The College Football Playoff selection committee named the University of Wisconsin football team No. 8 in the nation Tuesday night.
College Football Playoff Rankings:
7. Louisville
8. Wisconsin
9. Auburn
10. Nebraska— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 1, 2016
Wisconsin helped build its top 10 case after defeating current-No. 10 University of Nebraska last Saturday in a 23-17 overtime thriller at Camp Randall Stadium.
Prior to Tuesday night’s verdict, the Badgers were also ranked as the eighth-best team in the country by the AP Poll. While the Badgers didn’t budge in the new CFP poll, this wasn’t the case for most teams.
Football: Wisconsin survives Halloween scare from Nebraska in 23-17 overtime win
The committee delivered its first top 25 poll of the 2016-17 season ruling the current four playoff contenders as No. 1 University of Alabama, No. 2 University of Michigan, No. 3 Clemson University and No. 4 Texas A&M University.
Undefeated and AP No. 4 University of Washington was the lone team from the AP’s top four that did not align with the playoff committee’s original cut Tuesday night. This may come as a surprise to some considering Texas A&M — the team that replaced the Huskies at No. 4 in the CFP poll — already suffered a 19-point loss to Alabama earlier this season.
Football: Wisconsin survives Halloween scare from Nebraska in 23-17 overtime win
Overall, the Big Ten fared well in the College Football Playoff rankings compared to the previous AP Poll evaluations. While the conference lacks any representation between the No. 13 and 25 spots in the new rankings, the Big Ten managed to land five teams inside of the top 12. The SEC was a close second as the only other conference to boast five teams inside of the top 15.
With Michigan currently occupying the No. 2 spot and a one-loss Ohio State team looking in from the outside at No. 6, the Big Ten is in a prime position to make a third consecutive College Football Playoff appearance.
As of now, it appears the winner of the Ohio State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) vs. Michigan (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) game is the team most likely to represent the conference in the 2016 playoff.
While the possibility is hanging on by a thread of probability, Wisconsin (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) is still technically alive in the playoff race. For this to happen, they would not only need to win out, but they would also need some help from Nebraska.
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If the Buckeyes can hand the Cornhuskers their second loss in Columbus this weekend, Wisconsin’s chances — though still slim — would increase. This is because a 10-2 Wisconsin team would hold the head-to-head advantage over Nebraska, which appears to be the Badgers’ greatest competitor in the Big Ten West title chase.
If the Badgers can win all four of their remaining games to win the West, they would still need to defeat an unbeaten Michigan, or perhaps a one-loss Ohio State team, in the conference championship game to claim one of the four most coveted spots in college football.
