ESPN’s Seth Walder published an article this morning which looked at the recent Football Power Index projections and summarized what they say about who is most likely to reach the 2020 College Football Playoff.
Not surprisingly the top-3 teams are Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State.
The fourth team in the ranking though? The Wisconsin Badgers.
That’s right. FPI thinks the Badgers have the fourth-highest shot to make the CFP ahead of teams including LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma and Penn State.
Specifically, FPI gives Wisconsin a 34 percent chance to reach the playoff and a 6 percent chance to make the National Championship Game.
What is the reason behind these rankings seeing the Badgers reverse their recent late-season fortunes and finally break through into the playoff?
The first is the return of quarterback Jack Coan, the nation’s No. 8-ranked passer in terms of QBR in 2019 and No. 7 in completion percentage.
The second is the return of the team’s entire secondary and defensive line production from a season ago. As outlined in the projection for coach Paul Chryst‘s 2020 defensive depth chart, the team is one of the most experienced and skilled in the nation on the defensive line and in the secondary. Furthermore, the linebacking core, led by junior Jack Sanborn, is one of the team’s strengths every season even when they lose 1-2 players a year at the position to the NFL.
Other factors playing into the ranking, as noted by Walder, include the Badgers avoiding having to play Ohio State during the regular season and an otherwise tough but manageable schedule, one which allows them to still be in the running for the CFP even if they were to have one loss after falling to the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship.
National Championships aren’t usually in the preseason projection for the Wisconsin football team. This year though, with the experience at quarterback and on defense, the talent all over the field and a schedule that caters to a favorable national ranking, a College Football Playoff appearance will be in the sights for Chryst and his team.