The College Football Playoff second reveal was fascinating. Wisconsin may actually have a stronger case to be ranked higher than anyone assumes. If we use the logic of the committee, there's a real case for the Badgers to be included in that top 25.
In fact, there are three teams that have resumes that may show the Badger fan that Wisconsin is on the edge of being included in the rankings. Oregon, Missouri, and LSU all being included should only make the Wisconsin case stronger. However, two of those teams get the SEC bias, and one is Oregon, which the committee is working so hard to have hanging around even though they've been pretty middle of the road.
Let's start with the obvious: all four teams- Wisconsin, Oregon, Missouri, and LSU- have the same exact record of 6-3. That alone isn't all that impressive because a good chunk of FBS teams are at six wins. So we need to break it down even more.
Let's start with Oregon because they are the highest-ranked of all those teams. Oregon is ranked No. 16 in the CFP. That's really high for a team with three losses, so why? Well, let's look at the resume of Wisconsin and Oregon side-by-side.
Comparing Wisconsin's resume with another Big Ten school: Oregon
Oregon: Losses to No. 4, 25, NR
Wisconsin: Losses to No. 4, 5, 15
Oregon: Wins over No. 18 & 20
Wisconsin: Win over No. 18
So essentially, Oregon is getting rewarded handsomely for beating Ohio State, but is not getting penalized for losses to Oregon or Oklahoma State, while Wisconsin isn't included for losses to only top-15 teams.
Comparing Wisconsin's resume with another 2 SEC schools
What about LSU and Missouri?
LSU: Losses to No. 3, 11, 19,
Missouri: Losses to No. 6, 19, NR
LSU: Wins over N/A (zero CFP ranked wins)
Missouri: Wins over N/A (zero CFP ranked wins)
LSU is ranked No. 21 in the CFP, while Missouri is ranked No. 22. Neither team has any CFP wins, and while LSU has no bad losses, Missouri does, with the loss to Mississippi State. So what is happening here? SEC bias for sure.
Wisconsin has a better resume than both of those teams and is somehow sitting on the outside looking in. Yet, it's less about Wisconsin being snubbed and the nonsense that Missouri and LSU are included. There's absolutely no reason those two teams should be in there, except for the fact that the CFP loves to reward SEC teams.
If the CFP is going to reward LSU for having no bad losses, then what about Wisconsin? Unlike Oregon or Missouri, Wisconsin falls in the same category. The Badgers have only lost to top-15 teams. Missouri and Oregon have both lost to unranked teams.
This isn't a post that says Wisconsin should be included. If anything, it's pointing out two realities: the first is that Wisconsin is closer to the CFP rankings than most people realize, and the second is that there are teams that have worse resumes that shouldn't be included if Wisconsin isn't going to be included.
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