Despite Blowout Loss to Iowa, Upset in the Big Ten Helps Strengthen Wisconsin's Resume

Wisconsin's glorious return to the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2023 was almost comically short-lived.

The Badgers earned the No. 25 slot in the AP poll after their upset win over then-No 16 USC, but a hideous 30-0 blowout loss at the hands of Iowa predictably knocked Wisconsin out of the poll entirely; it's no longer even receiving votes.

In one game, Wisconsin has pretty much shattered any and all good will it built up over the course of a 5-2 start to the season. The Badgers finally looked like a different team in year four under head coach Luke Fickell, but then proceeded to look exactly the same as the past two years in the biggest game of the season yet.

So while Wisconsin is now once again going to have to claw its way back to respectability, one aspect of its resume did get a significant boost on Halloween night despite the brutal loss to Iowa.

USC, in what many considered to be a win-or-be-fired game for Trojans' coach Lincoln Riley, upset No. 2 Ohio State, 30-18, for its biggest win yet under the embattled skipper. That got the Trojans back into the AP Top 25, as they're now perched at No. 18 in the country with a 7-2 record (4-2 Big Ten).

How much will the USC win matter for Luke Fickell?

Wisconsin Badgers safety Cairo Skanes. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Fickell's task this season was to get Wisconsin back on track. There was no specific benchmark for him to hit, wins-wise, but anywhere from 7-9 wins seemed reasonable given the schedule.

Wisconsin could still very well hit nine wins if it wins out. An eight-win season, with the chance to get to nine at a bowl game, would also be pretty significant progress considering the Badgers went 4-8 last fall.

But it was never just about wins; the eye test also matters. And they just failed perhaps their most important eye test of the season, once again looking like a junior varsity squad against Iowa.

The Badgers have three very winnable games ahead of the battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe against a feisty Minnesota team. Rutgers, Maryland and Purdue are three of the bottom five teams in the conference; Wisconsin should manage to beat them. Of course, anything can happen in Big Ten play and we're seeing parity on levels perhaps previously unseen across college football this year. But Fickell needs to handle business against the conference's bottom-feeders to keep his job.

The most difficult scenario to imagine for new athletic director Shawn Eichorst is if Fickell finishes 8-4, losing the Minnesota game. Sure, the team doubled its win total, but it also lost to both of its biggest rivals its trophy case remains empty. That's where, if USC goes on to make the College Football Playoff, the win over the Trojans could come in handy for Fickell. 8-4 with two losses to your two biggest rivals is iffy, but if that record also includes a dominant win over a CFP team, that could help Fickell save his job.

November will be a fascinating month in Madison.

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