Wisconsin is getting ready to head into their second season under head coach Luke Fickell. Fickell came to Wisconsin from Cincinnati after leading the team to their first ever College Football Playoff appearance, the first one by a Group of Five school.
There was a lot of excitement about Fickell accepting the job at Wisconsin and everything he would bring to the program. Stepping into a power conference program is tough to do and Fickell did an okay job going 7-6 in his first season.
However, looking forward to 2024, it is only going to get tougher for the Badgers, especially in conference play with the addition of four Pac-12 teams, Oregon, USC, Washington, and UCLA.
The Badgers have two games against new conference members, Oregon and USC, but luckily they get Oregon in front of a home crowd. So looking at the season as a whole, which away games will be crucial for Wisconsin to bring home a win?
This is going to be a crucial game for the Badgers as it will be their first away game of the season and their first conference game. This will also be the first time they are playing one of the newcomers to the conference.
This will be the first time Wisconsin has to travel on the season and they will be traveling across the country. This is a must-win game because the Badgers will be coming off a big game against Alabama and if they lose, they can't afford to lose two games in a row. Wisconsin also needs to start off on the right foot in conference play, so this will probably be their most crucial away game of the season.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off a season where they met Michigan in the Big Ten championship and lost. The Hawkeyes have always had a solid defense and losing Cooper DeJean will be tough, but their defense is set to be one of the best in the conference yet again.
This will probably be one of the toughest away games for the Hawkeyes this season and with both of these teams in the same division of the conference. This game could be crucial at the end of the season if they are battling out for a division title.
The game at Nebraska is the last away game of the season which is what makes it so important. This could be a trap game for the Badgers if Nebraska is not doing well, or it could be a tough one down the stretch if the Cornhuskers are playing well.
If Wisconsin wants to compete for a Big Ten title at the end of the season, they need to win the easy ones and this game is one of them, especially towards the end of the season.