Wisconsin Football: Badgers in great shape at No. 5 in latest CFP rankings
Wisconsin football earned a No. 5 spot in the latest edition of the College Football Playoff rankings. It’s not top four, but the Badgers are close enough for now.
A phrase many teams, no matter the sport, love to hear is “control your own destiny.” As the 2017 college football season begins to enter its final stretch, many teams are vying for both a conference championship, as well as a spot in this year’s College Football Playoff (CFP).
The Wisconsin Badgers came in at No. 5 in the latest rankings, jumping up two spots from last week following their impressive win against No. 20 Iowa 38-14.
Of course, if the season ended today, the Badgers would be on the outside looking in as two one-loss teams are ranked ahead of them (Clemson, Oklahoma).
Normally, the fact that a 10-0 Wisconsin team sits behind two one-loss teams would spark up some controversy, but with a lot of football left to be played and barring and drastic changes, the Badgers truly do control their own destiny when it comes to cracking the final four at year’s end.
Wisconsin was gifted their first ranked team on the schedule as Iowa came in at No. 20 following their huge win over Ohio State. This week, the Hawkeyes are out of the top 25, but incoming are the Michigan Wolverines, who the Badgers host on Saturday. Michigan is ranked No. 24 in the latest edition.
Top Six
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Miami
- Oklahoma
- Wisconsin
- Auburn
From what the committee pointed out, if all teams were to win out this is what the final rankings would look like. Fortunately for the Badgers, that is not possible as Clemson and Miami will face off in the ACC Championship as well as No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 Auburn in a couple of weeks.
Wisconsin will have an opportunity to finish out their last stretch of games with three wins over ranked opponents, with Iowa, Michigan, and then whoever they will face in the Big Ten Championship Game, likely Ohio State.
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Leading up to this past weekend, not many knew how good the Badgers really were, but their statement win over Iowa allowed them to get some respect in the latest rankings. From here on out, the Badgers just need to win, and win big if possible. Regardless, Wisconsin controls its own destiny and it will be very, very difficult for the committee to leave out a 13-0 Badgers team.