Tom Fornelli, one of the leading CBS Sports writers and personalities, was part of the Cover 3 Podcast the other day. When each panelist was naming their dark horse, Fornelli went out on a limb and named Wisconsin. He had a bunch of reasons why he is more bullish on them than he should be, but identified one primary reason at the end of his justification.
He started with the fact that he knows it’s a surprising pick. Fornelli called Wisconsin a “dark, dark horse.” But he went on to give five reasons why Wisconsin may actually do some damage in the conference. Let’s break down Fornelli’s reasoning and land on what he calls his “primary” reason.
A dark horse in the Big Ten? @TomFornelli is going with Wisconsin. @Cover3Podcastpic.twitter.com/HO2XKxCNCD
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) July 29, 2026
Tom Fornelli gives five reasons why Wisconsin is the dark horse this year in the Big Ten
Related: Luke Fickell makes it clear that Wisconsin has Notre Dame circled on the calendar
1. The injuries have killed the last few seasons for Luke Fickell
The first reason Fornelli gives for being higher on Wisconsin than any of his colleagues is that Fickell and Wisconsin have never really been able to get their seasons going due to injury. “If you look at this team the last few years, they’ve been crushed by injuries.” Fornelli explains, “More so than most other programs.” He said the defense was holding its own, but the offense couldn’t score; they were down to their third-string quarterback, fourth-string running back, and third-string offensive tackle…