Badgers say national respect isn't a concern
INDIANAPOLIS — It didn't happen until the next-to-last set of rankings, but the College Football Playoff selection committee finally moved Wisconsin into the fourth and final playoff spot Tuesday.
That 11th-hour show of respect from the committee didn't really register among the Badgers' many doubters, though.
Although the No. 4 ranking behind Clemson, Auburn and Oklahoma did set up a nearcertain win-and-you're-in scenario for Wisconsin against Ohio State on Saturday in the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium, it had minimal impact on the season-long narrative that the Badgers' 12-0 record is the product of a soft schedule.
The committee fostered the talk about Wisconsin's poor strength of schedule and, despite the Badgers' climb to No. 4, continues to do so. Entering Saturday, Wisconsin was the only remaining undefeated team from a Power Five conference, yet there were three teams still ranked ahead of it.
One of those teams was Auburn, which despite having two losses leapfrogged Wisconsin in the standings after beating previous No. 1 Alabama last week. Somehow, the committee scrubbed those losses from Auburn's record during its deliberations.
Adding fuel to hot takes was Paul Finebaum, the ESPN analyst whose focus is on the Southeastern Conference. You have to consider the source since ESPN and the SEC are business partners in a network, but Finebaum said Wisconsin would have lost three or four games had it played Alabama's schedule, conveniently ignoring the fact that various computer rankings put the Crimson Tide's strength of schedule as only marginally better than Wisconsin's.
But perhaps the biggest putdown of the Badgers was that the hottest debate over whether one-loss Alabama or two-loss Ohio State should claim the fourth playoff spot when the final rankings are released and the field is set. Of course, the discussion was based entirely on the premise that Ohio State, ranked eighth in the playoff standings, would handle Wisconsin.
If the Badgers beat the Buckeyes, the doubters would no longer be able to make a credible case that Wisconsin doesn't belong. And if the Badgers lost, they'd get a rousing chorus of I-told-you-sos and head to one of the other New Year's Six bowls.
“I think it’s another great opportunity to prove that we are legit, that we are the team that we think we are," tight end Troy Fumagalli said. "I think it’s another great opportunity with another great team."
Publicly, the Badgers haven't said the lack of respect bothers them. They've mostly stuck with the company line that it didn't matter to them what others think, they're just going to go about their business like they always do.
Wisconsin's methodical, week-to-week, ignore-theoutside-noise approach has worked to perfection so far. Of the Badgers' 12 consecutive victories, only two were by less than 14 points and their closest game was an eight-point win over Purdue.
Don't be fooled, though. The Badgers are extremely competitive and silencing critics was an unstated goal against the Buckeyes.
“If you win this game, I don’t know how anyone can say your previous schedule is still a big deal," tackle Michael Deiter said. "They’re ranked in the top 10. They’re a supergood team. Ton of talent. If you beat a team like that, I think that speaks to your team enough for anyone to believe in you. Whether they do or not is really not our concern, but I definitely think it should. If it doesn’t, so be it. It’s nothing we can worry about. But it definitely should because they’re a good team."
If the Badgers played the way they have all season, they should at least give themselves a chance.
“We can’t really control what anyone else is saying about us or anything like that," linebacker T.J. Edwards said. "But I know we’re playing a very good team. All we care about is beating them and playing our best game against them. We can’t control anything else that happens. All we can do is focus on the goal at hand."
Except for the perceptions of Wisconsin nationally. That is something the Badgers could only change with a victory.