10 compelling reasons Wisconsin football can turn things around in 2026
Wisconsin football is coming off a 4-8 season, but there are 10 legitimate reasons to believe the Badgers can take a step forward in 2026.
The truth is, nobody really knows what Wisconsin football is going to look like once the season gets here.
Between now and Week 1, things will change. Players who looked buried on the depth chart in spring will suddenly emerge. Injuries will happen. Transfer portal additions who looked great on paper may not translate the way people hoped, while others nobody is talking about right now could become real difference-makers by mid-season. That’s college football.
Rosters are fluid, expectations swing wildly, and trying to project a season in July can feel like more guesswork than anything else. I’ve been pretty transparent about my skepticism surrounding this coaching staff, and nothing that’s happened over the past three seasons has done much to erase those concerns. But skepticism isn’t the same thing as wanting to be right. There are real reasons to think this team is in a better place.
After a 4-8 season and back-to-back years without a bowl game, the Badgers didn’t sit still. They invested heavily in the transfer portal, rebuilt key position groups, and finally started leaning back into a more physical brand of football that actually resembles what has historically worked.
Whether that translates into wins remains to be seen. But there are at least 10 legitimate reasons to believe Wisconsin could take a meaningful step forward in 2026.
