Wisconsin football was the unofficial No. 26 team in the country last week as the unranked program receiving the most votes outside of the AP Top 25.
After a dominant and reassuring 31-3 blowout victory over Michigan State, the Badgers technically slipped in the AP pecking order even as they remain unranked.
The post-Week 5 AP Poll, which as per usual dropped Sunday afternoon, has Wisconsin as the third team outside the Top 25 receiving the most votes; the unofficial 28th team nationally.
Wisconsin actually has fewer points from voters this week (88) than it did last week (102) despite the Badgers clearly trending in the right direction. Following the biggest win of the Luke Fickell era, a road upset at No. 13 Penn State in Happy Valley, it was imperative for Wisconsin to handle its business against Michigan State and prove that they’re indeed generating legitimate positive momentum. That’s exactly what the Badgers did.
Still, Wisconsin remains unranked heading into its bye week.
Badgers snubbed or given fair ranking?
There’s a handful of teams that I have a hard time justifying their higher ranking than Wisconsin.
Let’s start with No. 24 SMU, which just snuck past a bad Boston College team at home 25-16. The Mustangs have beaten BC, Florida State, Missouri State and UC Davis with a loss to Louisville (which is now 2-3). It’s pretty clear the Badgers have a better resume than that.
How about No. 22 Houston? Similarly to SMU, the Cougars haven’t beaten anybody notable. Houston has wins over Oregon State, Southern, Georgia Southern and UCF with a narrow loss to Texas Tech. Both the Badgers and the Cougars are 4-1; the difference is Wisconsin has a top-15 ranked road victory while Houston lost to the only ranked team it’s played.
What’s next for Wisconsin?
The Badgers will enjoy a bye in Week 6, meaning they’ll probably remain unranked for another week at least barring a bloodbath in the 20-25 portion of the rankings. They should remain firmly on the bubble of the Top 25, but without a chance to stack another victory this coming weekend, it’s hard to see Wisconsin cracking the Top-25 before their showdown with UCLA on Oct. 17.
Speaking of the Bruins, they’re ranked No. 21, up two spots this week despite a bye. They’ll face No. 13 Oregon in Eugene this weekend, a massive showdown for both programs. Lose, and UCLA could find itself unranked depending on how the rest of the teams around it perform. Win, and Wisconsin will likely be walking into another top-15 road test in Week 7.
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