Wisconsin’s season continued to dive in the wrong direction on Saturday, the latest result a 44-25 loss to rival Nebraska.

The Badgers are now 5-6 on the season and 3-5 in Big Ten play. They stood at 5-2 and 3-1, respectively, just four weeks ago. What followed was a home loss to Penn State, a blowout loss to Iowa, a narrow defeat to top-ranked Oregon and Saturday’s historic loss to Nebraska. That four-game stretch has changed the 2024 season, and is beginning to change the overall sentiment surrounding Luke Fickell and the program.

Related: Biggest takeaways from Wisconsin’s 44-25 loss to Nebraska

Part of that sentiment is seen in ESPN FPI and SP+’s latest updates.

Wisconsin entered the Nebraska game ranked No. 34 in FPI. The loss dropped the team down to No. 41. FPI now projects the Badgers’ final record at 5.5 – 6.5 and gives it just a 51% chance to defeat Minnesota in Week 14 and make a bowl game.

SP+ is even less confident in the team’s quality. The Nebraska loss dropped Wisconsin from No. 50 to No. 59 in the metric. It is now ranked as the No. 13 team in the Big Ten, ahead of only Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern and Purdue.

Having a coin-flip Week 14 game to reach bowl eligibility and being ranked in the class of Rutgers and Maryland is far below the program’s typical standard. It’s also far below the expectation set by both Chris McIntosh and Luke Fickell when the latter was hired in 2022.

A win over Minnesota to extend the program’s bowl streak to 23 games would be an important step in the right direction. Otherwise, the program’s rapid fall from national relevance will only continue.

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