I know, I know, initially this might sound pretty insane, but just hear me out. Even after the Badgers' resounding victory at rival & previously 8th-ranked Minnesota yesterday, there doesn't appear to be much of a path into the final four at first glance. Or is there?
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The Badgers could check-in as high as 7th in the next CFP rankings (released Tuesday evening), or as low as 10th. I've seen them ranked 7th in quite a few individual AP ballots, as it will be very interesting to see where the committee places the Badgers. With a "marque" win now on the road over 10-2 Minnesota, and victories over a pair of ranked 9-3 squads in Iowa & Michigan, the Badgers have a pretty substantial resume. The opportunity to avenge their loss to the Buckeyes in the Big TEN Title game, also gives them an opportunity to pickup what would be the best victory of any team out there - over an unbeaten, #1- ranked Ohio State team.
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Picture this scenario - Utah moves up to 5 in the next CFP rankings (which is a given after Bama's loss at Auburn), Oklahoma goes to 6, and Wisconsin jumps to 7 with Baylor coming in at #8. Oregon then upsets Utah in the Pac-12 Title game, and Baylor takes down Oklahoma in the Big XII Title game. Wisconsin somehow gets past Ohio State in a close Big TEN Title game, say 27-24 or something along those lines? LSU & Clemson take care of business like they are supposed to. That would most likely leave 11-1 Ohio State in the playoff as the 3-seed, and that fourth spot would basically come down to 2-loss Wisconsin with a better resume and best win being over unbeaten Ohio State - and 1-loss Baylor who would own a best win over a 1-loss Oklahoma.
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What a fascinating debate that would make... Do I think it will happen? Probably not, but you never know. I do believe Utah is playing it's best football of the season, and Oregon is not, and therefore the Utes will win and find themselves in the final four. If the Ducks do decide to bring their A - game though, it could be a long day for a defense that really only struggled with one team all season long - USC. Remember, the Ducks went down to LA and destroyed the Trojans 56-24 a few weeks ago, so this is not a gimme by any means for the Utes.
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The bigger question may be if Wisconsin can even upset the Buckeyes in the first place? Many forget that even though the final score ended up 38-7 in their first meeting, it was a actually still a 10-7 game in the 3rd quarter. Obviously it is going to take a monster day from HB Jonathan Taylor, and a vintage UW offensive effort in clock control and game-management to limit the number of times that Justin Fields, J.K. Dobbins, and the explosive OSU offense touches the ball. Is it likely? Probably not. Could it happen? Absolutely. We all know nothing is a guarantee, just ask Georgia about that, who's lone loss came to a South Carolina team that finished up just 4-8 on the season.
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I would love to read your thoughts in the comments section below - does Wisconsin have a chance if the above scenario were to unfold? Thank you all for your support as always and be sure to check back for continuing college football coverage!
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