Badgers lost but still impressed a lot of AP voters
Wisconsin’s date with the Rose Bowl has been set and maybe you don’t care about the Associated Press top-25 poll (if you ever did).
Nevertheless, there was something interesting that happened in the final regular-season poll after the Badgers lost to Oho State in the Big Ten championship. Despite the defeat, many voters came away impressed.
Seventeen voters moved the Badgers up on their ballot compared to the previous week. Three of those jumped UW up four spots.
Adam Zucker of CBS Sports Network was one of those and he has the Badgers ranked No. 5 – the highest of any voter.
The other two who moved Wisconsin up four slots were Tom Green of Alabama Media Group (11 to 8) and Tom Bragg of the Charleston Gazette-Mail (12 to 8).
Three voters gave UW a three-spot increase: Lauren Brownow of WRAL-Baltimore (10 to 7), Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News (13 to 10) and Michael Vegas of the Boston Globe (17 to 14).
On the flip side, of course more voters moved Wisconsin down (which caused the Badgers to go from No. 10 to No. 11 in the poll). Rob Long of WJFK-FM in Washington, D.C., had the biggest drop for UW, six spots, from 11 to 17. Two others moved Wisconsin down five – Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star (7 to 12) and Tom D’Angelo of the Palm Beach Post (8 to 13).
In all, 29 voters had the Badgers as a top-10 team, four in the top seven. A win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl would certainly mean a top-10 final ranking. Wisconsin hasn’t ended a season higher than No. 7 since 1999, when it was No. 4.
Here’s how all the AP voters cast their ballots for Wisconsin in Week 16 compared to last week:
| Voter | Week 16 | Week 15 |
| Adam Zucker, CBS Sports Network | 5 | 9 |
| Matt Baker, Tampa Bay Times | 6 | 8 |
| Tom Green, Alabama Media Group | 7 | 11 |
| Lauren Brownlow, WRAL Baltimore | 7 | 10 |
| Tom Bragg, Charleston Gazette-Mail | 8 | 12 |
| James Kratch, The Star Ledger | 8 | 10 |
| Brett McMurphy, Stadium Network | 8 | 9 |
| Jim Polzin, Wisconsin State Journal | 8 | 9 |
| Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune | 8 | 8 |
| Nathan Baird, Cleveland.com | 8 | 8 |
| Jerry DiPaola, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | 8 | 7 |
| Josh Furlong, KSL.com | 8 | 7 |
| Andy Greder, St. Paul Pioneer Press | 9 | 11 |
| Steve Virgen, Albuquerque Journal | 9 | 10 |
| Dylan Sinn, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette | 9 | 9 |
| Matt Brown, The Athletic | 9 | 9 |
| Norm Wood, The Daily Press | 9 | 8 |
| Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News | 10 | 13 |
| Nate Mink, Syracuse Media Group | 10 | 12 |
| Gary Horowitz, Statesman Journal | 10 | 11 |
| Jon Johnson, The Dothan Eagle | 10 | 11 |
| Soren Petro, 810 WHB Kansas City | 10 | 11 |
| Matt McCoy, WTVN-AM Columbus | 10 | 10 |
| Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station Eagle | 10 | 10 |
| Conor O'Neill, Winston-Salem Journal | 10 | 9 |
| Dave Reardon, Honolulu Star-Advertiser | 10 | 9 |
| Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald | 10 | 9 |
| Aaron McMann, Mlive Media Group | 10 | 8 |
| Parrish Alford, Daily Journal (Tupelo, Miss.)* | 10 | n/a |
| Bob Asmussen, Champaign News-Gazette | 11 | 13 |
| Audrey Dahlgren, WLNS-TV | 11 | 11 |
| Blair Kerkoff, Kansas City Star | 11 | 11 |
| Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News | 11 | 11 |
| Gene Henley, Chattanooga Times/Free Press | 11 | 11 |
| Neill Ostrout, Journal Inquirer | 11 | 11 |
| Rece Davis, ESPN | 11 | 10 |
| Garland Gillen, WVUE-TV New Orleans | 11 | 9 |
| Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman | 11 | 9 |
| Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald | 11 | 9 |
| Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman | 11 | 8 |
| Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | 12 | 12 |
| David Briggs, Toledo Blade | 12 | 11 |
| Steve Wiseman, Durham Herald-Sun | 12 | 11 |
| Michael Lev, Arizona Daily Star | 12 | 7 |
| Joe Dubin, WSMV-TV | 13 | 13 |
| John Clay, Lexington Herald-Leader | 13 | 13 |
| Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman | 13 | 13 |
| Tom Murphy, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | 13 | 13 |
| Chris Murray, Reno Gazette-Journal | 13 | 12 |
| Brian Howell, Daily Camera | 13 | 11 |
| Mark Whicker, L.A. Daily News | 13 | 11 |
| Brooks Kubena, The Advocate | 13 | 10 |
| Pat Dooley, Gainesville Sun | 13 | 10 |
| Steve Batterson, Quad City Times | 13 | 10 |
| Davis Potter, Casper Star-Tribune | 13 | 9 |
| John Bednarowski, Marietta Daily Journal | 13 | 9 |
| Tom D'Angelo, Palm Beach Post | 13 | 8 |
| Michael Vega, Boston Globe | 14 | 17 |
| Eric Boynton, Spartanburg Herald-Journal | 14 | 11 |
| Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune | 15 | 14 |
| Theo Lawson, Spokesman-Review | 16 | 15 |
| Rob Long, WJFK-FM Washington, D.C. | 17 | 11 |
| Jim Holder, WTVA-Tupelo | 9 |
* -- Alford took over for Jim Holder of WTVA-Tupelo. Holder had Wisconsin at No. 9 last week.
Dave Heller is the author of Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow (a Larry Ritter Book Award nominee), Facing Ted Williams - Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns
