Recruiting is certainly a part of what differentiates the good teams from the great ones.

Look at what Clemson and Alabama have done the past few years in college football. They’ve won titles seemingly back-and-forth. And before those schools were playing ping pong with each other, Ohio State won the first ever College Football Playoff.

What do those schools all have in common? They almost always finish in the top 5 of recruiting rankings no matter what database you look at. If you have the most top tier talent, it doesn’t just mean you’ll be the best team.

However, it is able to cover up some flaws or mistakes they show up in a given game. Teams that have less talent have to play a better football game to win consistently. Teams like Clemson, Ohio State and Alabama just don’t.

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FOX took a good look at the AP top 10 teams recently. It also looked back at recruiting and put a total number on each team regarding how many four- and five-star prospects are currently on the roster. FOX released a graphic showing each team in the top 10 and where they stand.

What stands out to you?

Every top 10-ranked team has at least 39 different four- or five-star players on the roster. Well, almost every team.

Wisconsin doesn’t. Wisconsin has nine.

Again, nine. Combined.

Florida has the next fewest. With 39. That’s a 30-player difference.

And if you look at Ohio State, to compare Big Ten teams, the Buckeyes have 60 players that were either four- or five-star recruits.

Again, the Badgers have nine.

You can look at this a number of different ways, but one way is an absolute fact. Wisconsin has an identity. And coach Paul Chryst recruits players that fit that identity. He coaches extremely well and puts the right assistants in place to keep the Badgers moving forward.

Wisconsin may not be where Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State are on an annual basis. But boy, do they deserve the same exact level of respect.