Wisconsin football: Badgers remain No. 12 in week 14 CFP poll

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The College Football Playoff committee ranked the Wisconsin Badgers (9-2 overall, 6-2 B1G) No. 12 for the second consecutive week. While No. 14 Oregon fell below Wisconsin after losing to Arizona State 31-28, No. 9 Baylor (10-1 overall, 7-1 Big 12) rose five spots after beating unranked Texas (6-5 overall, 4-4 Big 12).

Key notes for Wisconsin

Minnesota (10-1 overall, 7-1 B1G) jumped up to No. 8 in the polls after beating Northwestern, and Penn State (9-2 overall, 6-2 B1G) fell down to No. 10 after losing to No. 1 Ohio State (11-0 overall, 8-0 B1G).

Should Wisconsin beat No. 8 Minnesota this weekend, expect the Badgers to move up significantly. If Baylor can move up five spots after beating a team barely above .500, then surely a road victory over a top 10 team should catapult Wisconsin well into the top 10.

Additionally, a loss to Ohio State is insufficient to knock a team out of the top 10, so as long as Wisconsin is held to the same standard as other schools, it could very well head into a bowl game in the top 10.

And, according to Dr. Laura Albert, Wisconsin has a tiny, yet very real, playoff hope. After losing to Illinois, I will take “a tiny chance in hell of making the [playoffs]” any day!

Well, that would mean Wisconsin would have to play a team like LSU in the playoffs. Pick your poison!

Around the country

• Ohio State regains the No. 1 spot over LSU. In my opinion, this distinction is rather pointless, but it is fun to argue about. Rather, I assume it is, as I have no fun arguing about it.
• No. 18 Memphis, No. 19 Cincinnati, and No. 20 Boise State are all battling for a spot in a New Years Six bowl.
• Oregon’s loss to ASU cut the Pac-12’s chance of a playoff spot in half, as Oregon fell to No. 14.
• No. 7 Oklahoma will continue to root for the Badgers, and it probably will start pulling for No. 14 Oregon as well as chaos in the SEC.