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Wisconsin Badgers football drops even closer to the bottom of Big Ten power rankings

Three straight losses, with a bye week in the middle, continue to lower expectations for the Wisconsin Badgers, as they fall further behind the rest of the Big Ten conference.
Lorin Cox|
Sep 20, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell runs onto the field ahead of players prior to the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Camp Randall Stadium.
Sep 20, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell runs onto the field ahead of players prior to the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

These are dark times for the Wisconsin Badgers football program.

Three straight losses, with a bye week in the middle, continue to lower expectations for the team, as they fall further behind the rest of the conference.

Their decline is reflected in BIg Ten power rankings, where the Badgers are getting uncomfortably close to rock bottom.

The weekly rankings from Fox Sports writer Michael Cohen has Wisconsin falling again after the loss to Michigan, now down to the 17th ranked team in the conference.

The Big Ten only has 18 teams.

Embattled head coach Luke Fickell changed quarterbacks again entering Saturday’s game at Michigan, turning away from No. 2 signal-caller Danny O’Neil, who struggled mightily in losses to Maryland and then-No. 19 Alabama, in favor of the relatively unknown Hunter Simmons, a transfer from Southern Illinois. It hardly mattered, however, as the Badgers were overwhelmed by an aggressive, ball-hawking Michigan defense. Simmons completed 18 of 29 passes for 177 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Wisconsin now faces Iowa, No. 1 Ohio State and No. 3 Oregon in the next three weeks.
Michael Cohen, Fox Sports

The only team ranked lower than the Badgers is Purdue. Wisconsin fell behind Northwestern and a UCLA team that already fired its head coach.

These are the types of programs that UW is supposed to be head-and-shoulders above at all times.

No one expects Wisconsin to be a Top 5 team every year like Ohio State and Oregon, but this program has long had a respectability to be in that second-tier of Big Ten teams that always puts up a good fight.

They haven't found that yet in 2025. This Saturday against Iowa represents a real opportunity to get back on track and secure one of the few remaining wins on the Badgers' schedule.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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