Wisconsin fans are hopeful for this season with many key players returning and revived expectations. | Twitter
Wisconsin fans are hopeful for this season with many key players returning and revived expectations. | Twitter
On Aug. 23, the AP came out with their preseason top 25 rankings, putting Wisconsin at No. 12.
This ranking marks the second straight year that the Badgers will enter the season ranked 12. It is also the fifth consecutive year that the Wisconsin Badgers will be ranked in the top 20 to start the season. Each of these has been under Head Coach Paul Chryst, who took over in 2015.
Compared to the other teams in the Big Ten, Wisconsin stacks up well. They are the second-highest ranking team in the conference, behind only rival Ohio State, who was ranked at the No. 4 spot. Three other Big Ten teams were able to crack the top 25 with Indiana ranking No. 17, Iowa coming in at No. 18, and Penn State nabbing the No. 19 ranking.
On Aug. 23, the Badgers were hard at work, holding their 10th practice of fall camp. During the practice, Chryst commented on the team, saying, “I think you’re starting to get some answers to questions we had going in for example the running back spot. I think we now know who is in that pool of guys that you’re working with. In many ways we’re kind of halfway through camp, and you get a sense of how each individual is handling it.”
Expectations are high for the Badgers, who have found themselves on the outside looking in the past few years even as they have had some great teams and some impressive victories. Still, the program has not been able to crack into the top tier of college football for more than a brief period of time before becoming the victim of too many losses. This season, the Badgers will look to climb up the rankings and limit their losses to inferior teams.
The Badgers will start their season on Sept. 4 against Penn State at Camp Randall Stadium.
| RANK | TEAM |
| 1 | Alabama |
| 2 | Oklahoma |
| 3 | Clemson |
| 4 | Ohio State |
| 5 | Georgia |
| 6 | Texas A&M |
| 7 | Iowa State |
| 8 | Cincinnati |
| 9 | Norte Dame |
| 10 | North Carolina |
| 11 | Oregon |
| 12 | Wisconsin |
| 13 | Florida |
| 14 | Miami |
| 15 | USC |
| 16 | LSU |
| 17 | Indiana |
| 18 | Iowa |
| 19 | Penn State |
| 20 | Washington |
| 21 | Texas |
| 22 | Costal Carolina |
| 23 | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 24 | Utah |
| 25 | Arizona State |
| SOURCE: Associated Press | |
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