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Wisconsin Football: Big Ten Power Rankings

By Tanner Nestle

MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 15: Alex Hornibrook #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the football during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 15: Alex Hornibrook #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the football during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /
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Where does Wisconsin football stand in the Big Ten power rankings?

Wisconsin Football - Jonathan Taylor
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 25: Jonathan Taylor /

The Big Ten is quickly becoming one of the most competitive conferences in the country and Wisconsin football is a large part of the reason why. Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State are the teams you typically expect to be contending for the Big Ten crown, but when a program like Wisconsin, who wasn’t always a perennial power, has started to become exactly that, it makes the conference that much stronger. Michigan State is also looking like it can bounce back to form with a promising roster in 2018.

The rest of the Big Ten is made up of programs hard on their luck, but are also on tracks to succeed very soon. Minnesota, Purdue and Nebraska all have coaches that are respected nationally. And Iowa and Northwestern are capable of beating anybody on any given day. None of those programs should be overlooked.

The Big Ten is a deep and complete conference. There are the powerhouse programs at the top, the middle-of-the-pack teams that everybody dreads playing, and the up-and-comers are no fun either. And no conference is complete without the bottom feeders, of course. Even then, Illinois played Wisconsin very close last year. The parody in the Big Ten is real. No team can ever take a weekend off.

These power rankings aren’t necessarily a prediction of the final standings of the Big Ten, since they won’t take into account schedule or timing. Instead, it’s simply an order of which teams are better in a vacuum. Talent is a key factor, and teams with major questions are going to have to answer them before they move up in the rankings.

Here’s the Big Ten power rankings for the 2018 football season.