Not every AP top-25 voter impressed with Badgers’ big victory
The Wisconsin Badgers’ were favorites in their season-opening game at South Florida.
They exceeded even those modest expectations (closing line of 10.5 points) with a 49-0 whitewashing of the Bulls. Not too shabby, especially on the road against a team which went to a bowl game last season.
Accordingly, the Badgers rose two spots in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll, to No. 17.
That doesn’t mean everyone was impressed, however.
Two voters left Wisconsin off their ballot: Chadd Crippe of the Idaho Statesman (ballot) and Conor O’Neill of the Winston Salem-Journal (ballot).
OK, maybe those voters just aren’t sold on UW yet. But three voters moved Wisconsin down on their ballot: Neil Ostrout (16 to 17) of the Journal Inquirer, Brian Howell (17 to 18) of thr Daily Camera and Joe Dubin (17 to 18) of WSMV-TV.
Most voters did move Wisconsin up on their ballot. The most was seven spots by Matt Brown of the Athletic (NR to 19). Two voters pushed UW up six spots -- Marc Weiszer (20 to 14) of the Athens Banner-Herald and ESPN’s Rece Davis (25 to 19) – while Kirk Bohls (24 to 19) of the Austin American-Statesman propelled the Badgers five slots.
Here’s how all the AP voters cast their ballots in Week 2 compared to Week 1/preseason (note – Nathan Baird took over in Week 2 for Doug Lesmerises, who voted in the preseason poll):
| Voter | Week 2 | Preseason |
| Eric Boynton, Spartanburg Herald-Journal | 13 | 14 |
| Matt Baker, Tampa Bay Times | 13 | 15 |
| Matt McCoy, WTVN-AM Columbus | 13 | 15 |
| Pat Dooley, Gainesville Sun | 13 | 15 |
| Dylan Sinn, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette | 14 | 15 |
| Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald | 14 | 20 |
| Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman | 14 | 14 |
| Dave Reardon, Honolulu Star-Advertiser | 15 | 18 |
| Garland Gillen, WVUE-TV New Orleans | 15 | 16 |
| Jerry DiPaola, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | 15 | 16 |
| John Bednarowski, Marietta Daily Journal | 15 | 15 |
| Mark Whicker, L.A. Daily News | 15 | 20 |
| Steve Batterson, Quad City Times | 15 | 17 |
| Tom Bragg, Charleston Gazette-Mail | 15 | 19 |
| Brett McMurphy, Stadium Network | 16 | 20 |
| Chris Murray, Reno Gazette-Journal | 16 | 17 |
| Davis Potter, Casper Star-Tribune | 16 | 17 |
| Rob Long, WJFK-FM Washington, D.C. | 16 | 20 |
| Theo Lawson, Spokesman-Review | 16 | 16 |
| Aaron McMann, Mlive Media Group | 17 | 18 |
| Audrey Dahlgren, WLNS-TV | 17 | 18 |
| Brooks Kubena, The Advocate | 17 | 21 |
| David Briggs, Toledo Blade | 17 | 17 |
| Jon Johnson, The Dothan Eagle | 17 | 18 |
| Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News | 17 | NR |
| Michael Lev, Arizona Daily Star | 17 | 21 |
| Nate Mink, Syracuse Media Group | 17 | 21 |
| Nathan Baird, Cleveland.com | 17 | 21 |
| Neill Ostrout, Journal Inquirer | 17 | 16 |
| Rece Davis, ESPN | 17 | 23 |
| Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station Eagle | 17 | 20 |
| Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald | 17 | NR |
| Steve Virgen, Albuquerque Journal | 17 | 17 |
| Tom Green, Alabama Media Group | 17 | 17 |
| Alex Schiffer, Kansas City Star | 18 | 21 |
| Brian Howell, Daily Camera | 18 | 17 |
| Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune | 18 | 18 |
| Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | 18 | 22 |
| Joe Dubin, WSMV-TV | 18 | 17 |
| Tom Murphy, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | 18 | 18 |
| Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News | 19 | 24 |
| Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune | 19 | 25 |
| Gary Horowitz, Statesman Journal | 19 | 19 |
| Gene Henley Chattanooga Times/Free Press | 19 | 20 |
| Jim Polzin, Wisconsin State Journal | 19 | 23 |
| Josh Furlong, KSL.com | 19 | 21 |
| Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman | 19 | 24 |
| Matt Brown, The Athletic | 19 | NR |
| Michael Vega, Boston Globe | 19 | 21 |
| Tom D'Angelo, Palm Beach Post | 19 | 20 |
| Andy Greder, St. Paul Pioneer Press | 20 | NR |
| Lauren Brownlow, WRAL Baltimore | 20 | 20 |
| James Kratch, The Star Ledger | 21 | NR |
| John Clay, Lexington Herald-Leader | 21 | 22 |
| Adam Zucker, CBS Sports Network | 22 | NR |
| Jim Holder, WTVA-Tupelo | 22 | 25 |
| Bob Asmussen, Champaign News-Gazette | 23 | NR |
| Soren Petro, 810 WHB Kansas City | 25 | NR |
| Steve Wiseman, Durham Herald-Sun | n/a | 16 |
| Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman | NR | NR |
| Conor O'Neill, Winston-Salem Journal | NR | NR |
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
