Wisconsin Football: Way-too-early game-by-game predictions for 2018

Expectations will be perhaps the highest ever for Wisconsin football in 2018 as the team is coming off a 13-1 record and postseason win.

The Wisconsin Badgers were just one win away from their first ever college football playoff berth in 2017, but a 27-21 defeat to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship game decided their fate. Still, a New Year’s Six bowl game in the Orange Bowl against Miami ended up being the consolation prize, and the Badgers took full advantage- knocking off the Hurricanes in their home stadium by double digits to secure their first ever 13-win season.

Heading into 2018, a lot of mainstream media has the Badgers somewhere in their top ten preseason poll, with more specific placements coming around the 5-7 range. While preseason polls are not all that important, the last two seasons have proved that Wisconsin’s preseason placement has actually been indicative of how their season turned out.

In 2016, Wisconsin started the season unranked, but then rattled off a 4-0 start with two wins over top ten teams. Despite this, the Badgers found themselves in the mid teens in the polls and with the losses they endured later that season, it was very hard to climb the rankings. On the flip side in 2017, the Badgers began the season in the top 15 and with their easy schedule, it was easy to float around the high mark. Had the Badgers been unranked, it would have been impossible for them to gain traction.

The 2018 season holds a much tougher schedule this season, almost to the extent of what the team had to endure in 2016. A softer non-conference schedule that will hopefully be picked up by a struggling BYU team will lead the way into a brutal Big Ten slate that features five road games.

How will Wisconsin fare in 2018? Let’s take a look at some game-by-game predictions.