Wisconsin football is 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play now eight games into its first year under new head coach Luke Fickell.
The team is winning, and showing glimpses of what the future will look like under Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo. It currently holds strong at No. 27 in ESPN SP+ on the strength of another top-12 defense.
I think we all agree the Badgers are a solid team, despite big injuries to both starting running backs and its starting quarterback. The team is ‘solid,’ but not quite ‘good.’ And it’s one that is clearly still building an identity.
Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 9: The West is a mess.
The 5-3 overall record has been recorded against college football’s No. 57-ranked strength of schedule. If it wasn’t already clear, the Big Ten West is not good.
But looking deeper, the Badgers do not have a single ‘quality win’ on their resume. The definition of ‘quality’ does not matter for these purposes. Wisconsin has defeated SP+’s No. 50, 62, 80, 82 and 108 teams, while it’s lost to No. 3, 36 and 44.
There’s a clear dividing line at the moment: every team ranked in SP+’s top 50 after Week 9 has given the Badgers fits.
Also, as the weeks go by, each win on Wisconsin’s resume somehow finds a way to look worse and worse:
- The Buffalo Bulls (38-17 win in Week 1) are now 3-5 overall and ranked No. 108 in SP+
- Georgia Southern (35-14 win in Week 3) is 6-2, but not a top-80 team in SP+
- Purdue (38-17 win in Week 4) has dropped three straight and is now 2-6 (1-4 Big Ten)
- Rutgers (24-13 win in Week 6) is the best argument for a quality win…but it’s still a Rutgers team ranked No. 50 in SP+ at home
- Illinois (25-21 win in Week 8) is 3-5 (1-4 Big Ten) and not a top-60 team in SP+
Luckily, Wisconsin isn’t trying to build a College Football Playoff resume. The program is trying to build an identity while somehow winning the Big Ten West this year.
I guess here’s the general message: Wisconsin has still yet to truly overcome a tough matchup. And while the end of the schedule looked easy a month ago, November battles with Nebraska (5-3) and Minnesota (5-3) look more and more tough by the week.
This season won’t define what Luke Fickell accomplishes, or doesn’t, at Wisconsin. But as I always do with this sport and this program, they have to be graded on the same curve everyone else is. The resume just isn’t that good right now.