Wisconsin football: Badgers ranked No. 12 in first AP Poll

We are now just 12 days from the kickoff of the college football season. That means it’s time to wrap up the preseason talk and get into real football baby. The last thing we’re waiting on was the release of the Coaches Poll which came out last week, and the AP Poll which was released Monday morning.

At the top of the poll, there were not a ton of surprises as defending champion Alabama came in at No. 1 with 47 first-place votes. In a surprise to some, Oklahoma comes in at No. 2 ahead of Clemson at No. 3. At No. 4 comes Ohio State, and rounding out the top five is the Georgia Bulldogs. Really, you could make a case for any team in the two through five spots to be in any order.

After that, the same familiar teams find themselves rounding out the top ten with Texas A&M, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and North Carolina, respectively. Each of those teams will be looking to knock off their conference foes above them and rise up the polls as the season moves forward. Cincinnati and Notre Dame will square off in a possible top ten matchup on October 2.

The Oregon Ducks come in at No. 11 and then come the Wisconsin Badgers in the No. 12 spot. Last week Wisconsin came in at No. 15 for the Coaches Poll so it appears the AP Poll likes the Badgers a little bit more than Florida, LSU and USC who we’re above them in the Coaches Poll. The Badgers are in a strong spot, and they’ve got plenty of ranked teams on their schedule to try and bolster their ranking.

Wisconsin will get a crack at No. 9 ranked Notre Dame on September 25 in Chicago, and they’ll open the season with No. 19 ranked Penn State at Camp Randall. West division foe Iowa ranked just ahead of the Nittany Lions at No. 18, and they’ll take on the Badgers for a huge Big Ten West showdown on October 30. One additional Big Ten team cracked the Top 25 with Indiana ahead of Iowa in the No. 17 spot. Northwestern was the only other Big Ten team to receive votes.

To see the AP Poll in its entirety, click here.