It's no secret that the Wisconsin Badgers have one of the toughest schedules in the country in 2025. In fact, you could argue that it's the hardest schedule. The preseason AP Poll Top 25 rankings dropped today, and there are six ranked teams currently on the Badgers' schedule. The only other team that seems to have more is Oklahoma with seven.
The Badgers will play three top-10, five top-15, and six top-25 matchups according to the poll. This includes Ohio State at No. 3, Oregon at No. 7, Alabama at No. 8, Illinois at No. 12, Michigan at No. 14, and Indiana at No. 20. There's also even Iowa, which was one of the teams that is on the outside looking in for the preseason Top 25 poll.
The Wisconsin Badgers face six top 25 teams in the preseason AP Poll
Let's answer the question: How many ranked teams could Wisconsin play this season? We can start with that number. Not all of those teams will stay ranked, but considering most are in the top-15, it's a good likelihood that they stay in the rankings for a while unless there's a big collapse.
However, we add in Iowa, who the Badgers take on in their sixth game of the season. They could be ranked by the time Wisconsin gets to that spot. The Hawkeyes take on a No. 22-ranked Iowa State in week two and No. 20 Indiana the week before the Badgers. There is a chance that even if one of those games goes the way of Iowa, they will be ranked by the Wisconsin game.
Or how about Washington? They don't play Wisconsin until the very end of the season, but could easily be 7-1 or 6-2 by the time the two UWs square off. They have three ranked opponents before the Badgers: Ohio State, Illinois, and Michigan. There's a strong chance that the Wisconsin-Washington game is also against a ranked opponent.
I hate to say this one, but Minnesota could also be ranked by the time Wisconsin gets to the final game of the season. Why? The Golden Gophers have essentially the opposite schedule to the Badgers. It's about as easy as a Big Ten schedule can get. They literally play two ranked opponents in Ohio State and Oregon; the rest of the schedule is bottom-feeder Big Ten schools like Northwestern, Purdue, Michigan State, Rutgers, etc. It's impressively easy.
By the time that rivalry game comes around, the Golden Gophers, if they win all the games they are projected to win, could be sitting at 9-2. God forbid, but it's a real possibility because of how easy their schedule is. Sure, it would be fun to play spoiler to that one, though.
The Wisconsin Badgers could face off against nine ranked opponents throughout the 2025 season.