As we move closer to the hopeful starting date of the 2020 football season, anticipation continues to build, specifically surrounding Wisconsin’s early non-conference schedule. USA TODAY Sports recently took a wide look at non-conference schedules around the country and ranked who had the most interesting group of opponents. The Badgers came in at No. 4 overall for good reason.
Here is what Wisconsin’s non-conference slate looks like:
Week 2: vs. Southern Illinois
Week 3: vs. Appalachian State
Week 5: vs. Notre Dame (at Lambeau for now)
The cupcake game is easy to see as Wisconsin welcomes FCS Southern Illinois to Camp Randall in the second week of the season. If you have not heard this warning already, hear it from me right now: do not overlook Appalachian State. If you have yet to jump on the App State bandwagon, you had better hurry because the train is filling up. This is a squad that lost one game last season and ended the year ranked as the No. 20 overall team in the nation with wins over North Carolina and South Carolina. The small town of Boone, North Carolina, where App State is located, runs college football in the Carolinas.
Then, you have the marquee matchup with Notre Dame that will hopefully take place at Lambeau Field in Green Bay despite recent reports that the game may be moved. A battle of two teams with New Years Bowl aspirations on NBC will be one of the marquee games of Wisconsin’s season in 2020. This non-conference slate certainly is among the most intriguing in the nation.