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Thursday, March 28, 2024
UW-Madison Athletic Director Barry Alvarez hopes to increase student section attendance at kickoff for Badger football games.

UW-Madison Athletic Director Barry Alvarez hopes to increase student section attendance at kickoff for Badger football games.

The top six teams in college football can't be beat, Wisconsin looks to make big moves

As the season draws on, the Badgers are beginning to look more and more like a top 10 team in the country. Since its our duty to cover the Badgers, it’s now our duty to cover the other top teams in the country.

The top six teams can’t be beat

Clemson, Bama, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, and Ohio state haven’t moved a bit this year. They outscored their opponents by 134 points last week, 215 points in Week 2 and 177 points in Week 3. It’s been so, so boring to watch. The closest game any of them played was Clemson’s Week 2 victory, when the Tigers won by 14.

Don’t expect that to change this week either, as the best team any of them will face is Vanderbilt. 

Each team is solid, with few weaknesses and at least one Heisman hopeful on every roster. None of the top six will even face a ranked opponent until Week 7, when Alabama faces Texas A&M and Oklahoma plays Texas. So, barring a major upset, expect these top teams to remain on top of the college football world for quite a while.

Until then, cross your fingers and hope for upsets galore or we’re in for a boring regular season.

The Big Ten has underperformed woefully through three weeks

I think we all knew that ranking Maryland was a crazy move by the AP voters, but the Big Ten hasn’t made a great name for itself early on either. Penn State barely escaped Pitt with a victory, while Michigan State put up a complete dud against Arizona State and lost. 

Combine Michigan State losing with Maryland’s embarrassing loss to Temple, and two Big Ten teams already have dropped out of the top 25. 

However, Ohio State has been dominant, as has Wisconsin. Penn State and Michigan both haven’t lost yet either, despite poor Week 2 performances. Minnesota has yet to lose as well, which gives the Big Ten a respectable five teams who are unbeaten.

But the eye test tells a different story about the conference, with Purdue and Northwestern looking putrid, while the middle of the Big Ten has looked mediocre at best. The conference still has time to turn itself around, but early results are poor.

The SEC is incredibly top heavy

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The Southeastern Conference has five unbeaten teams, it also boasts five teams in the latest AP top 10. Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Auburn and Florida all own a space in the top 10, however only one other SEC team, Texas A&M, has cracked the rankings since Week 2.

The other eight teams in the conference have combined for only 16 combined wins through week three. Eight of those 16 wins were against traditional “cupcake” teams, where it would have been extremely shocking if the SEC team didn’t win.

Tennessee has been extremely disappointing after starting the year with a loss to FCS Georgia State, as has Vanderbilt after starting the year 0-2.

Normally the SEC beats up on itself, since the quality of football across the conference is usually world class. However, this year seems to be different, there is a clear top of the pack and a clear group of bottom feeders in the conference.

The top six teams, as noted earlier, are already stagnant enough. With the SEC seemingly top heavy, the entire top 10 could stay the same deep into the season. The real fireworks in the SEC should be set to go off in Week 7, when all six of the ranked teams in the conference play each other.

But until then, don’t expect much to change.

Heisman voters like quarterback’s way too much

I know its way too early to be talking Heisman, but I’m going to do it anyway. Current odds are that Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts wins the Heisman, with quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence close behind.

Jonathan Taylor sits far behind the field with the seventh highest chances, and he is also the top non-quarterback on the list. 

Don’t get me wrong, quarterbacks are important to a team’s success, but what Taylor has done early in the season is otherworldly. Taylor has played essentially just four quarters in the Badgers first two games, and he’s already racked up eight touchdowns, leading all non-quarterbacks in the nation.

Taylor has been an equal threat as a rusher and as a receiver, which keeps defenses guessing all game long. Badger fans have already seen the difference a steady passing game makes for a football team, and Taylor has been a key part of that attack.

If the Badgers win against Michigan on Saturday, and Taylor has another big game, I hope the Heisman voters and odd makers give him more credit. The Taylor for Heisman campaign has officially kicked off in the DC office.

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