Ranking Wisconsin Football's Most Important Games in 2026

Not all games on the 2026 Wisconsin football schedule are equal.

Nov 25, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Tanner Mordecai (8) hoists Paul Bunyan's Axe. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Tier 1: Program Defining Rivalries

Nov 29, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) runs with the ball. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In this tier you will find the rivalry games. The games that players, coaches, and fans alike look forward to every single year. Winning these games matters more than the teams' records each season. Wisconsin needs to get back to winning rivalry games consistently.

2. Iowa

After years of back-and-forth games, Wisconsin and Iowa have been trending in opposite directions. Or rather, Iowa has consistently won games like they always have, but the Badgers lost their identity, the one that made this rivalry with Iowa so fun to watch.

The Badgers took a beatdown at the hands of the Hawkeyes last season, losing 37-0 at home.

Wisconsin hasn't beaten Iowa since 2021 and the Hawkeyes are dangerously close to evening the all-time series at 49 wins a piece. Wisconsin holds a narrow lead 49-48-2 all-time.

It's time to change that, or at the very least, make the games competitive again. If the Badgers take another loss to the Hawkeyes, it will definitely be a black mark on the season, regardless of what their final record is.

1. Minnesota

To me, this is the most important game on the schedule. Not because Minnesota is a powerhouse program or that it will make the Badgers a national contender, but before you can get there, you need to win your rivalry games.

This is the longest tenured rivalry in all of college football. That means something.

As of late, the Gophers have gotten the better of the Badgers and Fickell needs to change that. Wisconsin could go 10-2 or 9-3 this season and if one of those losses is to Minnesota (yet again), then this season will still feel incomplete.

Before we can talk about contending for College Football Playoff spots or even the Big Ten Conference, the Badgers need to take back control of the Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe.