The University of Wisconsin-Madison football team headed into their first bye week of the season sitting 2-1 following a disappointing loss to the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 14. With the expansion of the Big Ten and a tough schedule ahead, the question stands: will the Badgers be able to make it back to bowl season?
The Badgers have made it to a bowl game for 22 consecutive years since 2002 and are looking to further their streak in 2024. The Badgers have also had at least seven wins every year following their 5-7 record in 2001.
To become bowl-eligible, each team must win at least six games in a season. With nine games remaining, Wisconsin needs to win at least four to be eligible for a 23rd straight season. After a unique start for Wisconsin, there is certainly a lot of stake to achieve at least six wins this season.
The Badgers have won eight of their ten bowl games dating back to 2014. Wisconsin also holds the third-longest consecutive bowl game streak in the entire nation, behind the Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners by just a couple of years.
The Badgers are heading into Big Ten play following an eventful non-conference start to the season. Wisconsin will look to close out their season against USC, Purdue, Rutgers, Northwestern, Penn State, Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska and Minnesota.
The schedule hosts four more home games and five away games as the Badgers will head to USC for their first road matchup of the season. The Badgers are only favored to win two of their nine matchups, according to ESPN projections. Currently, three of these teams are ranked with one of the matchups on the road, at USC, and two at Camp Randall against Penn State and Oregon.
Although it didn’t really make much of an impact against Alabama, the crowd needs to and should play a huge role come Oct. 26 and Nov. 16. Heading to Los Angeles will be an uphill climb for the Badgers as they will have to adapt to a completely different time zone for the weekend.
After losing quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the season, the outlook on the Badgers’ season has changed drastically. Wisconsin turned to redshirt sophomore quarterback Braedyn Locke to close out the game against the Crimson Tide, and it seems likely he will fill the QB1 position for the foreseeable future unless another change is made.
In a small sample size last season, Locke led the Badgers to an underwhelming 1-3 record, their only win coming against Illinois. If Locke is unable to prove his worth in getting the Badgers to a bowl game, head coach Luke Fickell has some other options to consider.
Wisconsin has freshmen quarterbacks Mabrey Mettauer — a four-star prospect in the class of 2024 — Cole LaCrue and Milos Spasojevic to resort to if Locke is unable to get the job done. The Badgers will need to execute the passing game to open up the run game for Chez Mellusi, Tawee Walker, and Cade Yacamelli.
With four of the Badgers' future opponents ranked, an upset will be crucial for Wisconsin’s hopes of hitting the six-win mark. The best chance the Badgers have at pulling off an upset is against the No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions and the No. 8 Oregon Ducks, who they will meet at home in Camp Randall.
Looking at the rest of their schedule, I believe the Badgers are most likely to defeat Rutgers, Northwestern, Minnesota and Purdue. Winning all four would make the Badgers bowl eligible for their 23rd season in a row. Mix in a possible upset and Wisconsin could be looking at a higher-stakes bowl game.
The odds are certainly against the Badgers as they are set to play three top teams in the nation, but beating four of these nine opponents is plausible for the Badgers. By the time Wisconsin closes out regular-season play, the Badgers should be comfortably set into bowl season and extend their illustrious streak of consecutive bowl games to 23 straight years.
The Badgers will head to Los Angeles on Sept. 28 to take on the University of Southern California Trojans.
