The Wisconsin Badgers improved to 1-0 on the 2023 season with a 38-17 win over Buffalo last Saturday.
It wasn’t the cakewalk many expected for Luke Fickell’s debut as head coach. But as the Wisconsin head coach noted Monday, wins should be cherished, regardless of the opponent.
“I think after the game, I probably wasn’t as fired up as maybe I needed to be because winning is not easy and ultimately that’s what it comes down to,” Fickell said during his Monday press conference. “Deep down inside, I just felt like we were sloppy.”
The Badgers now turn focus to a Week 2 battle on the road against Washington State. The goal is to obviously improve to 2-0 and avenge last year’s loss, but also to clean up some of the mistakes in the process. A win on Saturday would be a sizable boost to their national poll standing and make the Big Ten West look a lot more winnable.
Related: Big Ten starting quarterback rankings after Week 1: Where’s Mordecai?
The latest US LBM Coaches Poll was released earlier this week and the Badgers rose two spots, up from No. 21 to No. 19. The Badgers are still the No. 4 Big Ten team in the ranking, behind No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 Ohio State and No. 7 Penn State.
Here is the full Week 2 poll:
Full rankings
| Rnk | School | Rcd | Pts | 1st | Pvs | Chg | Hi/Lo |
| 1. | Georgia | 1-0 | 1647 | 63 | 1 | – | 1/1 |
| 2. | Michigan | 1-0 | 1534 | 1 | 2 | – | 2/2 |
| 3. | Alabama | 1-0 | 1515 | 2 | 3 | – | 3/3 |
| 4. | Ohio State | 1-0 | 1422 | 0 | 4 | – | 4/4 |
| 5. | Florida State | 1-0 | 1388 | 0 | 8 | +3 | 5/8 |
| 6. | USC | 2-0 | 1283 | 0 | 6 | – | 6/6 |
| 7. | Penn State | 1-0 | 1216 | 0 | 7 | – | 7/7 |
| 8. | Washington | 1-0 | 1115 | 0 | 11 | +3 | 8/11 |
| 9. | Tennessee | 1-0 | 1099 | 0 | 10 | +1 | 9/10 |
| 10. | Texas | 1-0 | 957 | 0 | 12 | +2 | 10/12 |
| 11. | Notre Dame | 2-0 | 950 | 0 | 13 | +2 | 11/13 |
| 12. | Utah | 1-0 | 924 | 0 | 14 | +2 | 12/14 |
| 13. | Oregon | 1-0 | 904 | 0 | 15 | +2 | 13/15 |
| 14. | LSU | 0-1 | 738 | 0 | 5 | -9 | 5/14 |
| 15. | Kansas State | 1-0 | 630 | 0 | 17 | +2 | 15/17 |
| 16. | North Carolina | 1-0 | 546 | 0 | 20 | +4 | 16/20 |
| 17. | Oklahoma | 1-0 | 543 | 0 | 19 | +2 | 17/19 |
| 18. | Oregon State | 1-0 | 499 | 0 | 18 | – | 18/18 |
| 19. | Wisconsin | 1-0 | 445 | 0 | 21 | +2 | 19/21 |
| 20. | Ole Miss | 1-0 | 411 | 0 | 22 | +2 | 20/22 |
| 21. | Clemson | 0-1 | 287 | 0 | 9 | -12 | 9/21 |
| 22. | Tulane | 1-0 | 255 | 0 | 23 | +1 | 22/23 |
| 23. | Texas A&M | 1-0 | 236 | 0 | 25 | +2 | 23/25 |
| 24. | Duke | 1-0 | 222 | 0 | NR | – | 24/NR |
| 25. | Colorado | 1-0 | 161 | 0 | NR | – | 25/NR |
Schools dropped out
No. 16 Texas Christian; No. 24 Texas Tech.
Others receiving votes
Iowa 111; Pittsburgh 53; Kentucky 50; UCLA 44; Texas Christian 40; Fresno State 30; Miami 22; Auburn 22; Arkansas 18; Maryland 14; Missouri 13; Troy 11; Oklahoma State 11; NC State 10; Illinois 9; Wyoming 8; Washington State 7; Wake Forest 7; Air Force 7; Minnesota 6; Mississippi State 5; South Carolina 4; Kansas 4; Texas Tech 3; Southern Methodist 3; Central Florida 3; Houston 2; Texas-San Antonio 1; Michigan State 1; Memphis 1; Louisville 1; James Madison 1; Arizona 1.