The Wisconsin Badgers will face arguably their most difficult challenge of the season on Sunday when they take on the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Lambeau Field. Wisconsin is a 20.5-point underdog, marking one of the team's biggest deficits on the spread of the past 20 years.
Wisconsin will have a lot of moving parts, as they're debuting a roster with over 40 new players, including new projected starters at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, cornerback, safety, and kicker.
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Now, there are things to be excited about with this Badgers team, namely star linebacker duo Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano, who excelled as true freshmen. But there are a lot of things that we still have to see, which head coach Luke Fickell acknowledged this week as he embraced the unknowns.
Not every loss is the same in college football, and a loss on Sunday doesn't define the Badgers season. But there are a few things we want to see from Wisconsin in the season opener that they can carry forward as the Badgers look to kick off the 2026 campaign.
There are several factors that will determine the Badgers' 2026 season. Let's break down the five most important things we must see from Wisconsin for a successful year.
Cohesiveness in the run game
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The Badgers have really struggled to run the football efficiently over the past two seasons, be it scheme issues, injuries, schedule, or a mix of everything. It's a stark contrast to what Wisconsin has historically been known for, with the hiring of offensive coordinator Phil Longo being one of the major missteps in Luke Fickell's career at Wisconsin.
But Wisconsin brought in a good amount of depth on the offensive line this offseason to pair with a brand-new running back room that might be the best Fickell has had in Madison. Abu Sama III has been oozing with potential since he entered college football at Iowa State, and now will have the opportunity to be the bellcow at Wisconsin this season.
Darrion Dupree has seemed much improved this offseason, and could be the team's third-down back as a solid pass protector and pass-catcher out of the backfield. Bryan Jackson is the wildcard of the group, as he's got as much potential as anyone and provides a different skill set as a bruising 6'0, 235-pound back that can also create a few explosives on his own. If he had an NFL comparison, he feels like Jordan Mason of the Minnesota Vikings (I know Packers fans won't love the reference).
But Wisconsin has had good pieces before and still hasn't put everything together. The team's offensive line, which Fickell has tried to be the bread and butter of the team's offense, didn't perform up to task with run-blocking over the last two years, although a zero at quarterback has heavily contributed to how defenses approach the Badgers.
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We have to see how this iteration of the offensive line will perform, and that starts on Sunday. Wisconsin seems to have some quality players on the right side of the line with Austin Kawecki, the most experienced (and perhaps best) offensive lineman on the team, Emerson Mandell, and Kevin Heywood. The key there is health. I thought Colin Cubberly got better at the end of last year, and he'll be the guy at left guard. Wisconsin needs that interior offensive line to be punishing.
There are questions, though, about how that left side of the offensive line will come together as PJ Wilkins steps into the left tackle role. An absolute worst-case would be like how the Badgers started the 2026 season: a significant change on the line after poor play at left tackle to start the year.
It will be very hard to run and create explosives on the ground against Notre Dame. But we want to start to see the foundation of what Wisconsin can do there, as their offensive success will be heavily predicated on the rushing success.
A part of me still wishes we could've seen an Abu Sama-Dilin Jones tandem. Those two as major explosive threats feel like they'd be very difficult to contain in this iteration of the Badgers offense. But Wisconsin is deep at running back and should be able to keep players fresh.
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Passing game finds some consistency
We're not expecting Wisconsin's passing game to suddenly become one of the best in the country. But the Badgers can't have the pass game that they've shown over the last two years, which led to one of the worst offenses in the nation.
Colton Joseph was brought in for his dual-threat ability, but also his willingness to push the ball downfield, which forces defenses to respect the passing game. Now, his consistency has wavered throughout the offseason, and he has a tendency to hold on to the ball. That, paired with uncertainty at receiver with the talent there, raises a lot of questions about the Badgers' passing offense in 2026.
This is where I'm specifically looking at Jeff Grimes. From what we've seen so far this offseason, it feels like Grimes is trying to bring Joseph along smoothly. And Grimes is going to have a lot on his plate to resurrect this offense.
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When Grimes was hired, I didn't see it as a slam dunk, but philosophically, it felt like a move in the right direction. Wisconsin needed to return to getting more physical in the run game. I honestly thought Phil Longo had some creative run sets with his play designs, but his offense was too outdated and hampered by the 'Air Raid' shotgun style that just does not work at Wisconsin and in the Big Ten (and really at the Power 4 level without elite talent).
Grimes needs to be creative in the run game and find ways to play to this team's strengths, which means making life easier on Colton Joseph. A big part of that is the RPO installment, where we've seen Joseph have some success this offseason. But Wisconsin also needs to find ways to make life easier on its quarterback in the pass game.
Last year, I liked some of the stuff (albeit in a very, very, very limited sample size) that Grimes did with Billy Edwards in getting the ball quickly out of his hands. Joseph struggles with timing sometimes, so designing those "layup" throws that speed up the process for him can help get him going, while setting up some of those vertical shots in coordination with the run game.
This is the make-it-or-break-it year for Grimes. He has his dual-threat quarterback. The Badgers hired Eric Mateos, who managed to coach some very strong run-blocking offensive lines at Arkansas in one of the worst Power 5 situations.
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Of course, it all comes down to results on the field, and a lot of that will be on Joseph and an unproven receiver core. But we need to see more from Grimes as well in Year 2.
Special teams improvements
One underrated issue for the Badgers in the Luke Fickell era has been special teams. It's inexcusable for a team that has talked a good amount about special teams, with Fickell even being involved with those units during practice.
Wisconsin hasn't had a stable kicker situation, with Nathanial Vakos going 19 of 30 (63.3 percent) on field goal attempts over the last two years. The punting situation was inconsistent as well with Atticus Bertrams. But the issues have also been with return teams and kickoff units.
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An underrated issue has been the injuries depleting the team's depth. The Badgers made it an emphasis to acquire depth at the skill positions this offseason, and that should help keep players fresh. Fickell has already noted that true freshmen Donovan Dunmore and Jack Sievers are expected to carve out roles on special teams in Week 1.
The Badgers will rely on unproven kicker Gavin Lahm and sophomore Sean West as their main specialists this season. They need improvement at both positions, as well as the kickoff units, to take out a nagging issue for the team over the past few years.
Can the Badgers be mentally tough?
I've brushed on this earlier in fall camp, but one factor that I'm going to look for this season is whether the Badgers are much tougher than previous Luke Fickell teams have been. That's not saying prior teams haven't been tough. We've seen a number of players over the years play their hearts out for this program.
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But it's no secret that Wisconsin has struggled to bounce back from losses under Fickell. Last season, the Badgers had a brutal six-game losing streak. Now, they faced some very tough opponents: Alabama, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, and Oregon. And there were a couple of games where I thought they fought real hard in that stretch.
But things really got away from them in the Maryland loss after the Alabama game, as they fell 27-10. After a strong effort against Michigan, the Badgers were brutally knocked out by Iowa 37-0 in a game where their lack of toughness was clearly displayed.
Looking back at 2024, the Badgers were 5-2 heading into the final five games of the season. They proceeded to lose all five. Following a strong effort vs. No. 3 Penn State, the Badgers were beaten down by Iowa 42-10. They fought back well in a 16-13 loss to No. 1 Oregon the next week, but their lack of toughness was seen again the following week in a blowout loss to Nebraska. Then they didn't show up much in a 24-7 loss to Minnesota that cost them the Axe and a chance at a bowl game.
Wisconsin has a new-look roster. On paper, they seem better, and their schedule seems easier than the brutal one they faced last year. But how will they respond to adversity? Has Luke Fickell found a way to prepare his team's mental toughness better? Those are questions we have to see and that will determine the Badgers success this season.
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In game decision making
Throughout his tenure, one of the more controversial aspects of Luke Fickell as a head coach has been his in-game decision-making. He's often taken a conservative approach, willingly punting in opposing territory, while his clock management has also been suspect at times.
Through three years in the Big Ten and plenty more as a head coach, Fickell now has a lot of experience to learn from those mistakes. The Badgers could be in a ton of tight games this year, and some of those will come down to whether he outcoaches his counterparts.
To be fair, the offense hasn't inspired much confidence in recent years. But will Fickell be more analytically driven and aggressive with his approach this season after previous mistakes have cost him?
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The Badgers have added some more veteran support on the staff, and they also have Matt Mitchell, a former longtime head coach at the D-II level. We'll see if they're able to aid Fickell as well ahead of a crucial year.
