Standings – Page 14 – Syndication Server

Saints and Buccaneers competing for an early lead in the NFC South

With the Falcons having been devastated in England, the Saints and Buccaneers are competing for an early lead in the NFC South:

The stakes in Week 4’s matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers just crept a little higher. With the Atlanta Falcons having been beaten soundly by the Jacksonville Jaguars in England, the winner of this game will emerge on top of the NFC South, at least going into Week 5.

New Orleans and Tampa Bay are both 2-1. The Falcons are 2-2, and the Carolina Panthers are in the basement at 0-3. It’s a long season, but this is a big opportunity for the Saints to back up all of the offseason hype and start to pull away from their opponents around the division.

On the other hand, the Buccaneers have surprised a lot of people so far and they could take a game from the Saints on Sunday. Baker Mayfield has done enough to win games while their still-talented defense took care of business. With the Saints offensive line struggling to keep an already-injured Derek Carr clean, Week 4’s game is looking like a serious challenge.

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Wisconsin remains the Big Ten West favorite in ESPN SP+’s Week 4 rankings

Wisconsin is miles ahead of the rest of the West:

Wisconsin played its best game of the young season Friday night, defeating Purdue 38-17 to improve to 1-0 in Big Ten play.

The win improved Badgers fans’ outlook for the rest of the year and Big Ten West race. It did also, however, see the team fall a few spots in ESPN SP+’s Week 4 ranking.

Wisconsin entered the matchup ranked No. 25 in the Week 3 ranking, with the No. 44-ranked offense and No. 15 defense. After the convincing victory, the team now sits at No. 27 overall, with the nation’s No. 39-ranked offense and No. 18 defense.

The Badgers do remain the clear favorites to win the Big Ten West, however. They remain ranked behind the three top Big Ten teams of Michigan (No. 1), Ohio State (No. 3) and Penn State (No. 10), but sit far ahead of the closest West contender Iowa at No. 39.

UPDATED SP+ RANKINGS

* Another new No. 1
* 10 teams within 5.1 points of the top spot
* Washington & Oregon: ⬆️⬆️⬆️
* B1G & SEC: ⬇️⬇️⬇️
* Sun Belt & MWC: ⬆️⬆️⬆️
* Teams in top 20: P12 6, SEC 4, B1G/B12/ACC 3
* Is … is this what parity looks like????https://t.co/FhuVjnwRGG

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 24, 2023

Wisconsin is off this week before returning home for an interesting crossover matchup with a pesky Rutgers team. Then the schedule heats up, with critical games upcoming against Illinois, Iowa and Ohio State.

Wisconsin’s Week 2 loss vs Washington State looks a lot more palatable

Results from the weekend were terrific for the Badgers:

Wisconsin’s Week 2 road trip to Washington State obviously didn’t go as planned. The Badgers fell 31-22 in a mistake-filled performance, dropping to 1-1 at the time in the first year under head coach Luke Fickell.

The loss was obviously glaring. Fickell was brought in to redirect the program after a rough 2022, and the performance made it seem that maybe more time was needed to accomplish that goal.

But Week 4 for Wisconsin and around college football made that loss a lot more palatable for Badger fans.

First, the Badgers entered West Lafayette, Indiana and took care of division rival Purdue. The 38-17 win saw the offense improve its consistency, the defense continue to take the football away and QB Tanner Mordecai yet again excel using his legs.

Second, and almost as important, Washington State looks like a really good football team. The Cougars defeated a terrific No. 14 Oregon State team 38-35 thanks to a 404-yard, four-touchdown performance from QB Cam Ward.

The Cougars are now 4-0 with wins over Colorado State, Wisconsin, Northern Colorado and Oregon State. They sit atop a loaded Pac 12 conference, with big matchups against UCLA, Oregon, Colorado and Washington looming.

There is a real chance we get to the end of Wisconsin’s 2023 season and look back at Washington State as the second-best team Wisconsin played — behind Ohio State. If the Badgers run away with the West and the Cougars continue to win, that loss will continue to look better and better.

Updated game-by-game predictions for Wisconsin football after its win vs Purdue

Wisconsin’s outlook improved after its win over Purdue:

Wisconsin took care of business during its trip to Purdue Friday night, leaving with a solid 38-17 victory. The win was the best game the Badgers have played under head coach Luke Fickell, as the offense finally put together a four-quarter performance while the defense forced Purdue into three turnovers.

The biggest story from the week isn’t the Badgers improving to 3-1 and 1-0 in-conference. It’s how bad the rest of the Big Ten West looks.

Minnesota lost to Northwestern, Iowa got shut out at Penn State, Illinois snuck by Florida Atlantic and Nebraska still looks years away. The division is hilariously on-brand in its final season of existence.

Now that the Badgers are 3-1 and look better, here is what ESPN FPI projects for the rest of the season:

Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 4: The Big Ten West is really, really, bad

Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 4

Week 4 of the 2023 college football season is complete and there is one clear takeaway: The Big Ten West absolutely stinks.

Nobody is a bigger fan of the West than myself, and nobody looked forward more to the division’s final year. But in its swan song, the division is hilariously on-brand.

Wisconsin is having growing pains under new head coach Luke Fickell, Purdue is 1-3, Iowa just lost 31-0 at Penn State, Minnesota lost to Northwestern, Illinois has taken a step back after last season and Nebraska will need a few years before it is a contender.

There is no better way for the division to go out. For how bad it is, here are my Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 4:

Updated game-by-game predictions for Wisconsin football after its win vs Georgia Southern

Updated game-by-game predictions for Wisconsin after its win over Georgia Southern:

Wisconsin got back in the win column Saturday with a 35-14 triumph over Georgia Southern.

Adding to the win total might be the biggest positive from the contest, as the Badgers struggled on both sides of the football for three quarters against one of the worst teams in the country.

Yes, Mike Tressel’s defense forced six turnovers. But Eagles QB Davis Brin still threw for 383 yards as Georgia Southern tallied 455 total yards on offense. That’s concerning.

What may be more of a concern are Wisconsin’s clear growing pains on the offensive side of the ball. Georgia Southern entered Saturday with one of SP+’s worst defenses in the country, yet the Badgers waited until the third quarter to finally capitalize on Georgia Southern’s mistakes.

Wisconsin has a lot to clean up on both sides of the football. It will need to do so if the Big Ten West is still considered a possibility.

For that outlook, here is what ESPN FPI predicts for every remaining game on the schedule:

Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 3: Wisconsin rises after ugly win

Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 3:

Week 3 of the final Big Ten season before large-scale conference realignment and the elimination of divisions was much like the first two: the top contenders taking care of business while the rest of the conference looked pedestrian at best.

The top five teams after three weeks are clear to me. After that, it’s anybody’s guess how the rest of the conference shakes out. Most of the West is struggling to win football games, while we know what the bottom of the East usually looks like.

Wisconsin did improve to 2-1 this week, though did so while struggling for three quarters with Georgia Southern. I don’t know what to make of the performance, aside from the team clearly experiencing growing pains on both sides of the football.

After three weeks of action, here are your updated Big Ten Power Rankings:

Ranking the toughest remaining games on Wisconsin’s 2023 schedule

Ranking the toughest remaining games on Wisconsin’s schedule:

The Wisconsin Badgers are off to a disappointing 1-1 start to Luke Fickell’s first season as head coach.

Last week’s loss at Washington State felt like a measuring stick game. Had the Badgers won convincingly, the preseason hype would’ve all been warranted and we’d be looking at this team as the clear favorite in the Big Ten West.

The loss pumps the brakes on those expectations. It showed this team still needs improvement before a trip to Indianapolis in mid-December is considered.

The good news: the Badgers are 0-0 in Big Ten play and still have the entire season ahead of them.

As conference play nears, here is our ranking of the toughest games left on their 2023 schedule:

Big Ten power rankings after Week 2: A bad week for Wisconsin

Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 2:

Week 2 is complete across the college football world, headlined by Texas’ incredible win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

The Big Ten didn’t have a week to write home about. Its top contenders all played cupcake opponents, while several of the Big Ten West’s best fell in out-of-conference contests (Wisconsin, Illinois and Nebraska).

Big Ten play doesn’t begin for a few weeks still, so don’t expect to learn everything about teams until that date arrives. Regardless, we do these rankings every weekend even if Ohio State is playing Youngstown State.

So, here are our Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 2:

NFC South standings: Where Saints stand after Week 1 win

NFC South standings: Where the New Orleans Saints stand after Week 1 win vs. Titans

The New Orleans Saints won a hard-fought matchup with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, but where do they slot into the NFC South? Three of the division’s teams won their Week 1 games, including the Saints, but the variety of opponents gives us an early look at each team’s placement.

Here’s how the Saints stack up: