'Wisconsin is absolutely a wild card' in 2024 college football season

The Badgers have the chance to add chaos to college football this season.

Sep 22, 2023; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Ricardo Hallman (2) intercepts a pass against Purdue Boilermakers wide receiver Deion Burks (4) during the second half at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into year two of the Luke Fickell era, Wisconsin still has a lot of questions to answer as a program. All of the pieces seem to be there for a quick turnaround and national college football podcaster Josh Pate thinks they can be a wild card team heading into the season.

The biggest question on the entire team might be Miami (FL) transfer quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. He has shown the ability to play at a high level with 25 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions as a redshirt freshman in 2021, but 29 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in the two seasons since have raised questions. The turnovers will be key for him to succeed in the Big Ten.

"If they do that again (turn the ball over), Wisconsin won't be anything to write home about this year," Pate predicted. "If [Van Dyke] is a better player, if they find a way to squeeze more out of him... you of course have the normal year one to year two progression under elite head coaches that you would expect."

Pate dubbed Fickell as an elite coach, despite the underwhelming 7-6 record in his first season at Wisconsin. In 2024 the Badgers will be tested early with a marquee non-conference game at Camp Randall Stadium against Alabama on Sept. 14.

In the middle of the season, things ease up with games against Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern in October, before heating up again with games against Penn State, Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska and Minnesota to finish the year.

"There are some games on there that you would pencil in as losses, that all of a sudden that if you were to turn the corner on a lot of the tangible things that they fell short in last year, they could be one of those [wild card teams]," Pate said.

The Badgers might not sweep Alabama, Penn State and Oregon at home, but if they can just knock off one they can make a lot of noise in the Big Ten race. Thinking that they could compete for a conference title this season might be a little unrealistic, but just establishing themselves near the top of the standings would be an improvement.

"Wisconsin's not going to be at the head table this year, but if they were even a tier two team, it would be a welcomed relief," Pate said.

With such a daunting schedule, there are a lot of different scenarios for how 2024 will shake out for Wisconsin. The fact that their three toughest games are all at home presents a unique opportunity to shock the world.