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Wisconsin continues its trek up the college football polls, as the first two released Sunday present modest, yet encouraging improvements for the Badgers. With a fourth straight Rose Bowl all but ruled out, Wisconsin has its eyes on an at-large BCS bid, and that would require rising to No. 14 in the BCS standings. The Badgers entered the weekend ranked No. 20 there.
In the first poll released Sunday, the AP Top 25, Wisconsin jumped one spot to No. 16 after dispatching Indiana, 51-3. The Badgers are also just 13 points behind No. 15 Fresno State.
For Wisconsin, the recipe for the remainder of the season is simple: win out, and win big. Winning especially big at Minnesota Saturday would be huge; the Gophers would be ranked No. 26 in the AP poll if it reached that far. Minnesota was on a bye this past weekend.
| Rank | Team | Record | Votes | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (55) | 10-0 | 1,495 | 1 |
| 2 | Florida State (5) | 10-0 | 1,445 | 2 |
| 3 | Baylor | 9-0 | 1,351 | 4 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 10-0 | 1,343 | 3 |
| 5 | Oregon | 9-1 | 1,210 | 6 |
| 6 | Auburn | 10-1 | 1,205 | 7 |
| 7 | Clemson | 9-1 | 1,115 | 8 |
| 8 | Missouri | 9-1 | 1,067 | 9 |
| 9 | Texas A&M | 8-2 | 956 | 10 |
| 10 | Stanford | 8-2 | 899 | 5 |
| 11 | Oklahoma State | 9-1 | 889 | 12 |
| 12 | South Carolina | 8-2 | 870 | 11 |
| 13 | Michigan State | 9-1 | 749 | 14 |
| 14 | UCLA | 8-2 | 710 | 13 |
| 15 | Fresno State | 9-0 | 572 | 16 |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 8-2 | 559 | 17 |
| 17 | UCF | 8-1 | 535 | 15 |
| 18 | LSU | 7-3 | 439 | 18 |
| 19 | Arizona State | 8-2 | 430 | 21 |
| 20 | Northern Illinois | 10-0 | 426 | 20 |
| 21 | Louisville | 9-1 | 412 | 19 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | 8-2 | 318 | 22 |
| 23 | USC | 8-3 | 187 | NR |
| 24 | Mississippi | 7-3 | 119 | NR |
| 25 | Duke | 8-2 | 94 | NR |
| Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota 77, Notre Dame 11, Texas 10, Georgia 5, Nebraska 1, Cincinnati 1 |