Wisconsin Football still has a path to the College Football Playoff

Wisconsin football only has one loss. Is there still a path to the Playoff for the Badgers?

All of badger nation let out a collective sigh of disbelief sometime around 6:45 p.m. ET on September 15th. The team that shall not be named (I am still upset) pulled off what many thought was impossible. They went to Madison and left Camp Randall Stadium with a win.

After coming to terms with the fact that Wisconsin had just lost a 41-game home non-conference winning streak there was still one glaring question left unanswered.

In a season that began with such high hopes, did Wisconsin ruin any chance of potentially making the College Football Playoff?

To many, the overwhelming answer was yes, myself included. But was that an overreaction? Is there still a shot that Wisconsin can sneak into the college football playoff?

It’s not going to be easy. It might actually be closer to impossible but there is still a slim chance that the Badgers can make it to the CFP and here is how.

Ever since the new format began in 2014-15 a team with at least one loss has made it to the playoff. After looking back at prior teams’ schedules who made the playoff with a loss the best comparison I have come up with is Ohio State’s appearance that inaugural year.

The Buckeyes lost early in the season to an unranked non-conference team at home. Sound familiar? Virginia Tech finished that season with six losses on the year so it is not like Ohio State could claim it to be a “quality” loss.

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The Buckeyes faced just two ranked teams during the regular season. They then earned a dominant win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game that propelled them into the top-four and a birth into the playoff.

Even after the loss to the team that shall not be named, Wisconsin still had/has everything in front of them schedule wise.

Getting back on track towards the playoff for the Badgers started with a win over a tough Iowa team on the road. Even though Iowa was not ranked, that victory under the lights at Kinnick Stadium should carry weight as a “quality” win. After taking care of business vs. Nebraska last weekend the next hurdle for Wisconsin awaits them in Michigan.

The Wolverines will be the first of two projected ranked opponents that Wisconsin will face this year during the regular season. Get the job done this week on the road in Ann Arbor and continue to take care of business until another road showdown with Penn State on November 9. Wisconsin fans will have to root for Penn State to win upcoming games against Michigan State, Iowa , nd Michigan to hold onto their top-ten ranking.

If Wisconsin can beat an excellent Penn State team in another hostile Big Ten environment we then have to hope Ohio State wins out. That would set up a showdown in the Big Ten Championship game against an undefeated and top-four ranked Buckeyes squad.

Will it be easy? Definitely not.

Is it completely unthinkable? Depends who you ask.

Will the Badgers still need chaos to ensue outside of the Big Ten? Absolutely.

Other top-ranked teams will need to stumble along the way as well to get the Badgers within striking distance to make a potential win in the Big Ten Championship even worthwhile.

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The current odds that Wisconsin can make the college football playoff are very slim, but until it hits zero, playoff dreams for Bucky are still alive. And it all starts this weekend in the Big House.