Wisconsin Badgers would have reached bowl game if they beat Minnesota, thanks to dropouts

The Badgers always have more than enough at stake when they play Minnesota, but it turns out this year's matchup also could have sent Wisconsin back to a bowl game with a win.

Beating Minnesota (or any other team earlier in the Badgers' schedule) would have given Wisconsin its fifth win of the season.

A 5-7 record does not automatically qualify a team for a bowl game, but a five-win team can still reach one if the NCAA doesn't have enough teams to fill all of the available bowls.

It played out exactly that way this season. All the Badgers had to do was get that fifth win against their biggest rivals, but it proved to be too much.

At least 7 teams that were 5-7 have now declined a bowl bid: Florida State, Auburn, UCF, Baylor, Rutgers, Temple & Kansas, sources told @On3sports. The quest continues to find an opponent for Georgia Southern in the Birmingham Bowl
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 8, 2025

It's become a growing trend this season for other teams to decline their bowl game invitations.

Notre Dame is the biggest name to reject the opportunity, which is seen as a retaliatory move after they were left out of the college football playoffs.

But even teams on the lower end of the success scale are passing on the extra game, leaving more opportunities for five-win teams.

Given that other teams with 5-7 records like Kansas, Temple, Rutgers and Baylor all declined, it does raise some question as to whether the Badgers would have accepted.

Related: How Luke Fickell sold recruits on coming to Wisconsin Badgers after rough 2025 season

Some schools have concerns about fielding a competitive team as portions of their roster opt for the transfer portal.

But Luke Fickell is smart enough to know that bowl game appearances matter to Wisconsin football, and it would help his job security more to have one on the schedule than to miss it entirely.

He won't get that choice because the Badgers came up short against Minnesota, but it stings a little bit more to know that a bowl game could have been on the other side, in addition to bringing Paul Bunyan's Axe back home.

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