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Barry Alvarez says Wisconsin beating No. 12 UCLA would change everything this season

Badger legend is amped up for Saturday and what it could mean for Wisconsin.
ByMark Knight
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Former University of Wisconsin football coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez answer questions at the Big Ten football media day on Wednesday July 27, 2022 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Alvarez is the Big Ten Conference Special Advisor for football. Barry Alvarez July 27 2022
Former University of Wisconsin football coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez answer questions at the Big Ten football media day on Wednesday July 27, 2022 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Alvarez is the Big Ten Conference Special Advisor for football. Barry Alvarez July 27 2022 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Wisconsin Badgers vs. the UCLA Bruins feels like the game in which one team emerges as a legit threat to the Big Ten and one team gets labeled an imposter. Both UCLA and Wisconsin have similar things going on this season, and the biggest difference is what the Bruins did to Oregon on Saturday. Now, can they run it back again against the Badgers when Wisconsin is coming off a bye week, all prepared for the Bruins?

Badger legend Barry Alvarez says that a win against No. 12 UCLA this weekend will change the course of the season. "It would legitimize them," Alvarez told ESPN Madison. In other words, Alvarez, like many Wisconsin fans, is waiting for that win that would make it seem like this season isn't a fluke. Is the 4-1 start with a 2-0 Big Ten start legit? Or is it the process of a schedule and taking advantage of Penn State being bad?

Alvarez knows what a legit team looks like, and he is starting to eye this Badger team as something that impresses him. "That would make them a top 12-14, somewhere in that area," Alvarez said. "One of the top teams in the country. A team with a legitimate chance to win the league."

Wisconsin has a lot to prove on Saturday versus No. 12 UCLA and things would drastically change for the Badgers

Related: 3 concerns Wisconsin should have about UCLA after watching the Bruins beat Oregon

Right now, Wisconsin is seen in the national light as a middle-of-the-road Big Ten team. This is way up from being a bottom-dwelling conference team. However, beating UCLA would make many turn their heads to the fact that Wisconsin is a legit threat in the Big Ten.

The good news for Wisconsin is that they've had two weeks to prepare for UCLA, and now they are taking on a Bruins team that is being forced to start their backup quarterback. Whether that's Ty Dieffenbach or Madden Iamaleava. The time is ripe for Wisconsin to knock off the No. 12 team and get ranked themselves.

Now, the season is not lost if Wisconsin can't pull it off in Pasadena. They will be given two more opportunities to "legitimize" themselves in the Big Ten. The next two games after UCLA are against a ranked USC team and a ranked Iowa team. If Wisconsin can walk out of that three-game stretch with two wins, things are looking really great for the Badgers.

Why? The rest of the schedule becomes very manageable, not to mention that two wins in the next three would put Wisconsin already at six wins on the season. That would be incredible in more ways than one. So, Alvarez is right: a win against UCLA would legitimize them. And now's the time to capitalize on it. The nation is watching and waiting to see if Luke Fickell has actually turned this program around.

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