Wisconsin's schedule got a whole lot friendlier this fall, and Maryland needs every winnable game it can find — this Big Ten clash in November could decide who's playing meaningful football down the stretch.
Bush’s Picks
WISMD
WISMD
OverUnder
Best BetMaryland
Maryland's continuity is the whole case here — Washington's back, the receiving corps is intact, and a defense that picked off 19 passes last season should still be creating extra possessions. Wisconsin's counting on a transfer QB with an injury-prone track record at the position to hold up over a full season, which is real outright risk in a rebuild year. Take the Terps to win this one at home.
Wisconsin
+Colton Joseph's dual-threat upside, 33 total TDs last year
+Much softer 2026 schedule to build confidence
+One of program's largest-ever recruiting classes arriving
−Badgers starting QB has been hurt 3 straight years
−23 roster departures leaves major experience gap
−Only 1 defensive starter returning from Week 1 last season
Maryland
+Washington back after freshman passing record season
+Retains 68% of offense, top-20 nationally
+Big Ten-leading 19 interceptions returning on defense
Wisconsin enters 2026 leaning on transfer QB Colton Joseph, who threw for 2,624 yards and 21 touchdowns last season while adding 1,007 yards and 12 more scores on the ground. The catch: Badgers starting quarterbacks have gotten hurt in each of the last three seasons, and Joseph's own health is the biggest swing factor in Luke Fickell's rebuild. Maryland, meanwhile, brings back Malik Washington, who set the program's freshman passing record a year ago with 2,963 yards and 17 touchdowns — the first time in three years the Terps head into a season without a quarterback controversy.
The roster pictures couldn't look more different. Wisconsin churned through 23 departures and answered with one of the largest incoming classes in program history, meaning this team will lean heavily on newcomers by the time November rolls around. Maryland took the opposite approach, running it back with 68% of its offensive production intact — a top-20 mark nationally — while adding five-star pass rusher Zion Elee to a defense that already led the Big Ten with 19 interceptions in 2025.
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WIS Wisconsin
MD Maryland
Bettors will treat this one as a measuring-stick game for two rebuilding programs. Wisconsin's slate is far more forgiving than it's been in years, without Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana or Michigan on the docket, which gives Fickell's group a real runway to build confidence before this matchup. Maryland doesn't have that luxury — win projections have the Terps near the bottom of the conference, so every game against a fellow middle-of-the-pack team carries extra weight for bowl math.
Wisconsin Badgers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Maryland Terrapins
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
By the time Friday night football kicks off at 11:00 PM ET on November 13, both staffs will have a much clearer read on their identities. If Joseph's dual-threat game is clicking behind Wisconsin's retooled offensive line, the Badgers have the higher ceiling. If Washington keeps building on his freshman breakout and that ball-hawking Maryland secondary is generating turnovers, the Terps have the argument for a home upset.
