Four pre-camp bold predictions for the Wisconsin football team
It's bold prediction season.
We’re just about a week away from the Wisconsin football team returning to the field for the 2026 season.
Despite the rough season in 2025, there is plenty of optimism for improvement in the 2026 season. When there’s optimism, there’s room for some bold predictions.
Let’s get into fun extremes heading into the 2026 season.
Wisconsin finishes in the top 3 in the Big Ten in rushing yards
The Badgers are entering year two of the Jeff Grimes offense.
Returning players have a better understanding of the playbook and scheme. They brought in Colton Joseph, who is arguably the most explosive quarterback the Badgers have had since Russell Wilson in 2011.
The running back room looks drastically different than it did a year ago. Darrion Dupree returns, but they’ve added Abu Sama (Iowa State), Bryan Jackson (USC), Nate Palmer (TCU) and JuJu Pope (NW Mississippi CC) from the transfer portal.
The offensive line returns Kevin Heywood and added reinforcements via the portal.
With the experience in the scheme and the infusion of talent with Joseph and the running backs, and some consistency along the offensive line, this team could have a lot of success running the ball.
Colton Joseph throws and runs for double-digit touchdowns
Whether it was out of necessity or design, we saw how frequently Grimes had Carter Smith run the ball last season. Joseph, who ran for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns for Old Dominion a season ago, will fit right into that role.
I fully expect the offense to feature Joseph’s mobility, particularly in the red zone where he can pull the ball on an RPO and outrun defenders to the end zone.
But I don’t think Joseph is a one-trick pony, either. The junior QB threw for over 2,600 yards and 21 touchdowns en route to his Sun Bowl Offensive Player of the Year season.
The Big Ten is obviously a very different animal, but if Joseph stays healthy all season, throwing and running for double-digit touchdowns each is entirely possible.
Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano combine for 225 tackles
As one of the most exciting linebacking duos in the Big Ten, Posa and Catalano made their marks and were one of the few bright spots in the back half of the 2025 season.
With that comes sky-high expectations this season. Both could have entered the portal and hit a nice payday, but both chose to come back to Madison because of their love for the program.
Last season, the duo combined for 117 tackles. Neither got full reps until the tail end of the season. Now, heading into the season, they are the unquestioned starters. They will be all over the field this season and will rack up the tackles. Both will eclipse the 100-tackle mark, but combined, they will go over 225 total tackles.
Wisconsin finishes 4th in the Big Ten
This may seem the most far-fetched bold prediction, but there is a path.
The Badgers’ 2026 schedule is almost the inverse of their 2025 schedule. A year ago, the Badgers played one of the most difficult schedules in program history en route to a 2-7 finish in the Big Ten.
In this bold prediction, the Badgers flip that and go 7-2 in the Big Ten, finishing 4th in the conference. Here’s how it’s going to happen.
The non-conference slate doesn’t matter, so let’s skip ahead to the start of conference play. The Badgers will beat Michigan State, Maryland, Rutgers, UCLA, and Purdue, giving them five wins there.
I think the Badgers finally break the curse and beat Minnesota at home, bringing the Axe back to Madison.
That means Wisconsin will need to win one of the USC, Iowa, and Penn State games. I think Penn State is the most vulnerable right now, in somewhat of a rebuild under Matt Campbell.
Going 7-2 could make them a top 4 or 5 team in the conference at the end of the season, especially if one of those wins is over USC.
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