Projecting the Top 25: Will three B1G teams make the top five?

There’s a difference.

If we’re basing this on what should the Associated Press top 25 look like, Wisconsin would be in the top three or four. Two wins vs. top-10 teams, neither of which at home, should yield a top-five ranking.

But based on the way writers usually vote, that’s not the case.

Why not? Well, Wisconsin was at No. 11 last week. Moving them ahead of Texas A&M, Stanford and Houston, all of which won, isn’t always easy for writers to do.

If this were the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, that might be a different story.

But with that in mind, here’s how we’re projecting the top-25 after an eventful first Saturday in the B1G.

1. Alabama def. Kent State
2. Ohio State did not play
3. Louisville def. Marshall.
4. Michigan def. Penn State.
5. Clemson def Georgia Tech.
6. Wisconsin def. Michigan State.
7. Houston def. Texas State.
8. Stanford def. UCLA.
9. Texas A&M def. Arkansas.
10. Washington (late game)
11. Tennessee def. Florida.
12. Florida State def. USF.
13. Miami did not play
14. Baylor def. Oklahoma State.
15. Michigan State lost to Wisconsin.
16. Nebraska def. Northwestern.
17. Ole Miss def. Georgia.
18. Texas did not play.
19. Georgia lost to Ole Miss.
20. SDSU did not play.
21. Utah def. USC
22. Oklahoma did not play.
23. Arkansas lost to Texas A&M.
24. Florida lost to Tennessee.
25. TCU def. SMU.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.