Projected 2020 College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings for Week 14

It has been a trying season in Madison. After the Badgers dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak on their roster that forced the cancellation of two games, Minnesota was forced to call off this year’s Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe as the Gophers deal with their own rise in positive cases. It is the first time in 113 years that the rivalry game will not be played, spanning a period that includes the Spanish flu pandemic and two world wars.

Wisconsin will hold on to the Axe for another year, but with too few games played they are no longer eligible to contest the Big Ten championship game — even if Northwestern loses twice in their final three games. The College Football Playoff selection committee put Wisconsin at No. 16 heading into Thanksgiving weekend, and they will likely drop even further down the top 25 this week now that a conference title is out of play.

That probably also means that a New Year’s Six bid is a long shot, even if Wisconsin finishes their season 4-1. The Badgers play Indiana at home in Week 14 and wrap up the regular season at Iowa the following weekend, two opportunities to make statements against ranked opponents. If they win out, Wisconsin will probably play either a rematch against Indiana or against Maryland in the No. 2 vs. No. 2 divisional challenge.