When looking at the Wisconsin Badgers' 2026 college football schedule, they couldn't have asked for a tougher season opener.
There will be no true home-field advantage on Sunday, September 6, when Wisconsin and Notre Dame head to Green Bay, WI, for a highly anticipated showdown at Lambeau Field.
From there, Wisconsin enjoys a pair of easier non-conference games, but head coach Luke Fickell knows every win has to be earned with this program.
Finally, the end of the month sees Wisconsin truly tested on the road as their first Big Ten matchup of the season is against Penn State.
After taking on the Nittany Lions, the Badgers only have two other daunting matchups.
Wisconsin's schedule gets easier as the season progresses
Other than facing USC and Iowa back-to-back on October 24 and October 31, this schedule is much, much easier compared to 2025.
Wisconsin must set the tone in Fickell's fourth full year at the helm, and they could do so by shocking the world and taking down the Fighting Irish to kick off September.
Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan likely won't stack up to the rest of their competition in the Big Ten, but it's hard to find a more difficult two games on this schedule than a neutral site against Notre Dame and playing at Penn State, and it just so happens that both of those games are in the same calendar month.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Is September Wisconsin football's most difficult month in 2026?