24-07-2025
What Wisconsin quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. said about Badgers' gauntlet 2025 schedule
Wisconsin football starting quarterback Billy Edwards is no stranger to a challenging schedule of top-ranked opponents. Just last season, Edwards led the Maryland Terrapins against ESPN FPI's No. 22-ranked slate, headlined by games against Indiana, USC, Minnesota, Oregon, Iowa and Penn State.
Edwards and the Badgers face an entirely different level of test in 2025. The team has the top-ranked schedule in the 18-team Big Ten Conference and the second-toughest in the entire country. It travels to Alabama (No. 3 in ESPN FPI) and Michigan (No. 17), hosts Iowa (No. 39) and Ohio State (No. 4), visits Oregon (No. 6), hosts Washington (No. 27), travels to Indiana (No. 31), then closes vs. Illinois (No. 44) and at Minnesota (No. 43).
Matchups against former Big Ten West regulars Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota appear to be breaks in that gauntlet of College Football Playoff contenders. But after Wisconsin went 0-3 in rivalry trophy games in 2024 (Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota), falling by a combined margin of 110-42, even those matchups appear to be tilted away from the team's direction.
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Edwards was asked about that schedule during an appearance on the Big Ten Network at conference media days on Wednesday. He and the team are focusing on the slate as a great opportunity as they look to reverse the program's current standing and return it to the top of the conference.
"I think first things first is a lot of great opportunities," Edwards began. "To play in the Big Ten, to play the schedule that we do. To get to where we want to get to at the top of that mountain top, you have to go through some good opponents. And we have just that. I think that's been a good motivation piece for us this offseason, just knowing that we have a mountain to climb. But we're not even at the bottom of that mountain yet. We still have some more steps to go until we get through fall camp before Week 1 rolls around. But we're excited. I think it's all great opportunities. Like I said, if you want to be the best, you got to play the best, you got to beat the best."
Edwards' play was inconsistent against Maryland's top opponents in 2024. He impressively threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-28 loss to Indiana, plus for 373 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a big 29-28 win over USC. However, those games were followed by a 201-yard, two-interception outing in a loss to Minnesota, as well as a 206-yard, one-touchdown and two-interception performance in a loss to Oregon.
The veteran signal-caller will look to maintain the top-end play he flashed against the Hoosiers, Trojans and others last season. With Wisconsin providing him a stronger supporting cast than Maryland did, especially along the offensive line, many are expecting a breakthrough year for the senior.
Wisconsin will certainly need Edwards at his best if it has any chance of returning to bowl eligibility and building momentum entering 2026.
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