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Latest ESPN FPI update lays out harsh reality for rest of Wisconsin Badgers season

The latest projections from ESPN's Football Power Index paint a grim picture for what the rest of the season holds for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Lorin Cox|
Sep 6, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell leads warm ups before a game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Camp Randall Stadium.
Sep 6, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell leads warm ups before a game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Camp Randall Stadium. | Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers couldn't keep up with an Alabama Crimson Tide team that was clearly the more talent group.

As UW licks its wounds, the harsh reality is that it doesn't get much easier from here.

The latest projections from ESPN's Football Power Index paint a grim picture for what the rest of the season holds.

The updated rankings after Week 3 have Wisconsin facing the top two teams in the country coming up on the schedule, with Oregon at No. 1 and Ohio State at No. 2.

With Alabama now at No. 3, it means the Badgers will have faced FPI's three best teams in the country.

Then you throw in Michigan at No. 10, Indiana at No. 16 and Illinois at No. 23, and you're left with a murder's row to finish out the year.

The FPI won't match how the AP and coaches poll has those teams ranked, but it's as strong an indication as any that Wisconsin needs to get a lot better quickly.

The Badgers dropped five spots in the ranking, down to No. 45, just behind Rutgers. They are 12th in the Big Ten.

The next opponent on the schedule, Maryland, is ranked below them, so Wisconsin will have the opportunity to bounce back, then catch their breath with a bye before they face the Wolverines.

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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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