Wisconsin fell slightly in both ESPN FPI and SP+ after its Week 4 bye.
The Badgers fell one spot in FPI, from No. 65 to No. 66. It also dropped three spots in SP+ from No. 50 to No. 53.
Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 4: Michigan is alive
Neither standings are near where the Badgers began the season. They were a consensus top-30 team, at the least, with significant improvement expected in the second year under Luke Fickell.
Mild struggles in nonconference matchups against Western Michigan and South Dakota began the downward trend. A 42-10 home blowout loss to No. 4 Alabama only accelerated it.
🚀 SP+ RANKINGS AFTER 4 WEEKS 🚀
* Top 5 separated by only 1.3 points! (That could mean some pretty ridiculous playoff games.)
* 🤘
* SP+ SEES YOU, UCONN AND USA
* You too, ACC
* 54% against the early spread so far this year! Hopefully that continues.https://t.co/OurG2SQ2KC— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 22, 2024
The bad news: SP+ works to be predictive and forward-looking. So Wisconsin’s current standing predicts some upcoming struggles against a challenging Big Ten schedule.
The good news: plenty of opportunities remain for the Badgers to improve their standing.
The first opportunity for a statement victory comes this weekend at USC. Wisconsin finding an upset road win with improved play on both sides of the football would instantly alter the narrative surrounding its season.
Importantly, it would start to return the team to where many expected it to be in year two under Fickell. A middling ranking from No. 50 to No. 65 in the nation is far from that expected mark.
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