Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is shown during the third quarter of their game Saturday, October 14, 2023 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Iowa beat Wisconsin 15-6. Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN projects where Wisconsin Badgers will finish in Big Ten football standings

Originally posted on Wisconsin Badgers on SI
By Scott Salomon | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 12:46 PM ET

For the last two seasons, the College Football Playoff National Champion came from the Big Ten. If it is going to happen for a third year in a row, ESPN analyst Bill Connelly does not believe it is going to be the Wisconsin Badgers.

Wisconsin went 5-7 last season and are projected to do about that well this year. ESPN's SP+ predicts them to have three conference wins and five victories overall, which could land Luke Fickell on the hot seat going into 2026.

He is 13-13 heading into this season and has a difficult path toward bowl eligibility in 2025. Connelly thinks this is going to be a rough season for the Badgers.

"When Fickell was hired from Cincinnati in 2023, he tried to thread the needle between manball and modernity on offense, hiring coordinator Phil Longo, a friend of both passing and tempo," Connelly wrote. "The experiment did not work. From 65th in offensive SP+ in 2022, the Badgers sank to 86th, then 100th."

SP+ has Wisconsin with just a two-percent chance of winning the Big Ten and only 40-percent odds to finish at or above .500.

Connelly projects the Badgers to finish 10th in the conference, just behind Nebraska and USC while just ahead of Washington and Minnesota.

* Can Penn State make it 3 completed quests in a row?
* OSU: spectacularly uninspiring coordinator hires (and it might not matter)
* Michigan at No. 10 is *aggressive*
* Oregon is replacing a LOT
* BIGGEST. INDIANA-ILLINOIS GAME. EVER.

2025 B1G PREVIEW: https://t.co/kvA7YoOq41
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) July 18, 2025

Badgers' offense could be a surprise.

When Longo left, Fickell brought in Jeff Grimes from Kansas. Connelly pointed out that over seven years as a coordinator, "Grimes has had offenses ranked as high as ninth in offensive SP+ and as low as 85th, but his wide zone scheme tends to produce a good run game, and he keeps the tempo low."

Grimes has a lot to work with this season, but his young players still have a lot to prove. The progress of their two explosive running backs, redshirt freshman Dillin Jones and sophomore Darrion Dupree, will be critical.

The keys to the ignition were handed over to Maryland transfer Billy Edwards, Jr., who has the ability to be better than any signal-caller the Badgers have had in recent years.

Add in transfers Jayden Ballard from Ohio State and Dekel Crowdus from Hawaii to the wide receiver room, and Edwards has a full arsenal at his disposal.

The defensive front seven is still a question for the Badgers.

"The Badgers slipped to 22nd in defensive SP+ last season -- pretty good, but their worst ranking in 14 years," Connelly wrote. "They were 102nd in rushing success rate, and the front six returns only two starters and welcomes eight transfers; if there's an Achilles heel, it's again up front."

While Connelly believes the front seven could still be a problem, he likes the back end of the defense to carry the day.

His conclusion is fair, but accurate.

"The secondary should be awesome, and the run game could be too," Connelly said. "But between the offensive collapse and a ridiculous schedule featuring four projected top-10 opponents in a seven-week span, this is the least optimistic I've felt about Wisconsin in a while.

"Prove me wrong, Badgers."