Badger Football Unranked in Preseason AP Top 25 for First Time Since 2016

The preseason AP Top 25 was released on Monday and the Badgers found themselves unranked. It's the first time in eight years that Badgers haven't appeared in the top 25 preseason list. The team did receive 15 total votes, but it still only puts them in the 36th slot to start the season.

After an up and down year last season, and ranking 19th in the AP preseason poll, Wisconsin finished 7-6. This season, in Luke Fickell's second year as head coach, the Badgers begin the year firmly in catch-up mode trying to eclipse that win total.

It's not a huge deal that the Badgers are unranked to start the season, after all, it matters where you finish, not where you start. However it does cast a bright light on the fact that Fickell and his staff have a long way to go in order to achieve the team's and fans' lofty expectations. Another 7 win season will not cut it, and if we're honest, anther sub-eight win season probably makes Fickell's seat a little warm heading into 2025-26.

Week three against Alabama will be the Badgers first big opportunity to shoot up the rankings and establish themselves as legitimate playoff contender. Until then, the Badgers will just have to keep moving forward and saying all the right things. They'll play five of the top 25 teams this year, so nothing will come easy.

Here are the full AP Top 25 Preseason Rankings:

1. Georgia

2. Ohio State

3. Oregon

4. Texas

5. Alabama

6. Ole Miss

7. Notre Dame

8. Penn State

9. Michigan

10. Florida State

11. Missouri

12. Utah

13. LSU

14. Clemson

15. Tennessee

16. Oklahoma

17. Oklahoma State

18. Kansas State

18. Miami (FL)

20. Texas A&M

21. Arizona

22. Kansas

23. USC

24. North Carolina State

25. Iowa