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ESPN ranks Billy Edwards and Wisconsin Badgers outside of Top 75 QB situations in college football

ESPN ranked every college football team based on their quarterback situation, and the Wisconsin Badgers landed outside of the Top 75 with Billy Edwards Jr.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. (9) is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. (9) is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are hopeful that Billy Edwards can provide instant offense through the transfer portal this season.

ESPN college football reporter David Hale is less convinced.

He ranked all 136 FBS teams based on their quarterback situation, and Wisconsin landed with Purdue below every other Big Ten team in Tier 15b (out of 20).

Tier 15b: We used to be somebody: established starter edition

James Madison (Matthew Sluka, Camden Coleman)
Liberty (Ethan Vasko, Ryan Burger)
Purdue (Ryan Browne, Bennett Meredith, Evans Chuba, Malachi Singleton)
Tulane (Kadin Semonza, Brendan Sullivan)
UNLV (Anthony Colandrea, Alex Orji)
Washington State (Zevi Eckhaus, Ajani Sheppard, Jaxon Potter)
Wisconsin (Billy Edwards Jr., Danny O'Neil)

Hale pointed out how much Edwards struggled during the second half of last season for Maryland, noting that he was the only starting Power 4 QB not to throw a touchdown on third or fourth down last year.

He started out the season strong, though, and Luke Fickell is hoping to get that version of Edwards to lift his Wisconsin offense.

It feels a little insulting to have the Badgers' quarterback situation ranked next to a 1-11 Boilermakers team and a bunch of Group of 5 programs.

81 other teams are ranked ahead of the teams in UW's tier.

Edwards evidently isn't going to get any benefit of the doubt this season, and he's going to have to earn respect with his performances on the field.

Wisconsin is counting on it.

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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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