After a 45-7 blowout victory of the Illinois Fighting Illini and an outstanding game from quarterback Graham Mertz, Wisconsin is on the move upwards in both polls, moving from 14th to 11th in the Coaches Amway Poll and from 14th to ninth in the AP Poll.
The upward movement of Wisconsin in the rankings has to lead to an updated bowl projection by USA Today from the Fiesta Bowl against the tenth-ranked BYU Cougars of last week’s predictions to facing the fifth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl. The projected College Football Playoff teams are Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, and Oregon.
Wisconsin won the only other Cotton Bowl it has played in a 24-16 victory against the Western Michigan Broncos in 2017.
The Cotton Bowl is the biggest Non-College Football Playoff Bowl game this season, and a projection for Wisconsin to be in it indicates that USA TODAY expects the Badgers to finish as the fifth or sixth-ranked team in the country. If the Badgers make the Cotton Bowl, it would be their second consecutive season just outside the reach of the College Football Playoff.
These are very high expectations, especially with the news reported today of Graham Mertz’s second positive test for COVID-19 that means he will enter the Big Ten protocol for at least the next 21 days. On Monday, it was also reported that backup quarterback Chase Wolf has tested positive for COVID-19 as well, which could leave Danny Vanden Boom as the starter for the next three games against Nebraska, Purdue, and Michigan.
As the situation with Wisconsin Football continues to develop, the extremely high projection for the Badgers will likely change. Stay tuned to Badgerswire for continued updates.