Wisconsin’s place in the national conversation got a jolt this week, even after the Badgers were left out of the AP Top 25. They still drew the most votes among the teams outside the poll, which makes them the unofficial No. 26 team in the country.
That’s a far cry from where Wisconsin sat in the AP rankings just a week earlier, when voters had the Badgers as high as No. 18 for the Week 5 poll. But ESPN analyst Greg McElroy pushed them even higher in his latest Top 15, placing Wisconsin at No. 15.
McElroy’s case starts with the résumé. “They're seventh in strength of record.
They've played the sixth-toughest schedule in college football. They just won at Penn State.
The only loss that they have so far is the team that we ranked No. 4 (Notre Dame),” he said.
He added, “I think Wisconsin, based on the win last week, that's better than what a lot of teams have right now in college football.”
That ranking puts the Badgers ahead of BYU, Texas Tech, SMU, Tennessee, USC and others. McElroy said his list is driven heavily by what teams have done on the field. “Our Top 15 is built almost entirely on resume and control, who you’ve beaten, where you’ve beaten them,” he explains.
For a lot of fans outside Wisconsin, that may be a tough sell. The Badgers do own one of the best road wins in the country so far, and that matters.
But there are still real questions on offense. Can Colton Joseph stop giving the ball to the other team?
Can the Badgers establish the run? Can they get better play at left tackle?
The defense, though, looked every bit like a top-15 unit in Happy Valley. That side of the ball has the feel of something special.
So is No. 15 too high? From a pure résumé standpoint, Wisconsin has a strong argument.
The Badgers have one of the biggest wins in the country this season, and that can carry serious weight. But if the question is whether they’ve played like a true top-15 team, that case is still less convincing.
They belong in the AP Top 25, no question. But a top-15 spot still feels a little rich.
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