Top 5 Badger Football Games to Watch in 2015

1. SEPTEMBER 5th vs. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

As soon as this game was announced, everybody in Wisconsin cleared their calendars for this Saturday. No way there will be anyone who follows the Badgers will want to miss the game against the powerhouse of the SEC in Alabama.

It was great when athletic director Barry Alvarez was able to work out the two games between LSU, one last year in Houston and the next in 2016 at legendary Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI. But what is even better is facing off against Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. And it’s going to be played at one of the biggest stadiums in the country, AT&T Stadium.

Alabama has long been known as the powerhouse team of the entire NCAA. They are the team that has the biggest target on their backs that everyone who plays them wants to dethrone the king. They seem to always get the best players, the best coaches and the best everything. It’s Alabama and then everyone else.

But Wisconsin fans should feel somewhat good about this game for a number of reasons. The Badgers hung with-and had a very good chance to beat-LSU to start the 2014 season. Wisconsin also finally got and elusive bowl win against a tough SEC team in Auburn in the Outback Bowl. And Ohio State was able to knock off Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to advance to the national championship. It seems as if the Big Ten has somewhat closed the gap slightly between them and the SEC.

This game will really show where Wisconsin is as a team and a program all together. The Tide have set the bar in college football so high that reaching that level is something really special. So knocking them off their pedestal, even if it is just for one game, is something special to everyone else. And for a Wisconsin team to even get the opportunity to line up across from Alabama is something a lot of people thought would never happen unless it was in a bowl game.

The kickoff to the season between Wisconsin and Alabama is also one of the featured non-conference games in college football during a season that is full of some great matchups. And although it might seem like a long offseason, the kickoff to the season will be here before we know it. What a way to start the 2015 campaign and the Paul Chryst era than with a showdown with the powerhouse of college football and Alabama.