Following a hard-fought loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Wisconsin Badgers finished at No. 11 in the final pre-bowl edition of the Amway Coaches’ Poll, just barely losing the top-10 spot they had last week.
The Amway Coaches’ Poll does not determine the bowl placements, but it is certainly interesting to use the coaches’ rankings as a guide for what the playoff committee will do. As you can see, the LSU ranking at No. 1 in the Amway Coaches’ Poll was agreed with by the playoff committee, which put LSU as the No. 1 seed against No. 4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl. Ohio State’s win over Wisconsin did not lift the Buckeyes to the top spot. OSU is seeded second and will face No. 3 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, the other playoff semifinal.
LSU keeps No. 1 ranking ahead of Ohio State in final Amway Coaches Poll of regular season. Will the playoff comittee agree? https://t.co/WbQpg4F5Zr via @USATODAYsports
— Eddie Timanus (@EddieTimanus) December 8, 2019
Overall, the Badgers (10-3, 7-2 Big Ten) have to be unhappy with the result against Ohio State. Yet, their level of play in the first half was the best we saw all season long, especially when measured against the caliber of opposition.
The No. 11 ranking is not a scandal in and of itself. Wisconsin wasn’t going to rise in the rankings with a loss. However, it seems dubious at best to think that several of the teams placed ahead of Wisconsin deserve to be ranked higher than the Badgers.
Baylor is No. 8. Yes, the Bears played Oklahoma really tough on two occasions, but the Bears lost both times. Where is Baylor’s big win, comparable to Wisconsin’s win at Minnesota and the Badgers’ other quality win over Michigan? There is no comparison. Wisconsin should clearly be ranked higher than Baylor.
Alabama is No. 9. The Crimson Tide got this spot based on reputation, not on quality wins. The Tide didn’t beat any of the other top teams in the SEC. Alabama lost to LSU and Auburn. It didn’t play Georgia or Florida.
Utah is No. 10. The Utes didn’t beat a single team with eight or more wins this year. Yet, the Utes finished ahead of the Badgers. Wisconsin fans can laugh at Baylor, Bama, and Utah finishing ahead of the Badgers in the final pre-bowl coaches’ poll of 2019.
Wisconsin is still one of an impressive six Big Ten teams in the Amway Coaches’ Poll. The Big Ten conference has proven yet again to be one of the toughest football conferences in the country, with six Big Ten teams just inside the top 20 of the poll. Penn State was one spot behind Wisconsin at No. 12. Minnesota was 16th, Michigan 17th, and Iowa 19th.