There was no shortage of Wisconsin-related movement over the weekend, and the headlines came with a familiar mix of good news, weird poll logic, and a milestone moment for a former Badger heading to the NFL stage.
Start with volleyball, because the resume keeps getting stronger and the ranking still took a hit. Wisconsin has won six straight and four straight against ranked opponents, including a road win at Minnesota, but the Badgers still slid from No. 6 to No. 7 in the AVCA Volleyball Top 25 Rankings. The reason was Florida jumping Kentucky and forcing its way into the upper part of the poll.
That shift is being viewed as a mess in more ways than one, and there’s already plenty of conversation about how the poll got tangled up this week and what could have been done differently. Wisconsin now gets a chance to answer on the court with No.
24 Illinois up next, followed by No. 1 Nebraska.
Two wins there would give the Badgers a clean way to force their own climb.
Football got a similar treatment from the AP side of things. Wisconsin technically wasn’t in the AP Top 25, but it was sitting as the team getting the most votes outside the rankings.
Last week, the Badgers had 102 votes and were effectively No. 26.
After a 31-3 win over Michigan State, they somehow dropped to 88 votes and became the third most-voted team on the outside.
It’s another example of doing the job and still not getting rewarded for it. Even so, the case can be made that Wisconsin is better off staying out for now. With only four wins this season, the argument is that this team can use the slight as fuel and lean into the chip-on-the-shoulder mentality instead of getting comfortable.
The weekend also brought a big NFL moment for former Badger Darryl Peterson III. Peterson had been on the Los Angeles Rams practice squad, but ahead of their game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he was called up to the active roster. For a player who came into the league as an unlikely UDFA, flashed in the preseason, and then landed on the practice squad, it was a meaningful step forward.
He did not see game action against the Eagles, but he was active and available for depth.
And there was a nice family twist to the whole thing: on the same day Peterson got his first NFL call-up, his brother Darryn Peterson played his first NBA preseason game for the Utah Jazz. It marked a rare shared moment for the brothers, who became the first to be drafted into the NFL and NBA in the same season and were both activated on the same day.
In Other News...
Wisconsins UCLA Trip Could Land In A Window Fans Wont Love
The Big Ten has started to clear up its Week 7 television slate, but Wisconsins trip to UCLA is still waiting on the kind of kickoff window fans usually dread. Five of the seven conference games already have times and TV assignments, yet the Badgers road date with the Bruins and Nebraskas visit to Oregon remain in limbo for now, leaving the leagues late window decisions very much in play.
Wisconsin does at least get a bye week before heading west, which gives the staff a little extra time to reset before a trip that could wind up in an awkward slot. UCLA, ranked No. 21, still has to get through Oregon in Week 6, and the timing of that result will help shape when the Big Ten finalizes the kickoff and channel for a game Badgers fans may be watching with one eye on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Just Won Again And The Poll Still Sent A Message
Wisconsin kept rolling with a 31-3 win over Michigan State, stretching its winning streak to four straight and doing it in convincing fashion. The Badgers looked every bit like a team that belongs in the national conversation, but the AP Poll did not move them into the Top 25, leaving them on the outside despite the latest emphatic result.
Instead, Wisconsin slid from the top spot among receiving votes to No. 3 in that group as the poll barely shifted elsewhere, with Pitt entering at No. 25 and Missouri climbing to No. 14 after beating Florida. The timing adds another layer of intrigue, because the Badgers now get a bye in Week 6 before a matchup with ranked UCLA, giving them a little extra time to make their case in a landscape that still seems unconvinced. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins PFF Grades Show One Big Reason To Feel Better
Wisconsin kept the good times rolling at home with a win over Michigan State after taking down Penn State on the road, and the early Big Ten picture looks a lot better because of it. The Badgers are 4-1 overall and 2-0 in league play, and the Pro Football Focus grades from Saturday help explain why the last two weeks have felt like a turning point.
The numbers point to a team that is winning in the trenches on both sides of the ball, with strong showings in pass blocking, run defense and pass rushing. There were standouts all over the field and enough pressure production to make this more than just a couple of clean scoreboard results, which is exactly the kind of sign Wisconsin wanted after an uneven start. [Read more 🡒]