Wisconsin is back in the AP Top 25, snagging the No. 25 spot for the first time since 2023 after rolling through then-No. 16 Southern California with a dominant 24-7 victory. That win was arguably the best under coach Luke Fickell’s four-year tenure, proving this team has made some serious strides. But hold up, because this week they are heading into enemy territory to face an Iowa team that has absolutely owned them for years, and the numbers are brutal.
The Rise From The Depths
How did the Badgers get here? This program went 4-8 last year, following a 5-7 finish in 2024, which snapped a mind-blowing 22-season streak of winning seasons. But athletic director Chris McIntosh brought Fickell back, promising a bigger financial investment in the program, and that paid off big time. Wisconsin landed 34 transfers, with 27 coming from other Bowl Subdivision teams. That investment is definitely paying dividends!
Sure, the offense, with Colton Joseph only passing for 58 yards against USC, is still a work in progress, no doubt about it. But the defense and special teams? Straight up ballers. Wisconsin is giving up just 4.14 yards per play, matching Indiana for the second-lowest average in FBS, right behind Michigan’s 4.10. And get this: they lead the entire FBS with five blocked punts or kicks! That’s hustle and pure grit. Their 24-20 victory over then-No. 13 Penn State last month, even with the Nittany Lions dropping four straight games since, combined with that USC rout, solidifies Wisconsin’s status as one of the nation’s most improved teams. Outside linebacker Sebastian Cheeks, who put up 2 1/2 sacks against USC, summed it up perfectly: “This is what Wisconsin deserves. Hopefully we get to the point where when we beat ranked teams, this is the standard again. This is what we do as a team.”
The Hawkeye Nightmare Looms
But now comes Iowa. The Hawkeyes have straight up dominated Wisconsin, beating them in each of the last four years by a combined 118-26 margin. Think about that, 118-26! Two years ago, Iowa handed them a 42-10 loss, forcing the Badgers to do 42 pushups at the end of each practice the following spring as a grim reminder of that embarrassing performance. Ouch. Then last year, Iowa stomped them even harder, a 37-0 drubbing in Madison. That was Iowa’s highest point total at Camp Randall and their first shutout win there since way back in 1929. Yikes.
Fickell knows the deal. “There’s a lot of things that haven’t gone well for us in this rivalry game,” Fickell said Monday. “We need to do a whole lot to change it. It’s not going to be easy. I don’t know if there’s a tougher place to play in the country.” This year, the Badgers tried a different approach after adding all those transfers: focus on building their own culture and developing chemistry instead of dwelling on the rivalries. But Fickell gets what’s at stake. “Rivalries are what makes college football,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we understand this is a rivalry, this is the Heartland Trophy.”
Saturday’s game isn’t just another road trip, it’s a massive measuring stick for how far these Badgers have truly come. Can they finally break the Iowa curse? Will all that new talent and defensive prowess be enough to overcome four years of pure domination? We’re about to find out.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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