Wisconsin football enters a new world in 2024.
Gone is the annual parachute of playing in the Big Ten West, and the benefit of only needing to go 6-3 or 7-2 in Big Ten play to make the conference championship game.
Now, the schedule’s difficulty increases greatly moving forward. Wisconsin faces more blue blood teams on a week-in, week-out basis, and also now must navigate the schedule with one or two losses to have a hope at a conference title.
Related: Which Big Ten football team has the toughest conference schedule in 2024?
It’s the new era of the Big Ten, and no teams are as greatly affected as those that enjoyed the peace and quiet of the Big Ten West.
Wisconsin’s 2024 schedule, specifically, isn’t only one of the toughest in the conference. It’s also one of the toughest in the nation.
Phil Steele’s annual college football preview magazine ranks each program’s schedule based on 2023’s results. Here is his ranking of the toughest schedules in college football in 2024:
Florida
Opponent Win %: 67.9%
Opponents With Winning Record: 10
Bowl Teams: 10
Ranked Teams: 6
USC
Opponent Win %: 66.7%
Opponents With Winning Record: 9
Bowl Teams: 11
Ranked Teams: 5
Northwestern
Opponent Win %: 66.2%
Opponents With Winning Record: 9
Bowl Teams: 9
Ranked Teams: 4
Georgia Tech
Opponent Win %: 65.6%
Opponents With Winning Record: 10
Bowl Teams: 11
Ranked Teams: 5
Oregon
Opponent Win %: 63.9%
Opponents With Winning Record: 9
Bowl Teams: 9
Ranked Teams: 3
Vanderbilt
Opponent Win %: 63.0%
Opponents With Winning Record: 9
Bowl Teams: 9
Ranked Teams: 5
Washington
Opponent Win %: 62.8%
Opponents With Winning Record: 9
Bowl Teams: 9
Ranked Teams: 4
UCLA
Opponent Win %: 62.7%
Opponents With Winning Record: 8
Bowl Teams: 9
Ranked Teams: 5
Alabama
Opponent Win %: 62.6%
Opponents With Winning Record: 9
Bowl Teams: 10
Ranked Teams: 5
Michigan
Opponent Win %: 62.4%
Opponents With Winning Record: 7
Bowl Teams: 9
Ranked Teams: 4
Oklahoma
Opponent Win %: 62.3%
Opponents With Winning Record: 7
Bowl Teams: 8
Ranked Teams: 6
Wisconsin
Opponent Win %: 61.5%
Opponents With Winning Record: 8
Bowl Teams: 9
Ranked Teams: 4
Mississippi State
Opponent Win %: 61.4%
Opponents With Winning Record: 7
Bowl Teams: 7
Ranked Teams: 5
Iowa
Opponent Win %: 61.3%
Opponents With Winning Record: 9
Bowl Teams: 9
Ranked Teams: 2
Illinois
Opponent Win %: 60.8%
Opponents With Winning Record: 7
Bowl Teams: 7
Ranked Teams: 4
Minnesota
Opponent Win %: 60.6%
Opponents With Winning Record: 10
Bowl Teams: 9
Ranked Teams: 3
Virginia
Opponent Win %: 60.3%
Opponents With Winning Record: 10
Bowl Teams: 10
Ranked Teams: 4
Florida State
Opponent Win %: 59.7%
Opponents With Winning Record: 9
Bowl Teams: 10
Ranked Teams: 3
Michigan State
Opponent Win %: 59.4%
Opponents With Winning Record: 7
Bowl Teams: 7
Ranked Teams: 4
Arkansas
Opponent Win %: 58.8%
Opponents With Winning Record: 7
Bowl Teams: 8
Ranked Teams: 6
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