Wisconsin’s gauntlet schedule in 2024 can be viewed through two separate lenses.
First, a pessimist would look at contests against Alabama, Oregon, USC, Penn State, Nebraska and Iowa and see a substantial roadblock to Wisconsin’s classic 9-win pace.
But importantly, an optimist looks at those home games against the Crimson Tide, Ducks and Nittany Lions and sees golden opportunities for defining wins that could jumpstart the Luke Fickell era.
Related: Wisconsin’s biggest questions entering 2024 football season
Fans should lean toward the latter. We won’t talk that much about easy wins against Purdue and Northwestern a decade from now. But Wisconsin’s upset win over No. 1 Ohio State in 2010 is still part of the conversation. A win against any of Alabama, Oregon or Penn State could be that to this generation of the program.
This thought brings up a central question. Yes, Wisconsin has one of the nation’s toughest schedules with big games seemingly every other week. But through all of that, what is the program’s most important game game of the season?
It’s not Alabama, Oregon, or Penn State’s trip to Madison, Wisconsin, nor is it the Badgers’ contest at USC. I’m here to make a case that it is the Nov. 2 trip to Iowa. Here’s why:
Wisconsin’s conference standing
Nov 18, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell looks on during the second quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and other former Big Ten West programs need to reestablish their conference standings in the new Big Ten landscape. Wisconsin is a program that hopes to rise to the top-tier level currently occupied by Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan. But it currently exists within a larger pack that also includes USC, Iowa, Nebraska and Washington.
Any ascension toward the top of the conference requires taking steps above programs like Iowa. That must start with a head-to-head win in 2024.
What are our expectations in 2024?
Sep 2, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell talks in a huddle during the second quarter against the Buffalo Bulls at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
This is a central question to this discussion. Fans who expect wins over Oregon and Alabama would cite those games as the most important. They’d also be sure to be let down when the Badgers don’t turn into a national title contender.
Wisconsin’s expectations in 2024 should be a solid 8-4 record with real improvement on both sides of the football. In other words, a clear step forward after 2023 that puts a bright future into focus.
That step forward isn’t entirely possible without a win over Iowa. Again, it’s pivotal that the Badgers create distance between them and their former Big Ten West counterparts.
The game is a measuring stick for Fickell and Phil Longo’s offensive approach
Oct 28, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell talks to officials during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium.
I argue this is reason No. 1 why Wisconsin’s contest against Iowa is the most important. Not only must the Badgers establish themselves in a tier above the Hawkeyes in the new Big Ten, but they are currently trying to do so with a radical new offensive approach.
Phil Longo’s air raid offense could work against a bad Purdue team, or in Week 1 against Western Michigan. But the approach will not be effective unless it is proven to succeed against some of the best defenses in the nation — Iowa and Nebraska as two perfect examples.
Taking everything away from one game is unfair at times. But in this case, the performance of Longo’s offense on the road at Kinnick Stadium may tell us whether it’s the correct approach long-term.
Last year’s loss was really bad
Oct 14, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes defensive end Joe Evans (13), offensive lineman Logan Jones (65), offensive lineman Joe Huber (60) and defensive lineman Logan Lee (85) celebrate with the Heartland Trophy after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tork Mason-USA TODAY Sports
Wisconsin lost 15-6 to the Hawkeyes in 2023. Remember, that was the Deacon Hill-led Hawkeyes which had one of the worst statistical offenses in college football history.
It’s fair to give Fickell and the program a pass for a rocky first year. But the loss to Iowa was alarming, especially with how it handled Longo’s attack. Wisconsin finding a resounding win in 2024 would do a lot to make everybody forget about the 2023 meeting between these two teams.
Rivalry history
Nov 9, 2019; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers players celebrate with the Heartland Trophy following the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
This shouldn’t require much explanation.
Conference realignment has uprooted most of what we knew about college football. But it can’t render rivalries obsolete. Rivalries matter, especially to programs not competing for national titles each season.
With that outlook, Wisconsin’s 2024 season cannot be considered a success without wins against both Iowa and Minnesota.
Geographical dominance still matters
Oct 30, 2021; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers players celebrate with the Heartland Trophy following the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
File this with the ‘rivalry history’ portion of this discussion. College football’s new structure may be trying to tell fans that geography doesn’t matter and it’s all one big free-for-all. But that will never be the case. A program’s most important games should always be those against its closest neighbors. For Wisconsin, that is Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern and Illinois.
Wisconsin can’t be Ohio State without taking care of Iowa
Oct 28, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell watches from the sideline during the second half of the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. Ohio State won 24-10.
These reasons all cover the same ground for why Wisconsin vs. Iowa is so important this season. But this phrasing is necessary, especially after Paul Chryst was fired in part due to consistent losses to the Ohio States of the world.
Badgers fans want Fickell to turn the program into an Ohio State-level contender. Whether that is possible at a place like Wisconsin is one discussion. But one angle everybody must agree with: the Badgers cannot come near the Buckeyes without consistently handling Iowa. It’s a step-by-step process that isn’t just a one-year ascension.
Iowa is stuck in the past. Wisconsin must keep it there.
Oct 14, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz looks on during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa has spent the last three seasons toward the bottom of the nation in every offensive statistic. Without hyperbole, it has been the worst offensive team in the nation for years.
Changes were finally made with the firing of longtime OC Brian Ferentz and the hiring of new OC Tim Lester. There is talk that Lester plans to bring a Kyle Shanahan-type approach to Iowa’s traditional run-first offense. Who knows if that’s possible, but it will be hard to be any worse on that side of the ball than what the program has been since 2019.
Iowa is still a defense and special teams-centric program with an inept offense (until proven otherwise). Wisconsin, meanwhile, made an attempt at stepping into the future of the sport with the implementation of the air raid. These are contrasting styles that should send the two programs in opposite directions. The head-to-head matchup, again, will do a lot to decide which team is rising and which is falling.
What is college football really about?
Nov 25, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai (8) and teammates celebrate with the Paul Bunyan Football Trophy ceremonial axe to act out cutting down the goalposts after defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Wisconsin won 28-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK
Some would say big-time upsets, or establishing dominance on a national scale.
To me, college football isn’t about Wisconsin beating Oregon and Alabama — two programs on the other side of the country. It’s about regional success, then the hope that success can translate to the national scale.
In other words: it starts with wins against Iowa and Minnesota, then maybe Michigan and Ohio State, before getting to the Alabama level. But it’s impossible to skip those tiers without, again, starting with a win against rival Iowa.
It’s Wisconsin’s most important game of the season. Some would argue that it could be program-defining.
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Publish date : 2024-07-06 09:23:00
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