There are new metrics out for Wisconsin's 2026 strength of schedule, and this could be spun one of two ways. The optimistic angle is that this sort of schedule is exactly what Luke Fickell needed at Wisconsin: to get things going in the right direction, and nothing fixes a program like winning. The pessimistic spin is that Fickell now won't have that excuse if things go poorly.
According to Phil Steele, who is one of the most famous strength-of-schedule predictors out there. He weighs a schedule based on nine factors, not just wins from last season, like most sources. Steele has Wisconsin as the No. 124 team out of 138. That's nearly the opposite of what Badger fans were looking at last season.
Wisconsin has the easiest SOS in the Big Ten according to Phil Steele
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There's not one team in the Big Ten with an easier schedule in front of them next season. Even if you go based on winning seasons as a very base metric, Wisconsin only plays four teams that had a better than .500 record last season.
The Badgers' Big Ten schedule features zero teams from the top of the conference. A couple from the tier two spot, like USC and Iowa. There's also Penn State and Minnesota. Of course, the season starts with Notre Dame, but the rest of the schedule is Eastern Michigan, Western Illinois, Michigan State, UCLA, Purdue, Maryland, and Rutgers. Not exactly a list full of formidable foes.
Yet, like the first paragraph attests. This isn't exactly great news; it's only great news if Fickell and the Badgers capitalize on it. If they don't, it's terrible news, for there's no schedule to hide behind like the last two seasons. This season features one of the easiest schedules in all of FBS. It has to be at least a moderate home run. Six wins at a bare minimum, but it's truly an eight-win season if Wisconsin simply beats the teams they should beat.
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