Wisconsin’s tough 2025 football schedule has been talked about a lot. Even Luke Fickell refers to it as the mountain that needs to be climbed. The Badgers have the hardest schedule in the Big Ten this year, and it’s not even particularly close. 24/7 Sports ranks it as the fifth hardest schedule in the country. ESPN has the strength of schedule rated as 0.786, making it the fourth hardest schedule in the NCAA. The hardest schedule according to that metric is Oklahoma, coming in at 0.771. They are fractionally different.
FanDuel has already set odds at 5.5 wins for Wisconsin. The hard part is figuring out where those wins are coming from. There may only be two guaranteed wins on the schedule, maybe only three games where they are even the favorite.
Maryland is the only Big Ten that Wisconsin will see that was at the bottom of the Big Ten last season
The Badgers will only see one Big Ten team that finished in the bottom five last season and only two teams that finished in the bottom 10. That means that the majority of their Big Ten games are against the top eight Big Ten programs from 2024. Throw in Alabama as a non-conference game and the schedule got even more brutal.
There may truly only be two games that are guaranteed wins: Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee. But honestly, what’s even a guaranteed win anymore? Miami (OH) is coming off a bowl victory over Colorado State from last season in the Snoop Dog Bowl. Middle Tennessee, on the other hand, compiled three total wins last season over Tennessee Tech, Kennesaw State, and UTEP
