The Badgers named a ‘tier 6 title contender’ for the 2020 season

247Sports put the top teams in college football into “title contender tiers” today and the Badgers fell in tier No. 6…

247Sports put the top teams in college football into “title contender tiers” today and the Badgers fell in tier No. 6.

Big Ten teams ahead of the Badgers, as seen above, are Ohio State in tier one, Penn State in tier three and Michigan in tier four.

Here’s what the piece had to say about the Badgers’ title chances this season:

The Badgers are the obvious answer. They return the 34th-most production in the country, and they have a record of challenging for a playoff spot. Wisconsin has won 10-plus games in five of the last six years. If the Badgers can figure out an offensive replacement for Jonathan Taylor, get slightly better QB player from Jack Coan and be a little better in the secondary, this team will have a shot. Back-to-back games with Michigan and Notre Dame will determine the direction of the Badgers’ season.

Looking holistically, tier six isn’t necessarily a wrong place to put Paul Chryst’s team. But having them ranked two tiers behind Michigan? That seems a bit off with the Wolverines’ recent experiences playing Ohio State and Penn State in their own division.

We wrote an article two months ago about ESPN’s outlook on Wisconsin using their FPI tool. Their conclusion? The Badgers have the fourth-highest chance at winning the national championship due to a combination of their returning production and easier schedule compared to other top teams.

I don’t know if strength-of-schedule was used to create these tiers, but if there’s one takeaway from this piece it is that 247Sports has a drastically-different outlook for both Michigan and Wisconsin than ESPN’s FPI tool does, with the Wolverines falling at No. 19 in ESPN’s ranking and being given a 0% chance to win the national championship.

The Badgers’ season is scheduled to kick off September 4 at Camp Randall Stadium against the Indiana Hoosiers.