Not to be overly dramatic, but there is one weekend this fall that has huge potential to change the course of Badger athletics forever. On September 14th, Badger basketball will host three top 100 recruits on official visits, and Badger football will play a little school from down south you may have heard of in the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Greg Gard and company have visits scheduled for Amari Allen, Tommy Ahneman and Davion Hannah that weekend. They are ranked 100, 87, and 29 in the country respectively. The Badgers currently have two members committed to the 2025 class in Zach Kinziger and Will Garlock, but no top 100 commits. Landing any one of those three would be huge for the program.
In addition to one of the biggest basketball recruiting weekends in recent years, the football team will be taking on a top-ranked Alabama squad at Camp Randall. Alabama will presumably be a top 10 opponent by the time they arrive in Madison, and an upset over the Tide could catapult the Badgers into the national conversation. Luke Fickell will be looking for some statement wins in year two after a somewhat average 2023, and what better way to do it than by beating one of the best?
On the other hand, the Badgers could just as easily be negatively impacted as well. Missing out on all three recruits and a loss to Alabama could spell more of the same for Wisconsin. It's rare to have the Badgers land elite recruits, and Gard is plenty comfortable getting things done with lesser-known players, but it will be tough to once again miss out on some top talent.
With a loss to Alabama, the Badgers will have to turn their attention to USC, Oregon or Penn State to get their statement win. The season isn't over at week three, but it will be harder to convince fans and media that Fickell and the Badgers have arrived.