Luke Fickell is in a make-or-break season, and everyone in the local and national media will be paying attention to how hot his seat gets. Wisconsin hiring a new athletic director really puts even more added pressure on Fickell. However, a few things that Fickell has going for him are the fact that he has a better roster this season, better quarterback depth, and a more manageable schedule. In a conference full of landmines, Fickell dodges most of them in 2026.
ESPN the other day predicted a pessimistic view of Wisconsin's season, a prediction that would see Luke Fickell fired if it played out. CBS, on the other hand, has a much more optimistic view. CBS gives a final record prediction but also a win/loss forecast for each game on the season.
CBS has the Badgers finishing at 7-5 and 5-4 in the Big Ten. That's a season that not only would Wisconsin fans be happy and relieved to see, but it would keep Luke Fickell employed at Wisconsin, especially with the top-20 incoming recruiting class.
It's a fairly predictable win/loss from a national prediction. The losses are coming from Notre Dame, Penn State, UCLA, USC, and Iowa. While the wins on the schedule are against the two other non-conference opponents, Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan. Then in the Big Ten, it's Michigan State, Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, and Minnesota.
CBS has Wisconsin beating Minnesota and going to the Catcus Bowl
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The game that should stand out in that list is the rivalry game against Minnesota. A place where Fickell has failed too many times (winning only one Axe game so far). That's just not good enough, and that alone would really leave a nice sweet taste in the mouth of both the new athletic director and Wisconsin fans. Ending the season with the axe and a big win over the Golden Gophers.
The other games aren't that surprising; the rest are at the bottom of the Big Ten. Wisconsin will probably be favored in all of those games. The surprising part is the fact that Wisconsin didn't get awarded any of the "toss-up" games. UCLA and Penn State are two examples. Penn State has a new coach but a talented roster, so it's understandable that the national media will give the Nittany Lions the edge. UCLA, though, has been bad, and they didn't get as much talent or as good a coach.
The hard part for sites like CBS is that giving a team like Wisconsin an eight-win season after having a four-win season last year feels like a big jump. Too big a jump, and therefore, the "toss-up" game goes to UCLA. And maybe that's right. Luke Fickell has a tendency to win games he shouldn't win in a season and lose games he shouldn't lose. So if it goes chalk like this, it would be great for the seven-win season, but it would be surprising in terms of Fickell's career.
Finally, one more note from the CBS article is that the seven-win season gives Wisconsin a bowl, and the prediction from CBS is that the Badgers will end up in the Cactus Bowl (formerly Rate Bowl). That would make a ton of sense if the season plays out like predicted.
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