The month of May provides a valuable temperature check for the Big Ten Conference and where its top teams stand after the spring practice session.
The primary contenders entering 2025 are no surprise. Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon all again project to be terrific. Behind that top trio, Michigan appears set for a big jump in year two under Sherrone Moore, an upstart Illinois team should be well-equipped with an easy schedule and Nebraska is building its typical sky-high expectations.
Some popular sleeper picks to enter the conversation are Washington in year two under Jedd Fisch, USC if its defense improves and an Iowa team that appears to have finally found a quarterback.
In that mix of name-brand programs and two former Big Ten West regulars, where does Wisconsin fall?
USA TODAY’s Paul Myerberg recently updated his full Football Bowl Subdivision 1-136 power ranking after spring practice. The Badgers hold a startlingly low position.
Where every Big Ten team falls in USA TODAY post-spring FBS re-rank
- Penn State Nittany Lions (No. 3 overall)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 6 overall)
- Oregon Ducks (No. 8 overall)
- Illinois Fighting Illini (No. 11 overall)
- Michigan Wolverines (No. 14 overall)
- Nebraska Cornhuskers (No. 18 overall)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (No. 24 overall)
- Indiana Hoosiers (No. 29 overall)
- USC Trojans (No. 31 overall)
- Minnesota Golden Gophers (No. 38 overall)
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights (No. 41 overall)
- Washington Huskies (No. 52 overall)
- UCLA Bruins (No. 59 overall)
- Michigan State Spartans (No. 68 overall)
- WISCONSIN BADGERS (No. 78 overall)
- Maryland Terrapins (No. 97 overall)
- Northwestern Wildcats (No. 109 overall)
- Purdue Boilermakers (No. 120 overall)
Wisconsin’s place at No. 15 in the Big Ten and No. 78 in the nation factors in the team’s schedule, which ranks as the toughest in the conference. Myerberg projects the Badgers to finish 5-7 against that slate, which includes games against Alabama (No. 10 of 136), Michigan (No. 14), Ohio State (No. 6), Oregon (No. 8), Washington (No. 52), Iowa (No. 24), Illinois (No. 11), Indiana (No. 29) and Minnesota (No. 38).
If that prediction comes to fruition, it would mark the Badgers’ second straight 5-7 finish, likely the program’s first back-to-back seasons without a bowl trip since 1991-92.
Of note, the Badgers stood at No. 41 in ESPN SP+’s pre-spring power rating. So while the team’s season-long expectations will be measured, it still projects as one of the sport’s fringe-top-40 teams.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Big Ten football post-spring power rankings, per USA TODAY
The month of May provides a valuable temperature check for the Big Ten Conference and where its top teams stand after the spring practice session.
The primary contenders entering 2025 are no surprise. Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon all again project to be terrific. Behind that top trio, Michigan appears set for a big jump in year two under Sherrone Moore, an upstart Illinois team should be well-equipped with an easy schedule and Nebraska is building its typical sky-high expectations.
Some popular sleeper picks to enter the conversation are Washington in year two under Jedd Fisch, USC if its defense improves and an Iowa team that appears to have finally found a quarterback.
In that mix of name-brand programs and two former Big Ten West regulars, where does Wisconsin fall?
USA TODAY’s Paul Myerberg recently updated his full Football Bowl Subdivision 1-136 power ranking after spring practice. The Badgers hold a startlingly low position.
Where every Big Ten team falls in USA TODAY post-spring FBS re-rank
- Penn State Nittany Lions (No. 3 overall)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 6 overall)
- Oregon Ducks (No. 8 overall)
- Illinois Fighting Illini (No. 11 overall)
- Michigan Wolverines (No. 14 overall)
- Nebraska Cornhuskers (No. 18 overall)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (No. 24 overall)
- Indiana Hoosiers (No. 29 overall)
- USC Trojans (No. 31 overall)
- Minnesota Golden Gophers (No. 38 overall)
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights (No. 41 overall)
- Washington Huskies (No. 52 overall)
- UCLA Bruins (No. 59 overall)
- Michigan State Spartans (No. 68 overall)
- WISCONSIN BADGERS (No. 78 overall)
- Maryland Terrapins (No. 97 overall)
- Northwestern Wildcats (No. 109 overall)
- Purdue Boilermakers (No. 120 overall)
Wisconsin’s place at No. 15 in the Big Ten and No. 78 in the nation factors in the team’s schedule, which ranks as the toughest in the conference. Myerberg projects the Badgers to finish 5-7 against that slate, which includes games against Alabama (No. 10 of 136), Michigan (No. 14), Ohio State (No. 6), Oregon (No. 8), Washington (No. 52), Iowa (No. 24), Illinois (No. 11), Indiana (No. 29) and Minnesota (No. 38).
If that prediction comes to fruition, it would mark the Badgers’ second straight 5-7 finish, likely the program’s first back-to-back seasons without a bowl trip since 1991-92.
Of note, the Badgers stood at No. 41 in ESPN SP+’s pre-spring power rating. So while the team’s season-long expectations will be measured, it still projects as one of the sport’s fringe-top-40 teams.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Big Ten football post-spring power rankings, per USA TODAY
