Poll: What Team Do Fans Want Added to Wisconsin's Big Ten Schedule?

MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin may finally have an idea of the teams on its upcoming fall schedule by the end of the week.

Weeks after the conference canceled all nonconference games for fall sports, the Big Ten could release the schedule for the 2020 season as soon as today, a league source told Rivals.com writer Tom Dienhart.

Per the report, the start date for the games is slated to be September 5, the date Wisconsin had been slated to open its season with a conference game against Indiana at Camp Randall Stadium. That leaves the league 13 weeks to play its schedule.

How the schedule will be altered is still unknown. Like the Big Ten, the Pac-12 and SEC has announced it will play only conference games, while the ACC announced an 11-game schedule (10 league games and one non-conference game) with no divisions. Notre Dame will play 10 ACC teams and be eligible for the league title game.

One opinion is that the Big Ten will add a game to make a 10-game schedule. UW’s 2020 schedule was originally slated to include its six West Division opponents (hosting Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska and traveling to Iowa, Northwestern and Purdue) and three East Division opponents (host Indiana while traveling to Maryland and Michigan).

Adding a conference opponent would mean Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State or Rutgers would be added to the schedule. Of those four teams, who would Wisconsin fans be most excited to see? To get a gauge, I asked the question on Twitter and over 1,500 people responded. Here are the results.

Eight-game losing streak be damned; Badgers fans want another crack at the Buckeyes. Wisconsin hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 2010 but, as I wrote in our rivalry series, UW has been within one possession in six of the last eight losses and held a 21-7 halftime lead a year ago in the conference title game. The Badgers have also had late leads or chances to win several others before Ohio State snuffed them out.

The Buckeyes went undefeated through the Big Ten last season, pairing an offense that racked up 46.9 points and 529.9 yards per game with one of the nation’s stingiest defenses. While tailback J.K. Dobbins or defensive menace Chase Young are gone, Heisman Trophy candidate Justin Fields back at quarterback and second-year head coach Ryan Day has a loaded roster that will be in championship conversation again.

To take the next step as a program, Wisconsin must beat Ohio State on the field. The Badgers are putting a strong defense together on paper, for this fall which could be the ticket to getting over the hump. If this poll is any indication, UW fans want to see if that's the case.

The Scarlet Knights have been a mess since entering the league in 2014, posting five consecutive losing seasons and failing to show any signs of consistent competitiveness. That’s part of the reason why the athletic department rehired Greg Schiano as the head coach. Schiano was one of the most success coaches in program history, leading Rutgers to a 68-67 record during his 11 seasons and six bowl appearances. Schiano replaces former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Chris Ash, who went 8-32 during his brief tenure seasons.

UW has faced Rutgers only three times in conference play and they have been ugly, with the Badgers winning by a combined score of 116-27. Wisconsin has developed a strong recruiting reputation in New Jersey, as well as up the East Coast, that certainly couldn’t hurt by playing Rutgers, but the matchup doesn’t look competitive on paper. UW fans voting here are probably looking to pad the win total.

Like the series with Ohio State, Wisconsin hasn’t been able to close games late to win nail biters. UW lost a three-point game in overtime in 2012, lost as 24-point favorites in 2013 and blew a 14-point halftime lead in the 2016 Big Ten championship game. When UW lost at State College in 2018, the Badgers losing streak in the series hit four.

Penn State returns senior quarterback Sean Clifford (23 TDs, 7 INTs) and pieces around him to make an offense him. However, the Nittany Lions lost nine of their top 10 tacklers and need to fix a secondary that finished 13th in the league in pass defense.

As of now, UW will open the 2021 season hosting Penn State and won’t see them again until a game in Camp Randall in 2024.

If the Big Ten were going to try and localize the schedule to keep teams as close to its campus as possible, the Spartans would be on the Badgers' schedule. Former UW defensive back Mel Tucker takes over after Mark Dantonio’s sudden retirement and is looking to rebuild a program that has struggled on the field and been plagued by off-the-field headlines.

Playing the Spartans would be good for Wisconsin from a recruiting standpoint, as the Badgers have started successfully recruiting Michigan over the last several cycles after the state provided little results for decades. UW won in East Lansing, 30-6, in 2016 and delivered a 38-0 blowout last year, games that erased some of the luster of the epic ones the two programs had earlier in the decade.