players are still working their way back from injury, which leaves the Badgers with an early chance to clean up the details before the schedule starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Barry Alvarez Just Turned Up Pressure On Wisconsin's Quarterback Debate
Luke Fickells quarterback decision at Wisconsin already had enough weight on it, and Barry Alvarez just added another layer to the conversation. With veteran Colton Joseph and true freshman Ryan Hopkins both in the mix, Alvarez floated a middle-ground approach that would let Hopkins get early-game snaps without fully taking the job away from Joseph, giving the staff a cleaner look at what the freshman can do while keeping the veteran engaged.
It is the kind of idea that can sound simple in theory and complicated in practice, especially with Rutgers, Maryland and Purdue coming up. Those games could become the backdrop for a live evaluation, one that tests not only Hopkins readiness but also how long Wisconsin can keep the competition balanced before the quarterback question demands a more permanent answer. [Read more 🡒]