Wisconsin football omitted from PFF’s preseason top 25 ranking

Wisconsin football omitted from PFF’s Preseason Top 25 rankings

The Wisconsin Badgers failed to crack ProFootballFocus’ 2024 preseason top 25 ranking on Monday.

The outlet has six Big Ten squads within its top 25 hierarchy. Those include Ohio State at No. 2, Oregon at No. 3, Michigan at No. 8, Penn State at No. 9, USC at No. 21 and Iowa at No. 24. Georgia holds the No. 1 spot while West Virginia rounds out the list at No. 25.

Similar to several other preseason polls, including Fox Sports’ 1-134 ranking at the official preseason AP poll, the Badgers fell short of cracking the top 25. While the AP indicates UW received votes and landed in the mid-30s, PFF does not include details about where Fickell and Co. stand in its grouping.

Wisconsin will enter this season after consecutive 7-6 overall outputs from 2022 and 2023. Despite a newfound stability on the coaching sidelines and full confidence from offensive coordinator Phil Longo in freshly-minted starting QB Tyler Van Dyke, the Big Ten’s deep talent pool prevents the Badgers from entering multiple platform’s top 25.

The Badgers do face several heavy hitters throughout the 2024 campaign, including Alabama, USC, Penn State, Oregon and Iowa. Establishing a cohesive offensive attack early and often can separate this year’s group from the previous two and prompt voters to elevate UW in their next top 25 rendition.