The USA Today Coaches Poll is unveiled on Thursday and Badger Football gets a solid rank
Badger football was ranked #10 in the preseason poll. Big Ten teams were scattered all over the Top Ten with The Ohio State at #2, defending conference champion Penn State at #6, and Michigan Wolverines at #9.
That formidable quartet were the only Big Ten teams in the Top 25. A few other Big Ten teams were scattered amongst the “others receiving votes” category.
Badger football was 24 ranking points ahead of 11th-ranked Oklahoma St and 23 points behind Michigan. Wisconsin is close to Michigan but I think they deserve to be ahead of our friends in Ann Arbor.
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For one thing, Michigan lost 10 starters on its 2016 Big Ten leading scoring defense. They also return just four projected starters on offense. The five total returning starters is the lowest number in college football. While Jim Harbaugh clearly revitalized the program and is an elite recruiter, its doubtful he found enough talent (even a magic pair of twins) during his summer trip to Rome to immediately replace 15 starters.
Oddly enough, the final Coaches Poll published on January 10, 2017, did list Wisconsin at #9 and Michigan at #10. It’s hard to quibble with much else beyond Michigan ahead of Badger football in the preseason rankings.
No matter, Wisconsin and Michigan can settle it on the field in Madison on November 18th. Here’s the explainer on how the poll is assembled:
"The Amway Coaches Poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of head coaches at FBS schools. The panel is chosen by random draw, conference by conference plus independents, from a pool of coaches who have indicated to the American Football Coaches Association their willingness to participate. Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th."
Clearly the The Ohio State getting blanked in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Clemson didn’t in any way trouble pollsters. The Buckeyes return QB JT Barrett and a whole mess of starters. No surprise, Alabama was the #1 team which I think we’re at the stage now we can just put in pen every year.
Of course, as former Wisconsin State Journal sports writer turned UW sports communications contributor Andy Baggot, notes early season perches aren’t made to last.
The #Badgers are in the top-10 of the preseason coaches' poll for fifth time ('99, '00, '07, '11). Finished with higher ranking once ('99).
— Andy Baggot (@AndyBaggot) August 3, 2017
It’s still nice to see Badger Football in the Top Ten. It does give Wisconsin a good vantage point for inching up towards College Football Playoff territory when teams #1-#9 stumble. Alabama and Florida State clash in week one but the loser (Florida State) won’t tumble too far.
Next: 10 Questions with Terrapin Station about Maryland
Preseason rankings give you a sense of the consensus view of the top teams. Much beyond the top 10-12, whether you’re ranking football, basketball, or graduate schools, is a bit of guesswork. So consider this a solid initial work and now the pressure is on for Badger Football to justify it.