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Barry Alvarez says it would ‘shock’ him if Wisconsin was undefeated and didn’t reach CFP
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Former Wisconsin head coach and current athletic director Barry Alvarez likes the Badgers’ chances of reaching the College Football Playoff if they continue to run the table.
Alvarez, who served on the CFP committee until this season, told ESPN’s Heather Dinich that he doesn’t see an undefeated Power Five program with a conference title being left out of the final four. He went as far to say that would “shock” him.
“I think that would be very difficult to do,” Alvarez said. “There’s no part of me that says if you go undefeated as a Power Five and win your conference championship, and you’re not going to be in the final four? I don’t see that. That would shock me.”
The Badgers were ranked No. 9 in the first CFP poll despite being 8-0. The knock against Wisconsin is a weak schedule and lacking a real quality win. But with Iowa, Michigan and either Michigan State or Ohio State in the B1G Championship Game, the chance to get a few marquee victories is still ahead.
Wisconsin is now 9-0 after beating Indiana 45-17.
The next round of CFP rankings will come out on Tuesday night. With Ohio State and Penn State both losing, the Badgers should jump a few spots in the latest rankings but will probably still be left out of the top four for now.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB