Ranking Wisconsin football’s 2025 opponents by ESPN FPI ratings

Countless rating metrics and preseason previews portray the difficulty of Wisconsin’s 2025 football schedule.

In our annual rankings of the Big Ten’s overall and conference schedules, which uses ESPN’s SP+ to measure the difficulty of each opponent, Wisconsin’s slate landed as by far the toughest. That reality even holds when compared to what SEC teams face, as only one school projects to face a tougher path than the Badgers.

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SP+ rankings were an important starting point for that exercise. Another comparison point was added to the mix last week with the release of ESPN’s Football Power Index.

Similar to SP+, the FPI assigns a numerical value to every team in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Those numbers work to evaluate each team’s on-field strength, mostly ignoring the win-loss record on its resume. Both now and during the season, FPI ratings allow for a clear comparison between teams’ quality and, therefore, their schedules.

For reference, Wisconsin sits at No. 38 in ESPN’s FPI with a rating of 6.3. That standing is also good for No. 9 in the Big Ten.

Now, here is a look at how the FPI views Wisconsin’s opponents, ranked in order of difficulty.

Ranking Wisconsin’s 2025 opponents based on ESPN’s Football Power Index

6. Indiana Hoosiers (Week 12)

   • FPI National Ranking: No. 31

8. Minnesota Golden Gophers (Week 14)

   • FPI National Ranking: No. 43

9. Illinois Fighting Illini (Week 13)

   • FPI National Ranking: No. 44

10. Maryland Terrapins (Week 4)

    • FPI National Ranking: No. 61

11. Miami (OH) RedHawks (Week 1)

    • FPI National Ranking: No. 79

12. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (Week 2)

    • FPI National Ranking: No. 134

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin football schedule opponent ranking by ESPN’s FPI