With the season starting in a little over a month for Wisconsin football, the 2024 schedule is brutal. It includes games against Alabama, Oregon, USC and Penn State. This is the result of eliminating the East and West divisions in the Big Ten and adding Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington to the conference. The Badgers will need to win some of these tougher games if they want to have success this season.
On the other hand, some games on the schedule look much easier than others. However, these teams cannot be ignored. Here are three opponents on the Wisconsin Football schedule that I consider trap games.
Wisconsin Football Games: September 7 vs. South Dakota
The South Dakota Coyotes are one of two Power Five conference games on Wisconsin football’s schedule. The other is Western Michigan, which opens the season. Kickoff is at 2:30 at 2:30.
South Dakota is an FCS team, but we have seen FCS teams that have been competitive and have beaten Power Five teams in the past. The Coyotes finished last season with a 10-3 record, losing to FCS powerhouse North Dakota State to end their season.
In my original season preview, I mentioned that the Coyotes would be bringing back a few quarterbacks from last season, so there would be experience. I don’t think Wisconsin football will lose this game, but they’ll have to watch out for South Dakota, especially with Alabama coming to Madison next week.
October 12th at Rutgers
If you look at the Wisconsin football season, the Badgers have what appears to be a three-game slate. That includes Penn State, Iowa, Oregon. It starts October 26th.
Before that, Wisconsin football has two road games against Rutgers and Northwestern. Both teams are average or below average in terms of lineups. The Badgers have better players at almost every position.
In years past, the Badgers have dominated Rutgers from the get-go. However, that is not the case now as the Scarlet Knights have improved year after year under Greg Schiano. It will not be a cakewalk by any means, but Wisconsin football should be able to handle itself with its depth and talent.
October 19th at Northwestern
After Northwestern begins a three-game road trip with a huge home game against Penn State. The Badgers were embarrassed at home by a mediocre Wildcat team last season. I think they’ll remember that. You don’t want to question the effort of these players, but Wisconsin football looked disinterested for three and a half quarters in a game they should have won without much pressure.
Like Rutgers, I don’t think Northwestern has the talent to compete with Wisconsin football for four quarters, but they always play the Badgers demanding. The Wildcats are in the process of building a recent home field, so this game will be in a recent place. I don’t expect a huge crowd either. When that happens, it’s demanding to create momentum. The Badgers need to take care of this game and have momentum going into the Penn State game.
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