Badgers one of many college football teams searching for form, but can they figure it out?

There is good news and bad news after Wisconsin improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 27-13 win over South Dakota.

The good news: the Badgers are 2-0 for the first time since 2020. They avoided the fate suffered by No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday: an upset loss as a four-touchdown favorite.

The bad news: Luke Fickell’s team looks far from the contender many expected it to be entering the season.

Wisconsin’s opening wins against Western Michigan and South Dakota each saw the team tested late into the second half. Against Western Michigan, the Badgers trailed 14-13 early in the fourth quarter. Against South Dakota, the team saw a 14-point lead evaporate during the first drives of the third quarter.

Western Michigan is currently ranked as the 11th-worst team in the FBS after its 56-0 loss to Ohio State, and South Dakota isn’t much better. In summation: Wisconsin has been less-than-convincing against two low-level opponents.

But there is a glass half-full approach, if you chose to view the sport through that lens: most of the country has struggled through the first two weeks of the season. Just in the Big Ten…Penn State nearly lost to Bowling Green, Oregon barely defeated both Idaho and Boise State, Michigan got steamrolled by Texas and Iowa lost to Iowa State. Then there’s Notre Dame’s massive upset loss to Northern Illinois, Alabama‘s struggles against USF and Oklahoma nearly losing to Houston. Across the sport, few teams have showed true dominance.

So it’s reasonable to see Wisconsin’s early-season struggles and project a handful of losses when conference play begins. The Badgers do not look improved enough on offense to contend, and also may have taken a step or two backward on the defensive side of the football.

But that must be said while recognizing that top teams around the country have also shown flaws. Where Wisconsin has not lived up to expectation, others have failed just as much, or more.

What matters now is how Luke Fickell’s team responds. It needs a complete, four-quarter effort against Alabama on Saturday. That will require more of the Badgers offense that showed up in the first half against South Dakota, and a defensive effort that improves dramatically defending the rush.

If Wisconsin can do those things, playing a competitive game against Alabama would be viewed as a win entering the bye week and start of Big Ten play. It’s all still there for the Badgers. They just need to show more improvement than some of the other struggling teams on their schedule.

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