Andy Staples, Big Cat weigh in on Wisconsin win-total in 2023

The worlds of Barstool and On3 recently collided as Dan “Big Cat” Katz joined ‘Andy Staples On3’.

Aside from hosting the popular ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast, Big Cat is also a loud and proud Wisconsin alumni. And when speaking with Staples addressed the Badgers’ preseason win total, which Las Vegas currently has sitting at 8.5 wins with the 2023 season right around the corner.

“It’s an over,” Big Cat said. “I know that I’m biased, but I looked at the schedule, I think it’s very realistic for a 5-0 start going to Illinois. There’s a little tough stretch there where it’s at Illinois, at home against Iowa, at home against Ohio State. But with 8.5, I think nine wins is absolutely doable.”

The Badgers did draw three non-conference opponents who made bowl games last season, but many expect Wisconsin to take care of business in their first three matchups of the season against Buffalo, Washington State, and Georgia Southern.

Wisconsin has also achieved nine-plus win seasons in two of their last four years, and new head coach Luke Fickell has also done so in his last five consecutive seasons at Cincinnati. But Big Cat believes that other outside factors will also play a big part in the Badgers pushing past the eight-win mark this upcoming season.

“I think the Big Ten West is still the Big Ten West. There’s new head coaches at four of the seven teams, there’s new quarterbacks all over the place,” Big Cat said. “I think Wisconsin the schedule matches up where you don’t have to play Michigan, you don’t have to play Penn State, and you get Ohio State and Iowa at home. I think a nine, 10-win season is absolutely doable.”

It’s no secret that scheduling plays a big factor in predicting a team’s fate before the season, which is why Staples agrees with Katz and has more faith in a team like Wisconsin hitting their over versus another Big Ten foe like Minnesota potentially underachieving in 2023.

“I think that’s very reasonable and I do think it’s so schedule related. Because we had Minnesota on the last one we did and we were like under, under, under because PJ Fleck is gonna have to coach so hard to win eight games,” Staples said. “I think their number’s 7.5 and their schedule is brutal.”

There’s no doubt that there’s been a fair share of changes across the Big Ten this offseason, making outcomes hard to predict. But hopefully for Big Cat and the rest of Wisconsin’s supporters, the Badgers’ changes can be positive ones and they can capitalize on a schedule that on paper seems more favorable than others.