Wisconsin’s performance during its Week 1 win over Western Michigan was not enough to keep it in the top 25 of prominent college football analyst Josh Pate’s ‘JP Poll’ entering Week 2.
The Badgers had entered the season ranked No. 23 in his top 25, one slot ahead of the rival Iowa Hawkeyes. The team’s pedestrian performance against the Broncos has dropped it out of the top 25 entirely. Iowa, meanwhile, used a blowout win over Illinois State to rise to No. 20 in Pate’s Week 2 edition.
Related: Wisconsin two-deep depth chart for Week 2 vs. South Dakota includes minor changes
Pate likes to pitch his top 25 as a ranking closer to Bill Connelly’s SP+ than to the AP Top 25. In other words, it works to reflect a team’s quality, not just its resume. That leads to a team like Texas A&M dropping its opener to Notre Dame but maintaining a ranking in the top 20.
For more contest, here is Pate’s full Week 2 ranking:
https://twitter.com/JoshPateCFB/status/1831140414994211277
A necessary takeaway is that Wisconsin plays Pate’s No. 4 (Alabama), No. 5 (Penn State), No. 7 (Oregon), No. 11 (USC) and No. 20 (Iowa) teams this season. Western Michigan was a light start to the schedule, but things are set to get tough for the Badgers starting in Week 3.
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