Re-Evaluating Wisconsin Football's Big Ten Opponents Ahead of Conference Play

First thing's first for Wisconsin football; the Badgers open Big Ten play on the road against No. 13 Penn State in what should be an electric environment and a pivotal game.

But now that we're three weeks into the college football season, we know a lot more about the Badgers' future Big Ten opponents based on the games that have already transpired.

At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, Badgers On SI takes a look at the rest of Wisconsin's Big Ten slate, re-evaluating teams based on the first three weeks of the 2026 college football season:

At Penn State (Sept. 26)

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Carson Hansen. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Nittany Lions have only played Marshall, Temple and Buffalo, but they look pretty dominant through three weeks. Quarterback Rocco Becht basically has yet to make a mistake, and the pass defense has been suffocating, currently sitting at No. 1 nationally allowing 90.0 yards per game.

Vs. Michigan State (Oct. 3)

The Spartans are still in a rebuilding year, but this program has certainly taken some strides already under Pat Fitzgerald. After a narrow 10-point win over Toledo in the opener raised plenty of questions, Michigan State hung around with Notre Dame in Week 3 and trailed by just 10 points heading into the fourth quarter. The Spartans aren't a laughing stock, but Wisconsin should still be favored in this game.

At UCLA (Oct. 17)

It's safe to say new Bruins head coach Bob Chesney knows what Big Ten football is all about; UCLA is currently the No. 1 rushing offense in the country at 286.7 yards per game. Now, it's also faced a smattering of soft defenses in California, San Diego State and Purdue. We'll really find out what this team has on the road against Oregon on Oct. 10.

Vs. USC (Oct. 24)

The Trojans are 4-0, but I'm not sure anyone is convinced Lincoln Riley's program has turned a corner yet. USC just allowed Rutgers to score 35 points and narrowly escaped Piscataway with a win over what's universally considered the worst team in the Big Ten right now. The week prior, Louisiana dropped 30 points on the Trojans in Los Angeles. This team has offensive might as always, but defensive questions persist.

At Iowa (Oct. 31)

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Hank Brown. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Iowa blew two horrible teams out of the water by a combined score of 95-0 (Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa) and snuck past Iowa State at home 16-13. That looks and sounds like the same old Hawkeyes to me. With Michigan up next and Ohio State on deck, we'll soon find out much more about Iowa.

Vs. Rutgers (Nov. 7)

The Scarlet Knights finally picked up a win Friday night, beating Howard at home to limp to 1-3 at the end of September. Considering this team lost handily to UMass and lost to an uninspiring Boston College squad before falling to USC, it's hard to see another win on Rutgers' schedule.

At Maryland (Nov. 14)

Quarterback Malik Washington has been elite for the Terrapins in his sophomore season. Maryland still doesn't look like the most complete team, but Wisconsin needs no introduction to Washington and the Terps after what they did to the Badgers in Camp Randall Stadium last fall.

At Purdue (Nov. 21)

Purdue is a little fiesier than expected this season, and the Boilermakers' offense is putting up points. But this defense looks extremely rough; Wake Forest and UCLA combined to put up 90 points against head coach Barry Odom's squad. Again, I still expect the Badgers to be favored in this one barring a complete meltdown.

Vs. Minnesota (Nov. 27)

Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Gophers beat the snot out of two bad teams (Eastern Illinois and Akron) and lost pretty handily to an upstart SEC team (Mississippi State). That makes it difficult to discern just how good Minnesota actually is. It does rule out, however, the notion that this is the year the Gophers evolve into a College Football Playoff team; despite a roster with some star power and a quarterback getting some NFL love, this team still has plenty of flaws.

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