{"id":772813,"date":"2026-07-19T22:50:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T22:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/772813\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T22:50:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T22:50:14","slug":"wisconsin-football-best-worst-most-likely-case-scenarios-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/772813\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Football: Best, Worst, Most Likely Case Scenarios for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Fall Camp for Luke Fickell\u2019s lads is now under two weeks away, so it\u2019s a perfect moment to take a stab at the Wisconsin Badgers\u2019 2026 win total in classic Scary Alvarez fashion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Close your windows so the Canadian smoke doesn\u2019t get in and gather around.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Although I\u2019ve been reluctant to guess a win number for this squad, in this exercise I get to pick three so I\u2019m more comfortable with it. And when I dare to dream, I can see a path forward for a 9-win Wisconsin season (pre bowl).<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">For this to come to fruition, a lot will need to go right, including relatively good health. The Badgers will need <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buckys5thquarter.com\/wisconsin-badgers-football\/90271\/wisconsin-badgers-football-news-evaluating-qb-room-ahead-fall-camp-colton-joseph\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">quarterback Colton Joseph to stay upright<\/a> and on the field (along with their top talent across several positions, like linebacker and offensive line). The coaches will also have to bring it, staying consistently locked in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Given their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buckys5thquarter.com\/wisconsin-badgers-football\/90250\/wisconsin-badgers-football-news-ranking-toughest-games-on-schedule-iowa-notre-dame\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">manageable schedule<\/a> and upgraded talent, it\u2019s definitely not a pipe dream to believe 9-3 could happen. But don\u2019t write it in ink just yet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">If some things don\u2019t click with all the new pieces and the injury bug bites yet again, it\u2019s not outlandish to imagine a season where the Badgers make a jump but can\u2019t quite get it done in several games and ultimately fall flat with a third straight campaign without a bowl.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">It goes without saying that this would mean the end of the Fickell era in Madison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Given all of the optimism in Madison right now, this may seem a bit harsh, and I get that. But, as I noted above, I have a bit of PTSD that I\u2019m still working through right now and when I revisit this in late August, I might up this based on what I see in camp.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The pieces seem to be in place right now at every position for a nice step forward, especially at quarterback and defensive back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">So, let\u2019s say a solid 7-win season with a bowl game, at least one rivalry trophy, and Fickell back in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fall Camp for Luke Fickell\u2019s lads is now under two weeks away, so it\u2019s a perfect moment to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":772814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,99,15053],"class_list":["post-772813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-sports","tag-wisconsin-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}