There are only three weeks left in the regular season, but the Wisconsin Badgers are not dead just yet. Despite losing six games in a row to Power Four competition, Wisconsin somehow found a way to win a wet and wild one in a wintry mix on Saturday evening. Blessed with the greatest passing punter you will ever see this side of Johnny Hekker, the Badgers defeated the Washington Huskies, 13-10.
While they did lose starting quarterback Danny O'Neil very early on in the first quarter, true freshman Carter Smith came in and helped put out the fire for Wisconsin. No, it was not a pretty game, but they are still technically alive to achieve bowl eligibility. They will have to win out with victories over Indiana, Illinois and arch rival Minnesota. For the time being, things are starting to look up under Luke Fickell.
Let's not mess around any longer. So where do the Badgers find themselves in the Big Ten hierarchy?
18. Purdue Boilermakers: 2-8 (0-7)
Somebody has to finish in last place in the Big Ten. While they could turn it around next season, it was always going to be a rough go of it for Barry Odom during his first year in West Lafayette. The Purdue Boilermakers still need to flush out all that was bad with the Ryan Walters era. To be frank, they have already doubled their win total from a year ago. This team is trying very hard, but it still not very good.
17. Michigan State Spartans: 3-6 (0-6)
This may not happen after this season, but we have to wonder how much job security Jonathan Smith has leading the Michigan State Spartans. With his alma mater opening back up in Corvallis, maybe he has some buyer's remorse in taking all that money to come to East Lansing? They are like Wisconsin, except they have yet to win a league game. They have three more opportunities to do so.
16. Penn State Nittany Lions: 3-6 (0-6)
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Had the Penn State Nittany Lions been able to upset the Indiana Hoosiers at home, they would be much higher up on this list than coming in at only No. 16 this week. This team has a lot of talent, but it needs a new coaching staff. This is one of those examples where things got out of control quickly, and the Nittany Lions were never going to recover.
15. Wisconsin Badgers: 3-6 (1-5)
And look what we have here! The Wisconsin Badgers come in at No. 15. They are fresh off their first Big Ten win in over a year by upsetting the Washington Huskies. No, this team does not do much well. If anything, the Badgers have a strong run defense, an occasionally sneaky-good pass rush, and will run the ball with conviction at times. If they can keep it low-scoring, they will have a shot at more wins.
14. Maryland Terrapins: 4-5 (1-5)
Hash tag turtle up. This is what the Maryland Terrapins do. They carve up seemingly whoever they play in the non-conference, all before fading down the stretch once the weather changes in Big Ten play. They are riding a five-game losing streak after clobbering Wisconsin in Madison. This was always going to be a borderline bowl team. Losing to Rutgers in a winnable game will make it hard...
13. UCLA Bruins: 3-6 (3-3)
Truth be told, UCLA should probably be a few spots lower than this. This is not a bowl team, but the Bruins have shown some ability to hold their own in Big Ten play. All three of their wins have come against their new conference foes. Had they have taken care of business in any way, shape or form in the first few weeks of the season, UCLA might be inside of the top 10 with a serious shot at a bowl.
12. Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 5-5 (2-5)
It all comes down to their final game of the season. After getting a second win in Big Ten play, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will need to win one of their final two games to achieve bowl eligibility. While they are not going to beat Ohio State, they will have a great opportunity at it when they take on the Penn State Nittany Lions at the end of the year. Like clockwork, Rutgers could potentially finish 6-6.
11. Northwestern Wildcats: 5-4 (3-3)
It would be a shame if the Northwestern Wildcats lost out. They have had five wins for a minute now, but have had a challenging time getting to No. 6. While it should not cost head coach David Braun his job, Northwestern needs to take advantage of this big opportunity to get better by way of bowl-game practices. They had their moments vs. USC on Friday night, but the better team prevailed in that one.
10. Minnesota Golden Gophers: 6-3 (4-2)
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the prototypical middle-of-the-pack team in the Big Ten. They have already achieved bowl eligibility with three weeks left to be played. Every week, we touch on how well-coached this team is, but how much of a talent disadvantage the Golden Gophers are at when compared to the best teams making up the Big Ten. Right now, they should win around seven or eight.
9. Washington Huskies: 6-3 (3-3)
No way around it. This was a terrible loss for the Washington Huskies. Not only could they not do much of anything offensively vs. Wisconsin in some nasty weather, but their third loss on the year effectively knocks them out of the College Football Playoff race far sooner than expected. This was Demond Williams Jr.'s worst game of the season, and it showed. Jedd Fisch feels totally checked out.
8. Illinois Fighting Illini: 6-3 (3-3)
The Illinois Fighting Illini are who we thought they were. This is a team that is going to beat every team it is better than, and not an opponent more. At 6-3, there is a strong possibility that the Illini win out with games vs. Maryland, Wisconsin and arch rival Northwestern. While none of those games should be quantified as resume boosters, Illinois will stand a very good chance to finish the season ranked.
7. Iowa Hawkeyes: 6-3 (4-2)
This was a tough one for the Iowa Hawkeyes. They lost a game that Iowa usually wins. The weather was 50 shades of horrible in Iowa City, but they could not knock the visiting Oregon Ducks off when it mattered most. Mark Gronowski's go-ahead touchdown should have won it. Missing on the two-point attempt was ominous for what was to come. With a third loss, Iowa is no longer a playoff threat at all.
6. Nebraska Cornhuskers: 7-3 (4-3)
Nebraska is the best team in the Big Ten that has no shot of making the College Football Playoff. Three conference losses will do that to you. However, they were able to win a game over UCLA, despite no longer having Dylan Raiola available. The Matt Rhule pop year is coming, but it may be more of a thing next year. Nebraska is a quality Big Ten team, but not one that will win championships.
5. Michigan Wolverines: 7-2 (5-1)
The Michigan Wolverines can make a mess of things if they were to win out. This would include a win over arch rival Ohio State during Thanksgiving Weekend. If Michigan does improve to 10-2 on the year and 8-1 in Big Ten play with a win over the Buckeyes, that should be a playoff team. Their two losses are to playoff contenders in Oklahoma and USC. It is going to be wild to see how this ends up.
4. USC Trojans: 7-2 (5-1)
If the Big Ten is somehow able to get four of its teams into the College Football Playoff, USC has a very compelling case. The Trojans would need to beat Oregon to make it in, but having the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Ducks would really help their resume. USC's two losses are to Illinois in conference play and to rival Notre Dame in the non-conference. Beating Michigan already will help.
3. Oregon Ducks: 8-1 (5-1)
The Oregon Ducks are going to fall ass backwards into a playoff berth, are they not? This team is coming off its best win of the season, which was a two-point win over Iowa at Kinnick in some of the worst weather you will ever see. The Ducks still have to play USC and a massive rival in Washington to end the season. As long as they win out, they will make it in. Another loss would have them borderline.
2. Indiana Hoosiers: 10-0- (7-0)
The Indiana Hoosiers should get docked a bit after what nearly happened at Beaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It not for Fernando Mendoza's late-game heroics, the Hoosiers will still remain winless in Happy Valley to date. They are 10-0 and 7-0 in Big Ten play. If any team is a lock to make the College Football Playoff right now, it is them. That 10th win leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth...
1. Ohio State Buckeyes: 9-0 (6-0)
Not until they face the Michigan Wolverines will the Ohio State Buckeyes be challenged. They may have the head-to-head wins over Texas and Washington, but neither of those teams feel like obvious playoff teams. Julian Sayin continues to get better with every game he starts. It helps having a strong Matt Patricia defense backing him up. Ohio State is the best contender to win it all out of the Big Ten.
Wisconsin has closed the gap ever so slightly between the Badgers and Buckeyes after this week.