College football analyst dubs Wisconsin as top-20 team nationally

Are the Badgers a top-25 team?

Oct 12, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Wisconsin Badgers mascot, Bucky Badger, wears a chess head hat during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

After beating Rutgers and Purdue by a combined score of 94-13, Wisconsin is coming off arguably its best two-game stretch under Luke Fickell and the national media is taking notice of the momentum building in Madison.

National college football media personality Josh Pate releases his own top 25 every week called the JP Poll. On the latest episode of his podcast, he ranked Wisconsin at No. 19 in the country. It's the first time that they've been ranked on the list since the preseason.

"Wisconsin has suddenly reappeared in the JP Poll and they're 19," Pate said. "They're back to their original preseason rating. So, they lost the quarterback against Alabama, they got blown out against Alabama and, they've sort of righted the ship. The model has got some supreme Luke Fickell respect right now."

Pate crafts his poll based on neutral field favorability. He has created his own model to determine which teams would be favored on a neutral field. This implies that the Badgers would be favored over teams like Louisville, Arkansas and Florida on a neutral field.

It is worth noting that three of Wisconsin's remaining six opponents — Oregon (No. 4), Penn State (No. 9) and Iowa (No. 17) — received a higher ranking. Nebraska, Minnesota and Northwestern are all unranked by Pate.

The Badgers are 2-1 in the Big Ten standings and with games against the top two teams — Oregon and Penn State — left on the schedule, they technically control their own destiny. If they win out in conference play, they would be in the discussion alongside teams like Ohio State and Indiana.

If they're able to get past a potential trap game this week against Northwestern, Wisconsin's level of competition will raise dramatically to finish the season. Pate's list shows that they're more than capable of playing spoiler in the Big Ten and they are performing like one of the better teams in the conference.