Why On3 is Wrong About Wisconsin Football in Updated Big Ten Power Rankings

Despite enduring its worst stretch of football in nearly three decades, there's optimism around the Wisconsin football program this offseason — in Madison, at least.

With a pricier transfer portal class, a couple of really promising staff hires, and a clear renewed investment into high school recruiting, there's plenty of reasons for internal optimism in the McClain Center.

That optimism clearly hasn't trickled down to the national media yet, however. Wisconsin has caught stray after stray this offseason, and most view the Badgers as an afterthought in the Big Ten once again.

That remained the case Tuesday, when On3's Ari Wasserman released his preseason Big Ten power rankings. The national writer slotted the Badgers in at No. 14, ahead of only Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State and Purdue.

At this point, I could give you a detailed dissertation on why Wisconsin is going to be better than people expect in 2026, breaking down the key aspects of every little individual improvement I expect to see next fall.

But in the context of this particular power ranking, here's three teams Wisconsin should absolutely be ranked higher than:

Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern is ranked one spot higher than Wisconsin at No. 13. And while I understand that the Wildcats had a better season in 2026, going 7-6 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten, they faced a significantly easier slate and didn't pick up a ranked win.

The program made some high-profile adds this offseason, including offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. But I've said it once again I'll say it again: what is this, 2012? Kelly hasn't been a relevant name in college football in several years, and Northwestern is built like a physical, run-it-down-your-throat team, not the high-flying, hurry-up spread offense that Kelly favors.

Another big addition in Evanston? Aidan Chiles, who will be QB1 after he fizzled out at Michigan State. He's a freaky athlete and has plenty of experience, but he also has yet to put it all together in the Big Ten.

UCLA Bruins

Wasserman says it himself: "This may not be a one-year overhaul like Cignetti’s at Indiana."

The comparison between the two head coaches (new UCLA skipper Bob Chesney and Indiana's Curt Cignetti) is obvious given they both shined at James Madison before jumping to the Big Ten. But indeed, this won't be a one-year overhaul — Cignetti did something we've never seen in Bloomington and may never see again.

Don't get me wrong, I like Chesney a lot. I do think he'll get the Bruins pointed in the right direction. But in year one? Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

UCLA signed a whopping 40-plus transfers in a complete overhaul of the depth chart. This is still a roster very much in transition, and we know how unpredictable the portal is. I can see Chesney fielding a respectable team with this portal haul, but for them to be plucky in the Big Ten, it's going to take a majority of these players immediately panning out in Westwood. That's a tall order.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

UNLV Rebels quarterback Anthony Colandrea. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Nebraska at No. 11 is an interesting take, considering the Cornhuskers are pretty clearly trending in the wrong direction after losing quarterback Dylan Raiola (once hailed as the savior of the program) to Oregon this offseason and returning the favor with a rather unremarkable portal class.

UNLV quarterback transfer Anthony Colandrea is now the man in Lincoln, and while he put up good dual threat numbers in Vegas last season 3,400-plus passing yards, 640-plus rushing yards and 33 touchdowns, he's undersized at a listed 6-feet tall and struggled the last time he played power conference ball at Virginia.

Overall, this is another team that went 4-5 in the Big Ten last season, but unlike UCLA, they appear to have gotten worse.

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