Wisconsin Football Draws Familiar Bowl in The Athletic's Postseason Projections

A national writer thinks the Badgers could be headed back to Charlotte this winter.

Wisconsin Badgers hold up the Dukes Cooler after beating Wake Forest at Bank of America Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports

While the Badgers are still flying pretty heavily under the radar ahead of the 2026 season, national analysts do seem to believe Wisconsin is trending in the right direction as head coach Luke Fickell faces what's likely his last chance in Madison.

Some have gone as far as putting Badgers in the conversation — or at least the final ranking — for the College Football Playoff. But first thing's first: getting back to bowl eligibility would be a win for this team.

Add The Athletic's Scott Dochterman to the list of national college football writers who belive that's a possibility. In his official preseason bowl projections, he has Wisconsin facing off with Virginia in Duke's Mayo Bowl.

The Badgers know the Duke's Mayo Bowl all too well, as they went down to Charlotte in the first-ever iteration of the bowl in 2020, taking care of Wake Forest 42-28.

What the Duke's Mayo Bowl projection means for Wisconsin

Bowl projections are all about predicting a team's finish, and Dochterman considers the Badgers one of the last teams in the Big Ten to earn a postseason bid. Wisconsin is the second-to-last Big Ten team in Dochterman's projections, behind Iowa, USC, Michigan ,Illinois, Nebraska and Washington — but ahead of Minnesota.

In 2025, Minnesota was the Big Ten's representative in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, and the Gophers went 7-5. In 2022, Maryland earned a Duke's May Bowl bid with an 8-5 record. Seven or eight wins is about the number Wisconsin would likely have to hit, which in many ways would constitute a successful season.

Badgers could face feisty opponent

Virginia Cavaliers quarterback Beau Pribula. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After several years of futility at Virginia, including five straight seasons without a bowl appearance from 2020-2024, head coach Tony Elliot and the Cavaliers turned it around last fall. Virginia won 11 games for the first time in program history and defeated Missouri in the Gator Bowl.

That doesn't look to be a flash in the pan. The Cavaliers kicked off their season with a Week 0 clash against NC State, and they rolled over the Wolfpack easily, holding them to under 170 total yards of offense while Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula surgically diced up their defense to the tune of 9-of-11 passing for 155 yards and two scores with another 110 yards on the ground.

Though the article was published the morning after Week 0, it's quite possible Dochterman made these predictions before the Cavs dominated the Wolfpack to kick off their season. NC State isn't exactly a juggernaut of an opponent, but Virginia looks like a team that's going to content for a College Football Playoff bid in the ACC. This projection may be a bit low for the Cavaliers.