Wisconsin football: Wisconsin rises to No. 16 after the bye week

There was a definite lack of fireworks over the weekend with the Badgers and a host of other ranked teams taking the week off. The bye week didn’t stop Wisconsin from jumping up in the polls though.

The Wisconsin Badgers are now No. 16 in the updated Coaches Poll and the AP Poll.

Wisconsin was a beneficiary of SMU’s loss to Memphis, one of the only a few match ups of the weekend that included two ranked foes.

Lets take a look at the updated rankings in the Big Ten and across the nation after the weekend.

The B1G

Ohio State and Penn State are still the top ranked Big Ten teams. Both undefeated conference members find themselves in the top five, which did not change in either updated polls. Neither team played over the weekend.

Next up in the conference is undefeated Minnesota. The Gophers, who also had a bye week, held at No. 13 in each poll. Minnesota and Penn State square off next weekend in a vital B1G matchup in the Twin Cities.

Right on the heels of the Minnesota is Michigan (7-2 record). The Wolverines blew the doors off of Maryland on the road, and are now ranked No. 14 across both polls. A rivalry game with Michigan State (4-4 record) is up next.

A big upcoming contest between Wisconsin and Iowa will also shake up the rankings next weekend. Both teams find themselves in the upper teens of the recent polls; Wisconsin, as referenced earlier, now at No. 16, and Iowa is up to No. 18 in each of the rankings.

Nationwide musings

• The game of the weekend was Georgia and Florida. Georgia held on to win the rivalry game 24-17. The matchup resulted in Georgia becoming the highest ranked one loss team, moving up to No. 6 according to the coaches and the press. Florida (7-2) dropped to No. 11 in the Coaches Poll and No. 11 in the AP after the loss.

• SMU had the steepest fall after losing to Memphis on the road. The Mustangs are now just inside the top 25 at No. 23, while Memphis jumped up to No. 19 according to the coaches and
• Oregon and Utah each had crucial wins over the weekend in the Pac-12. Both squads are now in the upper tier of the top ten, and are each within striking distance of the College Football Playoff with help.
• The top five of the rankings had no movement in either of the major polls, with LSU and Alabama each holding down the top two spots in each poll.

Newcomers

AP Top-25: No. 25 Navy

Coaches Poll: No. 24 San Diego State; No. 25 Navy

Drop outs

AP Top-25: No. 20 Appalachian State

Coaches Poll: No. 20 Appalachian State; No. 24 Texas