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Wisconsin Badgers football schedule looks easier after Week 1 upsets and scares

Some teams on the Wisconsin Badgers schedule had slow starts to the season, making them look a lot more vulnerable than they seemed on paper.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is shown during the first quarter of their game against Miami (Ohio) Thursday, August 28, 2025 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell is shown during the first quarter of their game against Miami (Ohio) Thursday, August 28, 2025 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers football schedule was hyped up to be one of the most difficult slates in the country.

After the first full week of games, some of those tough matchups are looking a lot more winnable.

Unranked Florida State upsetting No. 8 Alabama is a huge relief that makes the Badgers' trip to Tuscaloosa much less daunting.

The Seminoles rushed for over 200 yards and only needed 14 pass attempts to put up 31 points on the Crimson Tide defense.

That should allow Wisconsin to lean on running back Dilin Jones and not put as much pressure on backup quarterback Danny O'Neil if Billy Edwards Jr. isn't ready to go.

It doesn't mean Alabama is all of a sudden an easy matchup, but the game no longer feels out of reach for the Badgers.

Some of UW's other opponents also looked more vulnerable than expected in Week 1.

Iowa trailed FCS UAlbany in the first half of their game before the Hawkeyes pulled away in the second half.

Indiana had some early trouble containing Old Dominion's mobile quarterback, and Minnesota had a slow start against Buffalo.

Even No. 3 Ohio State, in its matchup with No. 1 Texas, didn't look like a well-oiled machine.

Wisconsin can't fully judge all of their future opponents based on just one game, but it should give Luke Fickell some more confidence that his team can pull off some upsets and prove doubters wrong.

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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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