Wisconsin continues to trend positively in ESPN FPI after a third consecutive victory, this one a 23-3 win over Northwestern.
The Badgers rose three spots in the metric from No. 28 to No. 25 after the performance. They are up nearly 30 spots over the last few weeks after entering Week 7’s game at Rutgers ranked No. 54. FPI is paying attention to Wisconsin’s apparent resurgence — its three straight wins by a combined point margin of 117-16.
Movement across the Big Ten now sees Wisconsin ranked as the No. 6-best team in the conference, behind only Ohio State (No. 1), Oregon (No. 8), Penn State (No. 9), Indiana (No. 11) and USC (No. 15).
It moves forward to a tough finishing stretch with games against Penn State (No. 9), Iowa (No. 26), Oregon (No. 8), Nebraska (No. 58) and Minnesota (No. 45). FPI’s rest-of-season forecast for Wisconsin against that schedule includes a projected final record of 7.4 — 4.6, a 96.1% chance to reach bowl eligibility, a 0.9% chance to win the Big Ten and a 1.7% chance to make the College Football Playoff.
Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) can take a big step toward Playoff contention with a home win over Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) on Saturday. The game is quickly becoming one of the biggest of the Luke Fickell era to date.
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