Wisconsin

Three takeaways from Wisconsin football's 2025 schedule

Published

1 year ago

December 11, 2024

Three takeaways from Wisconsin football’s 2025 schedule

The Big Ten announced its complete 2025 football schedule on Wednesday afternoon. The Badgers’ opponents were already known, but now dates have been finalized for the 2025 campaign.

Here is Wisconsin’s slate, as announced Wednesday:

Wisconsin Football 2025 Schedule

*Home games in Bold.

If the first thought that comes to mind is “loaded,” get used to it. This is the 18-team Big Ten. The days of a cakewalk through the Big Ten West are over. With ever-increasing parity in the sport and Wisconsin trending in the wrong direction regardless, there’s very few that can be marked off as games the Badgers “should” win.

Without further ado, here’s three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 2025 football schedule release:

No shortage of hostile environments

Wisconsin’s 2024 schedule was similarly stacked, with the Badgers ultimately playing three games against top-5 teams. Wisconsin dropped all three, and it doesn’t get any easier: those games (Alabama, Penn State, Oregon) were all at home. Of the Badgers’ toughest tests in 2025, the majority will take place outside of Madison.

It starts off with a trip to Tuscaloosa in Week 3. Bryant-Denny Stadium, which seats over 100,000 die-hard Crimson Tide fans, will be an unforgiving environment to say the least. Wisconsin has never played in Tuscaloosa, — the Badgers are 1-1 in Madison against Alabama and lost a neutral site game in Arlington, Texas back in 2015.

In their very next road game, the Badgers will travel to Ann Arbor to play in front of yet another 100,000-plus crowd in the Big House. The Badgers haven’t fared well on the road against the Wolverines; they’re 7-29 in the Big House, including 2-6 this century. This series tends to favor the home team, although Michigan waltzed into Camp Randall in 2021 and beat Wisconsin, 38-17, in their last meeting.

The very next road game? Autzen Stadium in Eugene for a rematch with the Ducks. That stadium only seats 54,000, but make no mistake — it can be one of the loudest environments in the sport, especially at night. The Badgers are 1-1 in Eugene, but their lone win came in 1977. Oregon has won four straight in this series.

Just how brutal is October really?

The prevailing wisdom about Wisconsin’s October slate is that it’s a murderers’ row of opponents, quite possibly the toughest conference stretch for any Big Ten team.

With games at Michigan, versus Iowa, versus Ohio State and at Oregon, that checks out upon first glance.

Still, there’s so much we don’t know about what these programs will look like in 2025. Early December is not the time to evaluate how tough an opponent will be next fall. Every single roster in the nation is in flux right now, and while it would be foolish to assume anything other than a daunting test against teams like Oregon and Ohio State, there’s no telling how the Ducks and Buckeyes, or any other team for that matter, will look come game time.

Of the four teams Wisconsin plays in October, it’s highly likely that none have their starting quarterback currently on their roster. Heck, the Buckeyes might have a new head coach after four years of Ryan Day’s repeated incompetence in The Game. Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon, especially, have exceedingly deep pockets and should be able to construct formidable rosters on paper. Still, that doesn’t guarantee the team will be a juggernaut, especially when the transfer portal is relied upon heavily (how’d that go for preseason No. 10 Florida State this season?)

Yes, this figures to be a tough stretch any way you slice it. But don’t get too caught up in an opponent’s logo — worry about their depth chart. Considering every roster in America is currently in upheaval, we know much less than we think we do about these daunting foes.

Chance to start hot

Wisconsin won its two buy games to open the year this season, only to fall to 2-2 after a tough back-to-back against Alabama and USC. The Tide are of course scheduled for Week 3 once again, but the Badgers have a real shot to start 3-1 next fall.

Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee are the only two games that you can truly, confidently say the Badgers should win. Against Alabama, you can pretty confidently say the Badgers will lose. But in Week 4, Wisconsin opens Big Ten play against a Maryland program that just finished 17th in the conference, going 1-8 in Big Ten games. That’s about as close to a should-win as it gets for a Badgers team reeling from consecutive disappointing seasons.

A 3-1 start would be massive in helping Wisconsin get back to bowl eligibility next year. If the Badgers can start 3-1, win a few tight games and not close the season on a five-game losing streak, it should return to the postseason.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin primary election: Brown County, Green Bay area race results

Published

49 minutes ago

February 17, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin primary election: Brown County, Green Bay area race results

Some Wisconsinites head to the polls Tuesday, Feb. 17, for just a handful of contested primary races. The spring primary determines who advances to the general election April 8. In Wisconsin, spring elections are for nonpartisan races, as opposed to fall elections. Nonpartisan public office includes courts, school boards and local councils. There are no statewide races on the primary ballot, but voters will get to vote for State Supreme Court in April.

Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in Wisconsin. Results aren’t available until after the polls close at 8 p.m. Get results for three contested Brown County Board races and five contested Green Bay City Council races.

Brown County Board

Green Bay City Council

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Wisconsin

Merrill FD rescues man who fell through ice on Wisconsin River

Published

13 hours ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

Merrill FD rescues man who fell through ice on Wisconsin River

MERRILL, Wis. (WSAW) – The Merrill Fire Department rescued a man after he fell through the ice around 10:45 a.m. on Monday.

According to a Facebook post, crews responded to Council Grounds on the Wisconsin River, just below the Alexander Hydro Dam.

The man fell through the ice and was stranded on a nearby island.

Crews used a rapid deployment craft to rescue the man. They also recovered his sled and ice shanty from the water.

No injuries were reported.

Click here to download the WSAW news app or WSAW First Alert weather app.

Click here to submit a news tip or story idea.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin bill proposes $35 insulin caps as prices surge

Published

1 day ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin bill proposes insulin caps as prices surge

APPLETON, Wis. — Wisconsin could be the 30th state with insulin price caps. State lawmakers are considering a bill that would limit the amount insurance companies can charge for insulin.

One in eleven Wisconsinites lives with this disease, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Insulin is a life-saving medication for people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes means a person’s body has completely stopped making insulin. Those who have Type 2 diabetes have bodies that produce insulin, but the cells don’t respond to insulin the way they should.

Julia Flaherty has Type 1 diabetes, so she needs daily insulin injections to live. Flaherty said even with using her health insurance and insulin co-pay cards, insulin prices are astronomical.

“I usually pay close to $200 each time I need to refill both of my insulin,” Flaherty said.

What You Need To Know

Wisconsin could be the 30th state with insulin price caps if state lawmakers can pass a bill that would limit the amount insurance companies can charge for insulin

One in eleven Wisconsinites lives with this disease, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health

Insulin is a life-saving medication for people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

In 1923, Sir Frederick Banting sold his insulin patent for a symbolic dollar to the University of Toronto because he believed it was unethical to profit from his life-saving invention and nowadays, insulin can cost over $300

Julia Flaherty has lived with Type 1 diabetes since 2004 and is now a diabetes advocate. She said some diabetic are “taking less than they should because they can’t afford the amount that they should be filling at the pharmacy counter”

Flaherty has lived with Type 1 diabetes since 2004 and is now a diabetes advocate. She said to offset insulin costs, some diabetics are forced to make risky health decisions.

“They’re taking less than they should because they can’t afford the amount that they should be filling at the pharmacy counter, and when you’re rationing your insulin, it can lead to severe complications, like diabetic ketoacidosis, which can be life-threatening,” Flaherty said.

In 1923, Sir Frederick Banting sold his insulin patent for a symbolic dollar to the University of Toronto. Banting believed it was unethical to profit from his life-saving invention.

Nowadays, insulin can cost over $300. Flaherty said this price surge for a life-saving medication is deeply troubling.

“When I’m paying those high prices at the pharmacy counter, I often think about that and wish that my prices were lower because then I could focus less on the costs,” Flaherty said.

That’s why lawmakers decided to do something about it.

“Twenty-nine other states in this country have some type of price cap when it comes to insulin. Wisconsin needs to be the 30th state,” state Sen. Brad Pfaff, D-La Crosse, said.

Pfaff helped introduce the bill that would cap insulin prices in Wisconsin at $35 a month. He said the fight to lower insulin costs is personal.

“My son has Type 1 diabetes. Compared to the price that we pay, versus what it costs to manufacture, process, and distribute, the manufacturer is making a tremendous amount of money here, and that is why I think it’s long overdue that Wisconsin moves forward and caps the price of insulin,” Pfaff said.

The bill would provide a stable, affordable solution for the thousands who need insulin, but Flaherty said she questions the future if this legislation stalls.

She said insulin copay cards are a temporary fix.

“There’s no guarantee that these programs will continue to exist, and when you live with this disease that requires insulin to survive, you’re anxious about when will these programs be eliminated?” Flaherty said.

Pfaff said there is bipartisan support for this bill. He said he hopes to get it through both houses of the legislature and signed by the governor this calendar year.

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