21 For 2021 College Football Topics, No. 20: Best Programs To Not Make The College Football Playoff

21 for 2021 College Football Topics, No. 20: The five winningest programs who haven’t made the College Football Playoff.

1. Wisconsin Badgers (67 wins)

Wisconsin has been really, really, really close to getting into the College Football Playoff, but it can’t find its way through, over, or around the Ohio State brick wall.

Forget about the strange 2020 season – the team was crushed by COVID early on, injuries later, and was never able to get going even with a bowl win over Wake Forest to close things out. Before that, the Badgers had five double-digit win seasons in six years with four Big Ten Championship appearances and three New Year’s Six bowl games.

That’s nice and all, but there’s enough of a talent gap to keep it from getting past Ohio State and finally into the final top four – and that’s assuming everything else goes right.

2021 Wisconsin Schedule Analysis

The latest recruiting class was fantastic, and the overall system still works, but 2021 will be vital to show that 2020 was just a blip and this is still the star of the Big Ten West.

If that can happen, and if the team can get back to dominating with the ground game, can ride Graham Mertz and do more with the passing attack, and if the defense, time of possession stat, and several other key areas can be among the best in college football, Wisconsin might just have the right formula to even win a game if it can get to the CFP.

It has to get by Ohio State first.

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