The Wisconsin Badgers are staring down a brutally difficult road in the 2025 college football season, as they’ve been handed the toughest schedule of any Big Ten team.
ESPN analyst Bill Connelly recently released his strength of schedule ratings, a metric that estimates how a top-five team would perform against a given slate.
According to Connelly’s calculations, Wisconsin’s schedule carries a .786 SOS rating, meaning an elite program would be expected to win 9-10 of 12 games under similar circumstances.
That ranking places the Badgers atop the Big Ten in difficulty and makes them one of only three teams outside the SEC to rank among the toughest schedules nationwide.
The only other Big Ten programs near Wisconsin in the SOS ratings are Rutgers (.830) and Purdue (.831) – both significantly lower than the Badgers.
Wisconsin recently announced it will kick off the season on Thursday, Aug. 28, against Miami (Ohio). While the opener should provide a manageable start, the schedule becomes a nightmare in September.
Just two weeks later, Luke Fickell’s squad will travel to Tuscaloosa for a non-conference showdown with Alabama on Sept. 13. The real grind, however, begins when the Badgers dive into Big Ten play, facing a relentless lineup of contenders.
In October alone, Wisconsin must navigate a pair of treacherous road games against Michigan and Oregon.
The Wolverines, now under Sherrone Moore, ended 2024 with victories over Ohio State and Alabama, while the Ducks went undefeated in Big Ten play before falling to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.
Speaking of the Buckeyes, Wisconsin hosts the defending national champions just one week before heading to Eugene to face Oregon. The Badgers haven’t beaten Ohio State since 2010, adding another layer of difficulty to an already daunting schedule.
If that wasn’t enough, Wisconsin will also travel to Indiana to face a Hoosiers team that made the CFP last season.
Penn State is the only major Big Ten contender missing from the Badgers’ schedule, but Washington (6-7) and Maryland (4-8) are the only two conference opponents coming off losing seasons.
Wisconsin’s schedule would be a challenge for any program, but it’s especially brutal for a team coming off a 5-7 season.
That 2024 campaign marked the Badgers’ first losing season since 2001, raising serious questions about how they’ll handle this relentless slate of games.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma may have the most brutal schedule in the entire country after making the leap to the SEC.
Connelly’s metric ranks the Sooners’ schedule as the nation’s toughest, featuring Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU in their final seven games.
Getting back to the Badgers …. What are your thoughts on Wisconsin having by far the most difficult schedule in the entire Big Ten???
