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As Wisconsin Football embarks on a long climb back towards respectability, the Badgers still have plenty to prove on the field.
Look no further than their opener against Notre Dame on Sept.
6.
Wisconsin is currently a 20.5-point underdog, per DraftKings.
Now, the Fighting Irish are almost universally expected to be a preseason top five team, and Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has once again assembled a stacked roster that should be even hungrier after missing the College Football Playoff last season.
The Irish will be a tough matchup for anybody in 2026.
But out of all of the games that Wisconsin is realistically expected to be a big underdog in, against whom do the Badgers have the best shot at pulling off the upset? Wisconsin does have one of the more manageable schedules in the nation, but there's three distinct games in which I see the Badgers being double-digit underdogs: Notre Dame at Lambeau, Penn State in Happy Valley, and USC in Madison.
Below, Badgers On SI takes a brief look at each game's upset potential before settling on which team Wisconsin is most likely to topple this fall: Notre Dame A lot can change, of course, but at the moment, the Fighting Irish look like the best team Wisconsin will play this fall and it's not especially close.
Notre Dame has an elite quarterback in CJ Carr and an elite offensive coordinator in Mike Denbrock.
The defensive backfield is one of the nation's best.
The Fighting Irish's list of accolades goes on; again, there's a reason why this team will be preseason top five.
This game being at Lambeau is the best thing Wisconsin has going for it.
Even though a healthy amount of the tickets are allotted to Notre Dame fans, I still envision a pro-Wisconsin environment in Titletown.
Top to bottom, the Irish present the biggest challenge for the Badgers all season.
Penn State Wisconsin kicks off its Big Ten slate in a big way on Sept.
26 when it travels to face Penn State in Happy Valley.
The Nittany Lions are under the direction of new head coach Matt Campbell, and a great deal of their difference-makers, especially offensively, came over with the new skipper from Iowa State.
The Cyclones were a good team last year.
Were they great? No.
But the "Penn State Cyclones" comparison isn't as lazy as it may seem.
The Nittany Lions' starting quarterback, starting running back, projected top two wide receivers, starting tight end and starting right guard are all Iowa State transfers.
That's more than half of the offense that's been directly imported from Ames.
This is probably the toughest road venue Wisconsin will venture into this fall, as Beaver Stadium is enormous and ear-throbbing at capacity.
But in terms of the opponent, Penn State may be the least intimidating on this list.
USC The Trojans have a high-flying offense and trot out potentially the best quarterback Wisconsin will face all season in Jayden Maiava, who racked up 3,800-plus yards and 30 touchdowns last season.
Their backfield duo of Waymond Jordan and King Miller is elite, the offensive line is experienced and Gary Patterson is in town to revitalize the defense.
Still, for as much hype as USC is getting this offseason, their roster isn't that scary past Maiava and some of those offensive weapons.
I need to see it to believe it with any Lincoln Riley-coached defense at this point, and I wonder if some of the hype around USC is indicative of the pressure on Riley to make the College Football Playoff this season as opposed to where the Trojans' roster is at in reality.
USC has killed it in recruiting and it's overflowing with talent as per usual, but Riley has yet to prove he can take this team to a truly elite level.
The Verdict: Wisconsin is most likely to upset..
Penn State on the road.
The Nittany Lions look very solid on paper, but their roster isn't on the same level as Notre Dame or USC.
Quarterback Rocco Becht doesn't strike fear into your heart the same way Carr or Maiava does, and the supporting cast is less intimidating as well The raucous road environment will certainly make it tough, but Wisconsin will be coming off what should be two easy, confidence-building wins against two lesser opponents in Eastern Michigan and FCS Western Illinois.
Still, the Badgers will be battle-tested after having opened their season against Notre Dame.
Penn State, meanwhile, has three straight buy games to open the season; this will be the Nittany Lions' first game against a legitimate opponent.
Badgers ON SI lead editor Seamus Rohrer hails from Brooklyn, NY and is a University of Wisconsin J-School grad.
He's covered the Badgers since 2020 for outlets including BadgerBlitz, The Daily Cardinal and BadgerNotes.
Follow seamus_rohrer.