Four Wisconsin football opponents make preseason US LBM Coaches Poll
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All eyes are on the Wisconsin Badgers' week one opponent, Notre Dame, and rightfully so, but there's a competitive conference trio they're stuck playing this season.
If the US LBM Preseason Coaches Poll revealed anything, it's that the Badgers could have a tougher schedule than they originally anticipated.
To no surprise, teams like Western Illinois, Eastern Michigan, and even a few Big Ten teams such as Michigan State, Purdue, and Minnesota, among others, were unranked.
That said, Notre Dame comes in at No. 5, and that's a huge test for Luke Fickell's squad to face right out of the gate.
When it comes to Big Ten play, the Badgers could have to play three ranked teams, including back-to-back ranked opponents from October 24-31.
Wisconsin football opponents US LBM Preseason Coaches Poll rankings
- No. 5: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- No. 14: USC Trojans
- No. 17: Penn State Nittany Lions
- No. 22: Iowa Hawkeyes
| Rank | School (Record) | Points | Last Season's Rank | 1st Place Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State (12-2) | 1,741 | 6 | 38 |
| 2 | Oregon (13-2) | 1,637 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Georgia (12-2) | 1,591 | 5 | 7 |
| 4 | Texas (10-3) | 1,544 | 13 | 2 |
| 5 | Notre Dame (10-2) | 1,524 | 11 | 5 |
| 6 | Indiana (16-0) | 1,522 | 1 | 14 |
| 7 | Miami, FL (13-3) | 1,409 | 2 | – |
| 8 | Texas A&M (11-2) | 1,174 | 8 | – |
| 9 | Oklahoma (10-3) | 1,104 | 10 | – |
| 10 | Mississippi (13-2) | 1,096 | 3 | – |
| 11 | Alabama (11-4) | 1,050 | 9 | – |
| 12 | Texas Tech (12-2) | 1,034 | 7 | – |
| 13 | LSU (7-6) | 951 | NR | – |
| 14 | USC (9-4) | 838 | 21 | – |
| 15 | BYU (12-2) | 781 | 12 | – |
| 16 | Michigan (9-4) | 719 | 22 | – |
| 17 | Penn State (7-6) | 463 | NR | – |
| 18 | Tennessee (8-5) | 428 | NR | – |
| 19 | Washington (9-4) | 406 | NR | – |
| 20 | SMU (9-4) | 378 | NR | – |
| 21 | Utah (11-2) | 313 | 14 | – |
| 22 | Iowa (9-4) | 291 | 17 | – |
| 23 | Clemson (7-6) | 235 | NR | – |
| 24 | Houston (10-3) | 194 | 19 | – |
| 25 | Missouri (8-5) | 158 | NR | – |
The US LBM Board of Coaches for the 2026 season: Tim Albin, Charlotte; Blake Anderson, Southern Mississippi; Dave Aranda, Baylor; David Braun, Northwestern; Jeff Brohm, Louisville; Fran Brown, Syracuse; Neal Brown, North Texas; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Curt Cignetti, Indiana; Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech; Spencer Danielson, Boise State; Ryan Day, Ohio State; Kalen DeBoer, Alabama; Manny Diaz, Duke; Jake Dickert, Wake Forest; Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri; Sonny Dykes, TCU; Jason Eck, New Mexico; Mike Elko, Texas A&M; Tony Elliott, Virginia; Matt Entz, Fresno State; Jedd Fisch, Washington; James Franklin, Virginia Tech; Willie Fritz, Houston; Scott Frost, Central Florida; Tony Gibson, Marshall; Alex Golesh, Auburn; Will Hall, Tulane; Blake Harrell, East Carolina; John Hauser, Ohio; Clay Helton, Georgia Southern; Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky; Charles Huff, Memphis; Butch Jones, Arkansas State; KC Keeler, Temple; Charles Kelly, Jacksonville State; Brent Key, Georgia Tech; Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic; Collin Klein, Kansas State; Tre Lamb, Tulsa; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Clark Lea, Vanderbilt; Lance Leipold, Kansas; Pete Lembo, Buffalo; Sean Lewis, San Diego State; Dowell Loggains, Appalachian State; Joey McGuire, Texas Tech; Jeff Monken, Army; Kirby Moore, Washington State; Eric Morris, Oklahoma State; Dan Mullen, UNLV; Billy Napier, James Madison; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Brian Newberry, Navy; Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State; Barry Odom, Purdue; Tim Polasek, North Dakota State; Tavita Pritchard, Stanford; Ricky Rahne, Old Dominion; Matt Rhule, Nebraska; Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia; Morgan Scalley, Utah; JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Will Stein, Kentucky; Jon Sumrall, Florida; Lance Taylor, Western Michigan; Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio; Scotty Walden, Texas-El Paso; Kyle Whittingham, Michigan; Casey Woods, Missouri State.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Four Wisconsin football opponents make preseason US LBM Coaches Poll
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