3 Games for Wisconsin Fans to Watch With the Badgers on a Bye Week

Wisconsin has its first and only bye week of the season this fall in Week 6, enjoying a week without a game after rattling off four straight wins.

It's hardly a week off, however, as practice and preparation for the remainder of the season continue to be in full swing. And the Badgers can't afford to let their guard down, as the most difficult stretch of the season (at UCLA, against USC and at Iowa) awaits on the other side of the bye week.

Still, there's plenty of action worth paying attention to this weekend for Wisconsin fans. Below, Badgers ON SI breaks down three Big Ten games that have relevance to Wisconsin:

No. 21 UCLA at No. 13 Oregon — 2:30 P.M. CT, CBS

UCLA Bruins head coach Bob Chesney. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This is one of the biggest games of the weekend, and also probably the most obvious Big Ten game Wisconsin fans will be tuned into on Saturday.

The Badgers will travel to Pasadena to face UCLA in Week 7 following their bye week. The Bruins are currently undefeated, sitting at 4-0 and ranked No. 21 nationally. New head coach Bob Chesney, whom UCLA poached from James Madison this offseason, looks like the real deal.

However, the Bruins haven't played anything close to stiff competition. They've beaten 2-3 California, which just lost to UNLV out of the Mountain West. They've beaten another 2-3 Power Four program, Purdue, as well as San Diego State and a Maryland team that looks to be a matter of when, not if, it fires head coach Mike Locksley.

Still, UCLA has put up some impressive numbers. The Bruins boast the No. 4 rushing offense in the country, led by criminally underrated James Madison transfer tailback Wayne Knight, who's totaled 533 yards and nine touchdowns on 9.1 yards per carry. Senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been...just fine, but UCLA still has the No. 16 total offense in the country. On the other side of the ball, UCLA has the No. 16 run defense in the county — you think Chesney knows how to win in the Big Ten?

Oregon, meanwhile, finds itself back in the top-15 of the AP Poll despite the embarrassing loss to Oklahoma State in Week 2. The Ducks are loaded everywhere and have played with a different fury after the disheartening loss in Stillwater. Eugene is also one of the toughest places to play in the country; this is a tremendous test for both teams.

The Badgers are about to find out just how good their next opponent really is.

No. 19 USC at Penn State — 6:30 P.M. CT, NBC

Southern California Trojans wide receiver Trent Mosley. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wisconsin faces the Big Ten's two Los Angeles schools consecutively; the Trojans will visit Madison on Oct. 24. So for starters, this is another future opponent for the Badgers to keep an eye on.

USC has been a big disappointment so far in 2026. It's 5-1 overall and still ranked inside the top-20, but the Trojans got smoked by Oregon in Week 4, 41-27, embarrassing themselves in the process as head coach Lincoln Riley initially tried to play dumb about a vicious hit his linebacker Desman Stephens II laid on Ducks' quarterback Dante Moore.

On the flip side, can Penn State show any signs of life? Some of the euphoria from Wisconsin's huge upset over then-No. 13 Penn State wore off after the Nittany Lions got taken behind the woodshed the following week at Northwestern. They're somehow slim favorites in this game, and a Penn State win would would make Wisconsin fans feel better about both the win in Happy Valley and the Badgers' upcoming tilt with the Trojans.

Minnesota at Purdue, 7:00 P.M. CT, BTN

Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Darius Taylor. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The hate-watch of Minnesota applies every week for most Wisconsin fans. But aside from the obvious heated rivalry between the Badgers and the Gophers, this matchup is intriguing for several reasons.

First of all, these are the last two teams on Wisconsin's schedule; this will be a good early look at the Gophers and the Boilermakers. But this game also has plenty of larger Big Ten implications.

Minnesota is in a very similar position to Wisconsin right now at 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play. The Gophers suffered a blowout loss to Mississippi State (as the Badgers did to Notre Dame), but started hot in Big Ten play with a road win over Washington and a home victory over Michigan. And just like Wisconsin, Minnesota's real test begins shortly with a three-game stretch against Iowa, at Indiana and back home versus UCLA.

Purdue is just 2-3 and 1-1 in conference play, but the Boilermakers are coming off an upset over Illinois in Champaign and look much feistier in year two under head coach Barry Odom. This is expected to be a game, as the Boilermakers are narrow 2.5-point home underdogs. A Purdue win would effectively bump the Boilermakers up a tier in the Big Ten, standings and perception-wise, while quieting some of the Minnesota hype that's gained steam the last few weeks.

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