The Badgers were on the outside looking in when the AP Top 25 poll came out. The biggest vote-getter on the outside of the Top 25. Which unofficially makes them the No. 26 team in the nation according to the AP Poll. One national commentator and college football voice thinks that Wisconsin is way higher than that. Greg McElroy thinks the Badgers are a top-15 team, and he has some justification to back it up. He's 100% right.
The ESPN Analyst spoke on his Always College Football podcast, saying that he was picking a top-15 based solely on "resume and control, who you’ve beaten, where you’ve beaten them.” He will look at other things too, like efficiency numbers and other things of that nature. So his list is more about what's happening this season and the optics around it.
McElroy has Wisconsin as No. 15 on his list, and his reasoning is sound. He said their resume is impressive: "The Badgers are seventh in strength of record; they’ve played the sixth-toughest schedule in college football, and they just won at Penn State. The only loss was against the team we have ranked fourth on our list."
He doesn't stop there: "That's better than what a lot of teams have in college football." Which is completely right. There are very few teams that have a better win on their schedule than what Wisconsin has. Florida beating Ole Miss and Oklahoma State over Oregon may be the only other games that have any sort of argument.
Greg McElroy loves the resume that Wisconsin has put together so far in this early season
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Florida is ranked No. 6 on this list, so they don't have a complaint about the reasoning. In fact, they are bumped way up to sixth because of the exact same reason. Oklahoma State, on the other hand, is not in the rankings, but it's because of their resume. The Cowboys have a loss to Tulsa on their resume, and so while they may have a big win too, they aren't a top-15 team because of the loss.
So McElroy is spot on; Wisconsin has maybe the second most impressive win in college football so far this season, and their only loss is against a top-5 team. They deserve to be ranked. Even if you don't agree that the Badgers are a top-15 team, they certainly belong in the top-25.
However, they started in such a bad spot in people's minds to begin the season. It's a narrative that may take some time to change. Wisconsin can't let up and should be wearing disrespect like a chip on their shoulder. One big win is not enough and should not satisfy any taste buds; instead, the Badgers should be looking to make a statement again this weekend.
Wisconsin has to take care of business against Michigan State and continue to build off the Penn State win, not to make it just another blip on the Luke Fickell radar.
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