College Football Playoff 2016: How can Wisconsin get in?

Wisconsin came in at No. 6 in Tuesday night’s Week 14 College Football Playoff rankings, but how can the Badgers get in?

There’s a sinking feeling around Madison these days regarding the College Football Playoff chances of the Wisconsin Badgers. Despite wrapping up the Big Ten West and a spot in the conference championship, the Badgers are still ranked just No. 6 in the nation, behind two other teams in the league that are not playing for the title.

Ohio State is the only assumed lock from the Big Ten to get to the playoff, and that’s even with the Badgers winning the championship.

So you have to ask, what do the Badgers need to happen in order to make it to the College Football Playoff?

First off, the Badgers clearly need to win the conference title against No. 7 Penn State. That’s the only way Wisconsin even has a shot to remain in the top 10. The Nittany Lions are on a 10-game win streak, though, and have a more quality win (Ohio State) than Wisconsin does on its schedule.

Next, Wisconsin needs to have Colorado beat Washington this weekend. If both Wisconsin and Colorado win, you need to realize that there’s no way the committee jumps a No. 8-ranked conference champ over a No. 6 conference champ. You just can’t. Washington would drop and potentially switch rankings with Wisconsin.

Lastly, the Badgers need to pray that the committee doesn’t look at a potential 10-2 Oklahoma Big 12 champion as a better team than an 11-2 Big Ten champion. The same goes for a third-place Michigan team that the committee clearly likes a ton still.

It’s going to come down to the decision of the committee if Washington loses and Wisconsin wins. Would they take Wisconsin over the Wolverines? On-field play says yes, but sometimes money speaks. Michigan would bring more money, better ratings.

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