For Badgers & Notre Dame, not all MAC wins equal in AP top-25 poll
Wisconsin’s 48-0 win over Kent State wasn’t expected to make a ripple in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll.
And, as it turned out, it didn’t. The Badgers did gain some votes – mostly likely due to then-No. 7 Auburn losing – but remained No. 8 in the poll, now behind Florida, which beat Auburn and jumped up over UW from No. 10. OK, that makes sense. A win over a top-10 team certainly stands out more than a shutout over a lower-echelon MAC team.
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Wait, scratch that last thought.
No. 9 Notre Dame also beat a MAC team at home this past week. While Wisconsin beat the Golden Flashes 48-0, the Fighting Irish drubbed Bowling Green 52-0.
Apparently that four-point difference was enough for two voters to move Notre Dame past Wisconsin on their top-25 ballot.
Audrey Dahlgren of WLNS-TV dropped Wisconsin from No. 8 to 9 and moved Notre Dame up to 8 from 9. Rob Long of WJFK last had the Badgers at No. 7 (he didn’t turn in a ballot in Week 6). He now has them at No. 9 (also having moved Florida ahead of UW).
Oh, and did we mention that the previous week Kent State beat Bowling Green 62-20?
Enough of that nonsense and back to the positive.
Every voter had Wisconsin ranked in the top 11 this week, including six at No. 6 (last week’s high was No. 7).
Dave Reardon of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press were the biggest movers and shakers, pushing Wisconsin up three spots on their ballots. Reardon jumped the Badgers from No. 9 to 6 while Greder moved UW from 10 to 7.
Here’s how all the AP voters cast their ballots in Week 7 compared to the last two weeks:
| Voter | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 |
| Adam Zucker, CBS Sports Network | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Brooks Kubena, The Advocate | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| Dave Reardon, Honolulu Star-Advertiser | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Andy Greder, St. Paul Pioneer Press | 7 | 10 | 10 |
| Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Chris Murray, Reno Gazette-Journal | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Conor O’Neill, Winston-Salem Journal | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| David Briggs, Toledo Blade | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Matt Baker, Tampa Bay Times | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Matt McCoy, WTVN-AM Columbus | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Michael Lev, Arizona Daily Star | 7 | 8 | 7 |
| Nathan Baird, Cleveland.com | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Steve Virgen, Albuquerque Journal | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Tom Bragg, Charleston Gazette-Mail | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Bob Asmussen, Champaign News-Gazette | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Brett McMurphy, Stadium Network | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Brian Howell, Daily Camera | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Eric Boynton, Spartanburg Herald-Journal | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Garland Gillen, WVUE-TV New Orleans | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Gary Horowitz, Statesman Journal | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Gene Henley, Chattanooga Times/Free Press | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| Jerry DiPaola, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Joe Dubin, WSMV-TV | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| John Bednarowski, Marietta Daily Journal | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| John Clay, Lexington Herald-Leader | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Jon Johnson, The Dothan Eagle | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Lauren Brownlow, WRAL Baltimore | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Mark Whicker, L.A. Daily News | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Matt Brown, The Athletic | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Neill Ostrout, Journal Inquirer | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Norm Wood, The Daily Press | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Pat Dooley, Gainesville Sun | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| Rece Davis, ESPN | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station Eagle | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Steve Wiseman, Durham Herald-Sun | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Tom Green, Alabama Media Group | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Tom Murphy, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Aaron McMann, Mlive Media Group | 9 | 11 | 11 |
| Audrey Dahlgren, WLNS-TV | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | 9 | 11 | 9 |
| Jim Holder, WTVA-Tupelo | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Jim Polzin, Wisconsin State Journal | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Rob Long, WJFK-FM Washington, D.C. | 9 | n/a | 7 |
| Steve Batterson, Quad City Times | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Davis Potter, Casper Star-Tribune | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Dylan Sinn, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Michael Vega, Boston Globe | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Nate Mink, Syracuse Media Group | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Alex Schiffer, Kansas City Star | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune | 11 | 12 | 11 |
| James Kratch, The Star Ledger | 11 | 11 | 9 |
| Josh Furlong, KSL.com | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| Soren Petro, 810 WHB Kansas City | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Theo Lawson, Spokesman-Review | 11 | 12 | 12 |
Dave Heller is the author of Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth’s Shadow (a Larry Ritter Book Award nominee), Facing Ted Williams – Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns
